- 1944 – The heavy cruiser HMAS Australia is rammed by a Japanese aircraft while operating in the Philippines, in what is claimed to be the first kamikaze attack.
- 1952 – Trevor Chappell, the youngest of the Chappell cricketing brothers, is born in Glenelg, South Australia.
- 1962 – David Campese, former rugby union wing, is born in Queanbeyan.
- 1978 – Civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
- 1986 – Death of Lionel Murphy, Attorney-General in the Government of Gough Whitlam, and a Justice of the High Court of Australia, aged 64.
- 2002 – Two people die in the Monash University shooting.