The country of Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Source
The Union Jack flag was flown for the first time in Dublin, Ireland, to commemorate the union between Great Britain and Ireland.
The dwarf planet Ceres was discovered by an Italian monk called Giuseppe Piazzi.
Medical researcher Oswald Hope Robertson performed the first-ever blood transfusion using stored and refrigerated blood.
Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union.
