African-American teenager Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood-watch coordinator George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, prompting a nationwide controversy.
In the first significant cultural visit from the United States to North Korea since the Korean War, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed in Pyongyang.
Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, was declared insolvent after its head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million while making unauthorised trades on futures contracts.
Imperial Japanese Army troops attempted a coup d'etat, occupying parts of Tokyo, and killing several politicians, including finance minister Takahashi Korekiyo.
With the aid of a radio station in Daventry, England, and two receiving antennae, Scottish engineer and inventor Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated the use of radar.