On this day in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It intended to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet and prevent it from influencing the war that Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia.
On this day in 1988, a 6.9 Mw earthquake struck the Spitak region of Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people.
And on this day in 2005, Spanish authorities captured Croatian Army general Ante Gotovina, who was wanted for war crimes committed during the Croatian War of Independence; he was eventually cleared of all charges.