An Alaska Airlines passenger jet crashed in the Pacific ocean resulting in the death of all 88 people on board.

A truck filled with explosives rammed the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 86 people died in the explosion and more than 1000 were injured.

Greek singer, Elena Paparizou, was born in Boras, Sweden. She won the Eurovision song contest in 2005.

Polish-born filmmaker, Samuel Goldwyn, died at the age 92. He was one of the early pioneers of movie production in the Unites States and was one of the founders of the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, which eventually became the well known Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production company. However, by the time the original company was renamed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was no longer a shareholder.

British actress, Minnie Driver, was born in London. Her birth name is Amelia Driver and she became famous for her participation in the hit movies, Sleepers and Good Will Hunting.

Nauru declared independence from Australia. Nauru is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean.

A ferry boat sank off the coast of Ireland, resulting in the death of 130 people.

Scotch Tape was first sold by the 3M Company.

Leon Trotsky, one of the foremost Soviet revolutionaries, was exiled from the Soviet Union, following a power struggle within the communist party. He remained in exile for the rest of his life and was assassinated by the Soviet agent while living in Mexico.

American baseball player, Jackie Robinson, was born in Georgia, USA. In 1947 he became the first ever African American to play for a Major League team.

The United States government ordered all Native Americans to reside into reservations. Native American were not citizens of the United State until 1924.

Slavery was abolished in the United States.

Austrian composer, Franz Schubert, was born in Himmelpfortgrund. He was the last master of the Viennese Classical school who wrote more than 500 songs, 9 symphonies as well as a variety of other works, before dying at the age of 31. His work did not become popular until after his death.