1. On this day in 1786: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, became the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).
2. On this day in 1872: The first-ever international football match took place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
3. On this day in 1934: The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph. The LNER Class A3 Pacific steam locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman (originally No. 1472) was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley. It was retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 3,341,000 km.
4. On this day in 1936: The Crystal Palace, London was destroyed by fire. The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. Designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet long, with an interior height of 128 feet.
5. On this day in 1966: Barbados became independent from the United Kingdom. Barbados is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It covers an area of 432 square kilometres. It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea, east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
6. On this day in 1967: The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen became independent from the United Kingdom. It is also referred to as Yemen (Aden), was a Communist state in the southern and eastern provinces of the present-day Republic of Yemen, including the island of Socotra.
7. On this day in 1967: The Pakistan Peoples Party was founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who became its first chairman.
8. On this day in 1982: Michael Jackson's second solo album, Thriller was released worldwide. It became the best-selling record album in history.
9. On this day in 1995: Operation Desert Storm came to an end. The Gulf War, codenamed Operation Desert Shield, for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm was a war waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.
10. On this day in 1999: British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merged to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.
