On this day in 1961, Kuwait declared independence from the United Kingdom.
On this day in 1978, Garfield, holder of the Guinness World Record for the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, made its debut.
On this day in 1990, the current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, was ratified for the first time by Norway.
And on this day in 2012, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requested asylum in London's Ecuatorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army.