1779 - Capt. John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard (formerly Duc de Duras), which was given to the United States by King Louis XVI of France. The name honors Benjamin Franklin, the American commissioner at Paris whose famous almanacs had been published in France under the title Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard.
1813 - During the War of 1812, the sloop ship Hornet, commanded by James Lawrence, captures and burns the British merchant ship Resolute off Pernambuco, Brazil.
1942 - While the battle for Bataan rages throughout the night, USS Trout (SS-202) loads 20 tons of gold bars and 18 tons of silver coins as ballast to replace the weight of ammunition they had just delivered to US and Philippine forces in Manila.
1944 - Destroyers Charrette (DD 581) and Fair (DE 35) sink Japanese submarine I 175, 100 miles north of Jaluit, Marshall Islands.
1944 - PV-1 Ventura aircraft sink Japanese water tanker Goryu Maru off Emidj Island, Jaluit.
