Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump is impeached for a second time on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the January 6 United States Capitol attack one week prior.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 outside China.
A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state.
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crashes while landing at Tashkent International Airport, killing 37.
208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory.
An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21.
Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter's Square, protesting against homophobia.
Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
Operation Southern Watch: U.S.A.F., U.S.N., R.A.F. and French Air Force jets attack AAA and SAM sites in Southern Iraq.
Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.
Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors.
Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045, a Douglas DC-8 jet, crashes onto the runway during takeoff from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, killing five.