On this day...

2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years..
1942 – Battle of Los Angeles: a UFO flying over wartime Los Angeles causes a blackout order at 2:25 a.m. and attracts a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, ultimately killing 3 civilians.
1711 – The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.