Greek politician, George Rallis, died at the age of 87. He was the descendant of a long line of Greek politicians, having been a third generation prime minister of Greece, although his tenure as prime minister was short lived as he only served for a year after the retirement of Constantine Karamanlis. He was defeated in the next year's election by Andreas Panadreou's PASOK political party.

The blockbuster film, Titanic, was declared the highest money making movie of all time, ascending to the top position that had been previously held by the film Star Wars.

American paediatrician and writer, Benjamin Spock, died at the age of 94. He was a very influential person in America, who helped shape the parenting philosophies of the 50's and 60's. His ideas created a lot of controversy and a lot of people became enemies of his ideas of permissiveness.

Mikhail Gorbachev was elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.

Iraqi military forces launched a chemical attack on the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja killing several thousands of people.

Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis, died at the age of 74. Born to a middle-class Greek family he was to become one of the most famous shipping magnates of all time and a name that is still synonymous to wealth and glamour.

The Broadway musical My Fair Lady premiered in New York City.

Canadian film director, David Cronenberg, was born in Toronto, Ontario. He is a highly acclaimed director, whose films borderline on the psychological horror-science fiction genre.

American writer, H. P. Lovecraft, died at the age of 46. He was the author of fantasy, horror and science fiction novels and the creator of the Cthulhu Mythos (although the term was not coined by him). Although his novels did not receive a wide audience during his lifetime, they have persisted throughout the 21st century as lasting bestsellers and have attained the status of classics in the genre.

The Selfridges department store opened in London. It was founded by American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge and is one of the largest chain of department stores in Britain.

The Rolls-Royce company was founded.

The Liverpool football club was founded.

The University of Toronto was founded.

Maine became the 23rd US state.

Italian painter, Salvator Rosa, died at the age of 57. He was one of the most famous Italian Baroque painters of the 17th century.

Italian composer, Annibale Padovano, died at the age of 47. He was one of the first and most famous organists of the Renaissance period.