Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament.
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections.
The United States Food and Drug Administration approves Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor to treat HIV/AIDS. Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000.
The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people.
South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.)
Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States.
Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.
A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war.
Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.
Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire.
World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53.
World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.
London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.
Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.