1780-Great Hurricane kills 20,000 to 30,000 in Caribbean
1846-Neptune's moon Triton discovered by William Lassell
1865-John Hyatts patents the billiard ball
1868-Cuba revolts for independence against Spain
1874-Fiji becomes a British possession, gains independence in 1970
1911-Sun Yat-sen's revolutionaries overthrow Manchus (Taiwan Nat'l Day)
1913-Gamboa Dam in Panama blown up; Atlantic & Pacific waters mix
1933-First synthetic detergent for home use marketed
1938-Germany completes annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland
1943-Chiang Kai-shek takes oath of office as president of China
1957-U.S. President Eisenhower apologizes to finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Del, restaurant
1976-Greece's 98-year-old Dimitrion Yordanidis, the oldest man to compete in a marathon; he finishes in 7:33
1980-4,500 die when a pair of earthquakes strikes NW Algeria
1986-Israel Prime Minister Shimon Peres resigns