The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
World War II: Dutch East Indies, represented by KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and Japanese completed their Dutchmmjn East Indies campaign.