James Earl Ray, the convicted killer of the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, died in prison.

Greek politician, Konstantine Karamanlis, died at the age of 91. He was one of the most prominent figures of Greek 20th century politics, having served twice as prime minister and twice as president of Greece.

During the bloody Algerian Civil War 42 people were massacred in the village of Omaria.

The first McDonald's restaurant opened in Beijing, China.

The Coca-Cola company announced it was planning to change the formula for its popular Coke soft drink. Negative reactions from the public forced the company to stick with the original formula.

Scientists identified the Aids virus for the first time.

Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York senator Robert F. Kennedy. His sentence was afterwards reduced to life in prison.

Britain produced its first decimal denomination coins, 5p and 10p coins.

American filmmaker, Michael Moore, was born in Flint, Michigan. He has been a controversial figure and critic of the Bush Administration. He became known worldwide with his 2002 film "Bowling for Columbine" which was intensely critical of the gun culture in America. Later on he released his "Fahrenheit 9/11" which examined Amrica in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

American musician, Roy Orbison, was born in Vernon, Texas. In 1964, his single "Oh, Pretty Woman" became the highest selling record of its time, an amazing feat considering that it was the time that the music scene was dominated by the Beatles phenomenon.

Greek revolution hero, George Karaiskakis, died after being wounded in a skirmish with Ottoman forces in the area of Faliron.