A Sibir Airlines passenger jet crashed while landing at Irkutsk Airport, Siberia. 122 people died in the crash.

Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, defeating France 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw. It was Italy's 4th World Cup win. The event was marred by the dramatic exit from football of star player Zinedine Zidane who was ejected for head butting Marco Materazzi.

The African Union was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The legendary band, The Grateful Dead, performed their last concert at Soldier Field, Chicago.

A ban prohibiting South Africa from participating in the Olympic Games was lifted 30 years after it had been implemented.

Homosexuality was legalised in New Zealand.

A Pan Am passenger flight crashed in Kenner, Louisiana resulting in the death of all 146 people on board as well as 8 more on the ground.

Scottish singer, Jim Kerr, was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is most known as the lead singer and lyricist of Scottish band Simple Minds.

American actress, Kelly McGillis, was born in Newport Beach, California. She is most known for her role in the

American actor, Tom Hanks, was born in Concord, California.

The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was released by Bertrand Russell in London. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict. It was singed by several eminent scientists, including Albert Einstein shortly before his death.

American politician, Donald Rumsfeld, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He served as Secretary of Defence of the United states from 1975 to 1977 and again from 2001 to 2006. He most remembered for having been the US Secretary of Defence during the US led invasion of Iraq and his subsequent resignation on November 1, 2006.

American swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller, became the first man in history to swim the 100 meters freestyle in under one minute (58.6 seconds).

101 people were killed in the worst train accident in the history of the United States. The accident occurred when an inbound local train collided with an outbound express.

American physicist, John A. Wheeler, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Widely considered as one of the eminent American theoretical physicists of the 20th century and was a close collaborator of famed physicist Albert Einstein.

American football coach, Paul Brown, was born in Norwalk, Ohio. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest American Football coaches in history.

During the course of the American civil war, the siege of Port Hudson came to an end. The siege had lasted for 48 days and resulted in victory for the besieging Union forces.

Argentina declared its independence from Spain.