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Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II of England. This event shocked Christendom and led to Becket's rapid canonization as a martyr and saint.
The Republic of Texas was admitted as the 28th state of the United States. This annexation escalated tensions with Mexico, which still claimed the territory, and was a direct cause of the Mexican-American War the following year.
The U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment killed an estimated 300 Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. This event is considered the last major armed conflict between the U.S. Army and Native Americans.
Sun Yat-sen was elected as the first provisional president of the Republic of China following the Xinhai Revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty. This marked the end of over two millennia of imperial rule in China.
Japan formally gave notice that it would withdraw from the Washington Naval Treaty, which had limited naval armaments among major powers. This act signaled Japan's aggressive military expansion in the Pacific leading up to World War II.