American actor, Andreas Katsulas, died at the age of 51. He was best known for his role as Ambassador G'Kar in the science fiction television series Babylon 5 and his role in the hit movie, Fugitive. He died of lung cancer, brought about by his life-long habit of smoking.

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale struck in El Salvador, resulting in the death of 400 people.

The 15th Winter Olympic Games opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Konstantin Chernenko succeeded, Yuri Andropov, as the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He died 13 months later.

Italian football referee, Pierluigi Collina, was born in Bologna. Though his occupation was that of a financial advisor, he is known as having been one of the best and most recognizable football coaches in Europe.

France conducted its first atomic bomb test.

Soviet Union forces captured Budapest, Hungary from the Germans.

British actor, Oliver Reed, was born in London. He had no formal education in acting and had started his career as an extra in various films during the 1950's. By the 1990's he was a prominent figure in Hollywood who took part in several major blockbuster movies, the last of which was, Gladiator. He died before the film was finished and was recreated as a computer generated image to fill some missing scenes.

American actor, George Segal, was born in New York. He is most known for staring in the hit television series, Just Shoot Me.

American physicist, William Shockley, was born in London, England. Along with fellow scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, he co-invented the transistor and in 1956 was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for it.

English, Catherine Howard, was executed for adultery. She was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England.