1484: Witchcraft condemned by Pope Innocent VIII.
Innocent VIII condemned witchcraft this day in 1484 via papal bull, and subsequently he dispatched inquisitors to Germany to try witches and persecuted a chief exponent of Renaissance Platonism, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.
| 1955: | | The American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) became a united body of autonomous labour unions. |
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| 1947: | | | American boxer Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title against challenger Jersey Joe Walcott in New York City. |
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| 1933: | | Utah became the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment, repealing Prohibition. |
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| 1791: | | Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at age 35. |
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| 1784: | | | Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman poet of note in the United States, died in Boston. |
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| 1782: | | | Martin Van Buren, who served as the eighth president of the United States (1837–41) and was one of the founders of the Democratic Party, was born. |
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| 1757: | | | In his greatest victory, Prussian King Frederick II (the Great) defeated the Austrians at Leuthen during the Seven Years' War. |
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