- 1739: Dick Turpin, probably the famous most English highwayman, is hanged for horse theft at York Knavesmire.
- 1944: Two inmates of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz escape, to later reveal details of the genocide there.
- 1945: Japan's 'Yamato', the largest battleship ever built, is sunk by US warplanes in the battle for Okinawa.