- The Republican Party convenes in Chicago where President Theodore Roosevelt picks William Howard Taft as his successor
- Irish republicans are beaten in a national election; the vote is in favor of the Treaty of London, which leaves the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Commonwealth
- "Ghostbusters II", American supernatural comedy film sequel, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd premieres
- The Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; 50 people are killed
- 20 people are killed by a series of car bombings across Iraq
- Salawat Yulayev, Bashkir poet and national hero who led the Pugachev's Rebellion, born in Tekeyevo, Russian Empire (d. 1800)
- Valerie Mahaffey, American Emmy Award-winning character actress (Eve on "Northern Exposure"; The Doctors; Desperate Housewives), born in Sumatra, Indonesia (d. 2025)
- Mike Lynch, English tech entrepreneur (Autonomy Corporation), Director of the BBC, born in London (d. 2024)
- Jan Železný, Czech athlete (Olympic gold men's javelin 1992, 96, 2000; World C'ship gold 1993, 95, 2001), born in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
- May Andersen, Danish model (Victoria's Secret), born in Copenhagen, Denmark