On This Day in History

In an informal article in a medical journal, Henry Heimlich introduced the concept of abdominal thrusts, commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver, to treat victims of choking.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was ratified, banning all American and Soviet land-based missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km (310 to 3,420 mi).

Group representation constituencies were introduced to the parliament of Singapore.

A Hamas-affiliated Islamist militant blew himself up outside a nightclub in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 people, most of whom were teenage girls.

Cyclone Gonu develops from an area of convection in the Arabian Sea, later becoming the worst recorded natural disaster in Oman.

A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed the King Kong Encounter and a large archive of music and film master recordings.

The river cruise ship Dongfang zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze, resulting in 442 deaths in China's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

For the first time since its transition to democracy, the Congress of Deputies in Spain passed a motion of no confidence against the government.