The sixth book in the Harry Potter series was published. The book sold more than 250,000 books per hour during the first day of its release, making it the fastest selling book in history.

The people of Corsica voted down a referendum which called for increased autonomy from the rule of France. The referendum was rejected on a 50.98 percent against, and 49.02 percent for.

John F. Kennedy Jr. along with his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, were killed in a plane crash off the coast of Massachusetts. He was the son of assassinated US president He was the son of President John F. Kennedy.

The civil war in Rwanda ended. While it lasted slightly less than three months more than 500,000 people were massacred in one of the most violent ethnic related civil wars in recent history.

Austrian conductor, Herbert von Karajan, died at the age of 80. He was the most famous conductor of classical music in the 20th century, who was the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for 35 years.

Saddam Hussein assumed the office of the President of Iraq after the resignation of president Hasan al-Bakr.

The Apollo 11 space craft was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. It was the first manned space mission to land on the moon.

American comedian, Will Ferrell, was born in Irvine, California. He established himself as a member of the famous comedy show, Saturday Night Live.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel which links France and Italy officially opened to traffic. Construction of the tunnel began in 1957 and is managed by one Italian and one French company.

The United States detonated the first ever plutonium-based nuclear weapon at the Trinity test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The event marked the beginning of the Atomic Age.

The Bank of Stockholm issued the first bank notes in European history.