South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana. The Republic of Bophuthatswana was never internationally recognized. In 1994, after a series of coups, it reintegrated with South Africa.

World's first pediatric heart transplant. 3 days after the first heart transplant in the world occurred in South Africa, Adrian Kantrowitz and his team of surgeons performed United States' first heart transplant and the world's first pediatric heart transplant at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

Establishment of the Irish Free State. The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed between the British and Irish representatives in 1921 paved the way for the establishment of the Dominion of the British Empire. The state lasted until December 1937.

Finnish Declaration of Independence. The declaration ended 109 years of Finland being a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire. The Northern European country came under the control of the Russian Empire in 1809. After the October Revolution in Russia, which created the Soviet Union, the Finnish Parliament declared independence on this day.

Adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.