An Aeroflot passenger aircraft crashed after takeoff from Irkhutsk, Russia, resulting in the death of 126 people.

Aretha Franklin became the first woman to ever be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

German formula one driver, Michael Schumacher, was born in Hurth Hermulheim, Germany. He is the most successful Formula One driver ever, in terms of his race statistics.

American, Jack Ruby, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a Dallas nightclub owner, who murdered John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Alaska was admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

American actor, Mel Gibson, was born in Peekskill, New York. Between 1968 and 1985 he resided in Australia where he established himself as an actor after the Mad Max and later Lethal Weapon series of movies.

Italian director, Sergio Leone, was born in Rome. He is considered to have been one of the greatest Western directors of all time. His spaghetti western films are considered as true classics of the genre.

The Boston Red Sox baseball team sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a sum of $125,000. In urban myth this sale put a curse on the Boston team which prevented them from winning the championship for 86 years.

British writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is best remembered as the author of the immensely popular books, The Hobbit, and its sequel The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the rings is one of the most widely read books in human history.

The patent for the drinking straw was awarded to inventor Marvin Stone.

Britain seized control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.