1976: Concorde takes off
The first Concorde jets carrying commercial passengers simultaneously take off from London's Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris. The London flight was headed to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and the Paris flight was headed to Rio de Janeiro via Senegal.
At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew 1,350 miles an hour, well over the sound barrier, and cut air travel time by more than half. The flights were the successful culmination of a 12-year Anglo-French effort to build the world's first supersonic commercial airliner.
The Concorde was not a great commercial success, however, and air service was eventually limited to transatlantic flights from London and Paris to New York. In July 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed 60 seconds after taking off from Paris, killing 109 people aboard and four on the ground. The accident was caused by a burst tire that ruptured a fuel tank, creating a fire that led to engine failure.
The fatal accident - the first in Concorde's history - signaled the decline of the aircraft. On 24 October 2003, Concorde made its last regular commercial flight.
1992
The United Nations orders Libya to hand over the intelligence agents accused of the Lockerbie and French airliner bombings.
1977
On his second day in office American President, Jimmy Carter issues a pardon to all Americans who dogged the Vietnam draft.
1968
The Vietnam War: The battle for Khe Sanh begins.
1966
Beatle George Harrison marries model Patti Boyd.1966
Controversy hits the Monte Carlo rally as the British cars expected to fill the first four places are all disqualified due to technical breaches of the rules.
1954
The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in the USA.
1950
Former American State Department official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
1950
In Britain, the author, George Orwell, dies from tuberculosis.
1941
'The Daily Worker', a British Communist newspaper, is banned for being defeatist.
1925
Albania declares itself a republic.
1924
In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin dies from a cerebral haemorrhage.
1919
The first meeting of the Dail Eireann (the lower house of the Irish Parliament) takes place in the Mansion House, Dublin.
1643
Abel Tasman discovers Tonga.