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One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.
Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.
The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
World War II: The Japanese attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
Immigrant textile works in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post: General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first American life insurance company is incorporated.
Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes king of Bohemia.
Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin.
Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
English