On this day in 1954, the convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) was signed.
On this day in 1972, Japan established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China after breaking official ties with the Republic of China.
On this day in 2008, following the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history.