1993 Baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan announces that he will be retiring after the 1993 season. 1993 Janet Reno is named by president Bill Clinton as the first woman to hold the position of US attorney general. 1990 South African activist Nelson Mandela is freed after 27 years in prison. 1990 Heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson loses the title when he is knocked out in the tenth round in a fight with Buster Douglas in Tokyo. 1979 Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seize power in Iran.
Japan joins the space race, by launching a satellite into earth orbit.
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr marries Maureen Cox in London. 1937 General Motors formally recognizes the United Automobile Workers Union, ending a sit-down strike against the auto maker. The independence and sovereignty of Vatican City is recognized by Italy, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty. 1812 Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a law that redistricts the state to the advantage of his party, causing opponents to coin the term gerrymandering .