Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom.
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After 14 years in space, NASA's Galileo spacecraft was intentionally destroyed in Jupiter's atmosphere.
Benedetto Odescalchi was elected as Pope Innocent XI.
A Jellyfish was discovered and became the first-known animal that sleeps and doesn’t have a brain.
English author J. R. R. Tolkien released his critically acclaimed book 'The Hobbit.'
In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeated Chinese troops at the Battle of Palikao.
