Russia officially signed the Kyoto Protocol.

American actor, James Coburn, died at the age of 74.

Nintendo released its GameCube gaming console. While not a failure the console did not achieve the market penetration that either the playstation or xbox consoles did.

A fire in London's Kings Cross station killed 31 people.

The Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was first published by Bill Watterson.

In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones led the followers of the Peoples Temple cult to commit mass suicide. 913 people, including Jones, died. 276 of them were children. It is the worst cult related mass suicide ever recorded.

The first ever comic sketch of 'The Blues Brothers' appeared on the Saturday Night Live show.

Danish footballer, Peter Schmeichel, was born in Gladsaxe, Denmark. He is widely considered as one of the best goalkeepers of all time. He played for Manchester United and won the UEFA Champions League with the team in 1999. He also was part of the Danish national football team which won the European Championship in 1992.

American actress, Linda Evans, was born in Connecticut. She is most known for her roles in the television series The Big Valley (as Audra Barkley) and Dynasty (as Krystle Carrington).

American actress, Jocelyn Brando, was born in Nebraska. While she was a mildly successful actress she is most remembered as being the sister of Marlon Brando.

Latvia declared its independence from Russia. It achieved independence in 1921 and was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944, an occupation which lasted until the complete withdrawal of Russian troops in 1994.