Thirty-two people are killed when a crane falls onto a passenger train in Sikhio district, Thailand.
Queen Margrethe II abdicates as Queen of Denmark and is succeeded by her son, Frederik X.
A Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crashes at Fath Air Base near Karaj in Alborz Province, Iran, killing 15 people.
Multiple explosions reported near the Sarinah Building, Jakarta, followed by shootout between perpetrators and the police, killing seven people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.
Yemen declares an open war against the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
Sinking of the MS Jan Heweliusz: In Poland's worst peacetime maritime disaster, ferry MS Jan Heweliusz sinks off the coast of Rügen, drowning 55 passengers.
Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets the record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederik or Christian since 1513.
USS Enterprise fire: An accidental explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 28 people.
Counterculture of the 1960s: The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco, California's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote issuing authority authorized by the 1959 Reserve Bank Act, is established.
Kripalu Maharaj is named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher) after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars.
The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
Josip Broz Tito is elected the first President of Yugoslavia.
NBC's long-running morning news program Today debuts, with host Dave Garroway.
National Airlines Flight 83 crashes during landing at Philadelphia International Airport, killing seven passengers and crew.
World War II: Japan begins Operation Ke, the successful operation to evacuate its forces from Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign.
World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begin the Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war.
Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition makes landfall on the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.