An American Airlines passenger jet crashed only minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 260 on board died in the crash.

The Daimler-Benz automobile corporation completed its merger with Chrysler to form the Daimler-Chrysler company.

Yuri Andropov was selected to succeed the Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee.

American actor, William Holden, died at the age of 63.

American figure skater, Tonya Harding, was born in Portland, Oregon. She gained worldwide notoriety when it was revealed that she was involved in the scheme to injure fellow skating athlete Nancy Kerrigan.

Journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the story about the My Lai Massacre committed by American troops in Vietnam. During the incident American troops massacred hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians. The story created widespread outrage around the world and significantly diminished support for the war in Vietnam.

Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, was born in Onesti, Romania. She is probably the most widely known name in the field of gymnastics and one that helped popularize the sport. She won 5 golden Olympic medals in her career and was the first to ever receive a perfect 10 score in an Olympic gymnastic event.

Uruguayan footballer, Enzo Francescoli, was born in Montevideo. He is widely considered as one of the great footballers of the century and the best player to emerge from Uruguay.

Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party after a power struggle between him and Joseph Stalin.