- 1991 – The Soviet republic of Azerbaijan declared its independence.
- 1993 – On CBS-TV “The Late Show with David Letterman” premiered.
- 1994 – Rosa Parks was robbed and beaten by Joseph Skipper. Parks was known for her refusal to give up her seat on a bus in 1955, which sparked the civil rights movement.
- 1994 – The largest U.S. defense contractor was created when the Lockheed and Martin Marietta corporations agreed to a merger.
- 1996 – An expedition to raise part of the Titanic failed when the nylon lines being used to raise part of the hull snapped.
- 1999 – The residents of East Timor overwhelmingly voted for independence from Indonesia. The U.N. announced the result on September 4.
- 2002 – Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum merged to create ConocoPhillips. The new company was the third largest integrated energy company and the second largest refining company in the U.S.
- 2008 – A Conviasa Boeing 737 crashes into Illiniza Volcano in Ecuador, killing all three people on board.
- 2014 – Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane flees to South Africa as the army allegedly stages a coup.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Germán Legarreta, Puerto Rican-American actor
- 1981 – Adam Wainwright, American baseball player
- 1982 – Will Davison, Australian race car driver
- 1982 – Andy Roddick, American tennis player
- 1983 – Emmanuel Culio, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Gustavo Eberto, Argentinian footballer (d. 2007)
- 1983 – Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer, dancer, and actor
- 1983 – Simone Pepe, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Tian Qin, Chinese canoe racer
- 1983 – Marco Vianello, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Anthony Ireland, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1985 – Richard Duffy, Welsh footballer
- 1985 – Joe Inoue, American singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Leisel Jones, Australian swimmer
- 1985 – Éva Risztov, Hungarian swimmer
- 1985 – Steven Smith, Scottish footballer
- 1985 – Eamon Sullivan, Australian swimmer
- 1985 – Anna Ushenina, Ukrainian chess player
- 1985 – Holly Weston, English actress
- 1986 – Theo Hutchcraft, English singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Lelia Masaga, New Zealand rugby player[
- 1986 – Ryan Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1986 – Zafer Yelen, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Tania Foster, English singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Ernests Gulbis, Latvian tennis player
- 1989 – Simone Guerra, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Ronald Huth, Paraguayan footballer
- 1989 – Bebe Rexha, American singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Seriki Audu, Nigerian footballer (d. 2014)
- 1991 – Jacqueline Cako, American tennis player
- 1991 – Liam Cooper, Scottish footballer
- 1992 – Jessica Henwick, British actress
- 1994 – Monika Povilaitytė, Lithuanian volleyball player
- 1994 – Kwon So-hyun, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress
- 1994 – Heo Young-ji, South Korean singer
- 1997 – Dana Gaier, American actress