1975: The Jackal attacks OPEC headquarters
In Vienna,
Austria, Carlos the Jackal leads a raid on a meeting of oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people, and took 63 people hostage, including 11
OPEC ministers. Calling his group the Arm of the Arab Revolution, Carlos demanded that an anti-Israeli political statement be broadcast over radio, and that a bus and jet be provided for the terrorists and their hostages. Austrian authorities complied, and all the hostages were released in
Algeria unharmed. OPEC did not hold another
summit for 25 years. Carlos, born in
Venezuela as Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, was sentenced to life imprisonment in
France in 1997 for his terrorist activities.
2005
Pop star Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish become one of the first couples to have a same-sex civil
partnership ceremony following a change in the law in England and Wales.
2001
British police storm the cargo ship MV Nisha in the English Channel after intelligence suggested that it may contain terrorist materials. They subsequently find nothing illegal onboard.
1988
Terrorists blow up a Pan-Am jumbo jet carrying more than 270 passengers and crew as it flies over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. All on board are killed as well as 11 people in the town when the plane crashes.
1979
The U.S. Congress approves $1.5 billion in loans to the Chrysler Corporation in an attempt to save the financially threatened car maker.
1977
In
Britain, The
Trades Union Congress General Council rejects calls by fireman to launch a public campaign against the imposition of a 10% limit on wage increases.
1968
NASA’s
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1962
America agrees to sell the Polaris nuclear missiles to Britain.
1958
Charles de Gaulle elected first president of French Fifth Republic.
1946
An undersea earthquake sets off a powerful tsunami that devastates Honshu,
Japan. About 2,000 people are killed and half a million are left homeless.
1945
General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. 3rd Army, dies from injuries suffered during a car accident.
1937
Walt Disney’s first full-length colour animated
cartoon Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres in Los Angeles, U.S.A.
1913
The first crossword puzzle is published in the New York World in America. The puzzle was compiled by Liverpool-born Arthur Wynne.
1883
The first Canadian armoured regiment, The Royal Canadian Dragoons, is established.
