1260: Qutuz, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (1259-60), is assassinated by Baibars, a fellow Mamluk leader who seizes power for himself

1648: Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War in the Holy Roman Empire; Switzerland’s independence is recognized

1929: “Black Thursday”, start of stock market crash of 1929, Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 12.8%

1962: Soviet ships approach but stop short of the US blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis

2008: In a “Bloody Friday” many of the world’s stock exchanges experience the worst decline in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices

Source: Onthisday.com