1937

A 6-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize and negotiate with the United Auto Workers union.

1945

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement, in which Stalin agreed to declare war against Imperial Japan following Nazi Germany’s capitulation.

1975

Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party.

1990

South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison. (Mandela would be elected president of South Africa four years later.)

2008

The Pentagon charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

2012

Singing superstar Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills on the eve of the Grammy Awards; she was 48.

Birthdays

Actor Tina Louise is 91. Musician Sheryl Crow is 63. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is 61. Actor Jennifer Aniston is 56. Actor Damian Lewis is 54. Surfer Kelly Slater is 53. Musician D’Angelo is 51.