On This Day in History

King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and was succeeded by his eldest son Hussein.

At a party in New York City, Jamaican musician DJ Kool Herc (pictured) began rapping during an extended break, laying the foundation for hip hop music.

The Timorese Democratic Union launched a coup in Portuguese Timor, starting the East Timorese civil war.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the alleged vulnerability of the Ford Pinto (example pictured) to fuel leakage and fire in a rear-end collision.

Two Aeroflot passenger jets collided in mid-air near Dniprodzerzhynsk in the Ukrainian SSR, killing all 178 people on both aircraft.

Ken Levine's System Shock 2 was released to mediocre sales, but later received critical acclaim and influenced subsequent first-person shooter game design.

A tornado struck downtown Salt Lake City, damaging 120 homes and injuring over 100 people.

At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.