The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formally invited Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria to join the alliance.

The Unites Nations security council appointed Boutros Boutros-Ghali to the position of secretary-general.

A fire broke out at the famous MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas resulting in the death of 87 people.

The Irish Republican Army group (IRA) executed the bombing of two Birmingham pubs, killing 21 people. Six people were arrested and convicted for the crime (known as The Birmingham Six) they were acquitted of the crime after spending 15 years in prison.

British actor, Alexander Siddig, was born in Sudan. He is best-known for playing Dr Julian Bashir in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is the nephew of British actor Malcolm McDowell.

Icelandic singer, Bjork, was born in Reykjavik. Bjork is her actual name and not a stage name.

American actress, Goldie Hawn, was born in Washington, DC.

Soviet ballerina, Natalia Makarova, was born in Leningrad. She is considered as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.

Legendary singer, Ella Fitzgerald, made her singing debut at the age of 16.

Belgian painter, Rene Magritte, was born in Lessines. He was a famous painter of the surrealism movement.

North Carolina became the 12th state of the U.S.

English composer, Henry Purcell, died at the age of 36. He was a composer of Baroque music and is widely considered as one of the greatest British composers of all time.

French philosopher, Voltaire, was born in Paris. Voltaire was his pen name, his real name being Francois-Marie Arouet. He was considered as one of the greatest thinkers of his time, however he remains a historically controversial persona, especially in regards to whether or not he was a true contributor to the progress of humankind.