HISTORY TODAY

 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surren- der.

 1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

 1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.

 1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smok- ing efforts.

 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.

 1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.

 1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.

 1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria