1027: Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor, founding the Salian dynasty

1812: Earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale destroys 90% of Caracas, Venezuela, and kills an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people

1871: Municipal elections bring revolutionaries to power in Paris who form the short lived Paris Commune government

1909: Russian military forces invade northern Persia to support Mohammad Ali Shah’s coup d’état against the constitutional government in Persia and relieve the siege of Tabriz

1942: First “Eichmann transport” to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps

1953: Dr. Jonas Salk announces that he has successfully tested a vaccine to prevent polio, clinical trials begin the following year

1966: Large-scale anti-Vietnam War protests take place in the United States, including in New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago

1971: Bangladesh (East Pakistan) under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declares independence from Pakistan

Source: Onthisday.com