Panathinaikos won the European champions basketball cup for the second time in the team's history.

Teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the Columbine High school armed with machine guns and pipe bombs killing 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide.

An Air France passenger jet crashed into a mountain after taking off from Bogota, Colombia. 53 people died in the crash.

The German terrorist group calling themselves the "Red Army Faction" (Baader-Meinhof) announced its dissolution. The group was Germany's most active terrorist organization and it operated from 1970 to 1998.

Mexican comedian and actor, Mario Moreno Reyes, known as Cantinflas died at the age of 82 in Mexico City. He is considered as one of the greatest comedians to have ever graced the silver screen. Charlie Chaplin was said to have referred to him as the greatest comedy actor of his time. He was made famous worldwide after his participation in the hit movie "Around the world in 80 days". The film rights for his numerous movies are owned by Columbia Pictures, which still reports sizable profits from their distribution.

British comedian, Benny Hill, died at the age of 68. He was best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show, which has enjoyed view ship that reaches into the billions.

A Korean Air passenger airplane veered off course and entered Soviet airspace. Two soviet fighter jets were scrabbled with orders to shoot down the plane. Air to air missiles were fired on the aircraft which managed to make an emergency landing on a frozen lake, after being hit by one of the rockets.

The Apollo 16 landed on the Moon. It was the fifth mission to land on the moon.

American actress, Jessica Lange, was born in Cloquet, Minnesota, USA. She stared in the 1976 remake of King Kong by director Dino De Laurentiis. The film was a financial and critical disaster, but she managed to bounce back after co-staring in the critically acclaimed movie "The postman always rings twice".

American actor, Ryan O'Neal, was born in Los Angeles, California.

In Ludlow, Colorado, (USA) during the course of a long standing strike by coal mine workers the Colorado national guard attacked one of the strikers camps, the result was that 17 people died. This event sparked what has been known as the Colorado Coalfield War which spread to many towns and mining communities with an eventual death toll of over 70 people.

Irish author, Bram Stoker, died at the age of 65 in London England. He wrote several popular novels in his lifetime, the most famous of which is Dracula.

Austrian born politician and dictator, Adolf Hitler, was born at Braunau am Inn, Austria.

French scientist Louis Pasteur, completed the first pasteurization test ever. Pasteurization is the process of heating food in order to kill harmful organisms.

Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris, France. He was the son of Louis Bonaparte, a younger brother of Napoleon I and served as president of the French Republic between 1849 and 1852. In 1852 he staged a coup and proclaimed himself emperor under the name Napoleon III. His reign lasted until 1870, when he was captured after a defeat in battle against the armies of Prussia. He was subsequently deposed and exiled in England, where he died 3 years later.

British troops began the siege of Boston, Massachusetts, during the American war of independence.

The Jewish population of New York (then called New Amsterdam) was granted freedom of religion.

Believed to be the birth date of the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam.