Sweden voted to join the European Union in a referendum.

In Colombia, the volcano Nevado del Ruiz's eruption melted a glacier which caused volcanic mudslide that buried the town of Armero, killing an estimated 23,000 people.

Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered his family in Amityville, New York. The event sparked the events which led to the Amityville Horror, book and movies.

A severe tropical cyclone with winds that approached the velocity of 250 kilometers per hour hit Ganges river Delta region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Approximately half a million people died in one of the worst natural disasters in the history of mankind.

American businessman, Scott McNealy, was born in Indiana. He is the CEO as well as one of the founders of Sun Microsystems.

American actor, Joe Mantegna, was born in Chicago, Illinois. His most famous role was that of Joey Zasa, a mobster in the third Godfather movie.

American and Japanese ships engaged in a fierce naval engagement during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

French painter, Camille Pissarro, died at the age of 73. He is considered as the Father of Impressionism.

Fierce demonstrations took place in London in protest of British coercion in Ireland. The British police break up the riots by using extreme force in what has been known as Bloody Monday.