A China Airlines aircraft broke apart in mid-air and crashed into the Straight of Taiwan. 225 people died in the crash.

A train crash in Tenga, Mozambique resulted in the death of approximately 200 people.

During the course of the Falklands war between Argentina and the United Kingdom, Argentinean aircraft struck and sunk the British destroyer class ship 'HMS Coventry'. 19 of its 287 crew died as a result.

An American Airlines flight crashed during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago killing all 271people on board as well as 2 people on the ground.

The classic sci-fi movie, Star Wars, was released.

Canadian comedian, Mike Myers, was born in Scarborough, Ontario. He first became a celebrity after the hit 'Saturday Night Live' clips of 'Wayne's World', which subsequently turned to 2 box office movie hits. He is most known today for his creation and performance of the comic super spy, Austin Powers.

US president John F. Kennedy announced his intention to support a project that would put a 'man on the moon' before the end of that decade, this was the birth of the Apollo Program.

American author, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the founder of the Transcendentalism movement in literature.