Today in History

1846 - Dentist William Morton uses ether as an anaesthetic on a patient for the first time.

1947 - Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations.

1971 - US and Soviet Union sign pacts designed to avoid accidental nuclear war.

1984 - Test production commences on Dubai’s Margham onshore field.

1986 - US releases Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov after the Soviets release US journalist Nicholas Daniloff.

1991 - Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide is ousted by the army.

2011 - Anwar Al Awlaqi, a key Al Qaida leader, is killed in US airstrike in Al Jawf, Yemen.

2014 - Microsoft unveils new operating system called Windows 10.

2019 - American opera singer Jessye Norman dies at age 78.