President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, died at the age of 69. He was the leader of Syria from 1971 till his death in 2000. He was succeeded by his son, and Syria's current president, Bashar al-Assad.

NATO forces ended their aerial bombing campaign of Serbia after Serb troops begin to withdraw from Kosovo. The campaign lasted eleven weeks.

American author, Louis L'Amour, died at the age of 79. He was one of the best selling novelists of the 20th century, he wrote over 100 books.

James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain state prison in Petros, Tennessee. He was recaptured 3 days later.

John Paul Getty III, the grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty, was kidnapped in Rome, Italy.

American actor, Spencer Tracy, died at the age of 66. He is widely considered as one of the greatest male stars in the history of cinema and along with fellow actor Laurence Olivier had the most "best actor" Oscar nominations in history.

British actress, Elizabeth Hurley, was born in Basingstoke.

Automotive manufacturing company, Saab, produced its first car.

German actor, Jurgen Prochnow, was born in Berlin. He became internationally known after his roles as submarine Captain Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in Das Boot and Duke Leto Atreides in Dune.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, USA.

Italian socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti, was kidnapped and killed by fascists in Rome.

American actress, Judy Garland, was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was one of the greatest female stars of the golden age of of musical films.

The first boat race between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge universities took place.

The King of Germany, Frederick I Barbarossa drowned in the Saleph River while he was leading the army of the Third Crusade to Jerusalem.