American dancer and actor Patrick Swayze, who was best known for his performances in the box-office hits Dirty Dancing (1987) and Ghost (1990), died at age 57 after battling pancreatic cancer. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about A-list actors.]

South Africa’s apartheid government, the African National Congress, and other political groups signed the National Peace Accord to curb violence as negotiations to end apartheid continued.

The American sitcom The Golden Girls debuted on American television; known for its focus on older women—played by Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Beatrice Arthur, and Estelle Getty—and for tackling timely topics, the series became hugely popular. [Sort fact from fiction in our pop culture quiz.]

Grace Kelly—an American actress who abandoned her Hollywood career to marry Rainier III, prince de Monaco—died after suffering a stroke and losing control of the car she was driving. [Take our quiz about women in classic cinema.]

Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. [How much do you know about Christian saints?]

Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela established the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after a four day conference in Baghdad, giving oil-producing countries greater influence over the global petroleum market.

Isadora Duncan, a pioneer of modern expressive dance, died in France when her long scarf became entangled in the rear wheel of the car in which she was riding. [Take our dance quiz.]

U.S. President William McKinley died eight days after being shot in Buffalo, New York. [Read our list of nine infamous assassins and the world leaders they killed, including William McKinley.]

American social reformer Margaret Sanger, who was a founder of the birth-control movement in the United States and an international leader in the field, was born.

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, known chiefly for his development of the concept of the conditioned reflex, was born. [Test your knowledge of the human body.]

Jung Bahadur killed usurper Gagan Singh, establishing himself as Nepal’s prime minister for life and setting the stage for the Rana era, which lasted until 1951.

Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Edirne, concluding the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29. [How much do you know about Turkish and Ottoman history?]

Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar; the date was moved ahead 11 days (the day after September 2 became September 14). [Read about the days that vanished with the switch to the Gregorian calendar.]

German-born English composer George Frideric Handel completed Messiah, considered the most famous of all oratorios. [Listen to the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.]