On this date in history:

In 1844, the Dominican Republic was granted independence from Haiti.

In 1942, opening salvos were fired in the Battle of the Java Sea, during which 13 U.S. warships were sunk by the Japanese, who lost two.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting presidents to two terms, was ratified.

In 1974, the first issue of People magazine was published.

In 1982, an Atlanta jury convicted Wayne Williams of killing two of 28 young blacks whose deaths over a two-year period had shaken the city. (Williams was sentenced to life in prison.)

In 1990, the Soviet Parliament approved creation of a U.S.-style presidential system that gave Mikhail Gorbachev broad powers and established direct popular elections for the office.

In 1992, Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 60th birthday by closing Disneyland for an elaborate private party with her celebrity friends.

In 1994, the 17th Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway. The host country had the most medals (26) and Russia the most gold medals (11).

In 1999, Nigeria's transition to civilian rule was nearly completed with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader, as president.

In 2004, two studies commissioned by the U.S. Roman Catholic church showed at least 4 percent of priests were involved in child sexual abuse from 1950 to 2002.

In 2007, a suicide bomber set off a device outside Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan that killed 23 people. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was visiting the American military base and identified by the Taliban as the target of the attack, escaped injury. .

In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, killing close to 600 people. The quake generated a tsunami, destroyed or heavily damaged nearly 500,000 homes and caused a massive electrical blackout. Chile's president declared a state of catastrophe.

In 2013, about 150,000 people gathered at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City for Pope Benedict XVI's final general audience.

In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans for a major revamp of the nutrition labels on 700,000 food products, changing out-of-date serving sizes, highlighting calories and providing more information on added sugars. Officials said the information on the new labels would make healthy eating easier.

Copyright 2015 by United Press International