1988 - India rushed troops to the Maldives islands to save President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from mercenaries who seized the capital in a coup attempt that left at least 12 people dead and 100 injured. Indian paratroopers departed aboard military transport planes to Male. Sri Lankan sources said several ministers were captured by the raiders, but they failed to catch Gayoom, who was scheduled to be sworn in next week to a third term as president.
Other important events
1714 - Birth of William Shenstone, British poet and landscape gardener.
1868 - Ulysses S. Grant is elected the 18th President of the US.
1918 - Poland declares its independence from Russia.
1928 - Turkey switches from Arabic to Roman alphabet.
1968 - Storms, landslides and floods claim more than 100 lives in northern Italy.
1973 - Nasa launches the ‘Mariner 10’ space probe to Venus and Mercury.
2004 - Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is elected president of the UAE.
2010 - Former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin dies at the age of 72.
2016 - Sa’ad Hariri is named Lebanese Prime Minister.
