2015: A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China's Hubei province, killing 400 people.
2011: A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
2009: General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
2009: Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
1773: Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.