1940: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini confer at Brenner Pass in the Alps, where the Nazi leader seeks Italy's help in fighting the British.
1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit.
1970: Rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, is found dead in her Hollywood hotel room, precisely one year after a concert appearance at the San Diego Sports Arena.
2003: Richard Reid, a British national nicknamed the “Shoe Bomber,” pleads guilty to all charges against him relating to an attempt to ignite explosives concealed in his sneakers aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight in Dec. 2001.
SOURCES: Chase's Calendar of Events; Union-Tribune archives; World Almanac
