UPS Airlines Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F crashes into multiple buildings during takeoff at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 15 people, including the 3 crew members.
Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States.
Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
The Netherlands experiences the first car-free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Highways are used only by cyclists and roller skaters.
Salvador Allende takes office as President of Chile, the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections.
The United States concludes Operation Fishbowl, its final above-ground nuclear weapons testing series, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
At the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.
Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
World War II: The 7th Macedonian Liberation Brigade liberates Bitola for the Allies.
World War II: Operation Pheasant, an Allied offensive to liberate North Brabant in the Netherlands, ends successfully.
World War II: Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel begins a retreat of his forces after a costly defeat during the Second Battle of El Alamein. The retreat would ultimately last five months.
World War II: U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.
Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female elected as governor in the United States.
World War I: The Armistice of Villa Giusti between Italy and Austria-Hungary is implemented.
City and South London Railway: London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell.
Northwest Indian War: The Western Confederacy of American Indians wins a major victory over the United States in the Battle of the Wabash.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria.
Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) meets Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother – they would later marry.