The closing ceremony if the 19th Winter Olympic Games took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

A China Southern Airlines passenger aircraft crashed in eastern China, resulting in the death of 61 people.

The hull of a United Airlines passenger flight, travelling to New Zealand, ripped open while in flight. 9 passengers were sucked out when the plane depressurized.

The legendary music album, Physical Graffiti, was released by the Led Zeppelin rock band.

American computer engineer, Steve Jobs, was born in San Francisco. He is most known as the co-founder of Apple Computer and the CEO of the Pixar animation company. When Pixar was acquired by Disney in 2006, Jobs became the largest single shareholder of Disney.

French race car driver, Alain Prost, was born in Saint-Chamond. He won the formula one championship four times and is considered as one of the greatest race car drivers of all time.

Juan Peron was elected to the position of president in Argentina. Overall he was elected three times as president of Argentina and along with his wife Eva (Known also as Evita) was one of the most beloved figures of Argentinean political life throughout the 20th century.

The radio program, Voice of America, began broadcasting. It is the official international radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government.

Prime Minister of Italy, Bettino Craxi, was born in Milan. He was prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987 and head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993.

The Hudson Motor Car Company was founded. In its peak it was the third largest car manufacturer in the United States. In 1954, after a merger, it was renamed to American Motors and continued to produce cars under the new brand name until 1987 when it was purchased by the Chrysler Corporation and was discontinued.