On this day in 1945, Italian fascist Benito Mussolini was summarily executed, likely by communist partisan Walter Audisio, and then his corpse was hung upside down in the Piazzale Loreto, where it was beaten and shot by angry crowds.

Etta Federn-Kohlhaas, born on this day in 1883, was an anarchist writer, translator, educator, and member of the Mujeres Libres. Kohlhaas, a Jewish woman, survived participating in the anti-fascist resistance in both Spain and France.

On this day in 1965, the U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic with more than 22,000 troops in order to prevent a "communist dictatorship" from forming there. The military action was supported by the Organization of American States (OAS).