On This Day in History

Yasser Arafat (pictured) was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined.

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a motor coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members, killing twelve people.

An earthquake registering 5.9 MW struck northern Afghanistan, triggering landslides that killed over 2,300 people and destroyed around 15,000 homes.

Four plain-clothes New York City police officers shot and killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, prompting outrage both in and outside the city.

The Philippine-flagged freighter New Carissa ran aground near Coos Bay, Oregon, causing one of the worst oil spills in the state's history.

The London low emission zone (sign pictured), charging certain diesel-powered commercial vehicles to enter Greater London, came into operation.

Shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, the crew of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 shut down the wrong engine in response to a flameout, leading to a crash that resulted in 43 deaths.