On This Day in History

The Belgian Congo gained independence from colonial rule, beginning a period of instability that would lead to the dictatorship of Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.

The coronation of Pope Paul VI took place, the last such ceremony before its abandonment by later popes.

The National Organization for Women, a leading United States feminist organization, was founded in Washington, D.C.

Municipal workers in Baltimore, Maryland, went on strike seeking higher wages and better conditions.

Ryan White, an HIV/AIDS patient in the U.S., was denied re-admission to his school after he had contracted the disease from hemophilia treatments.

A building fire in Atlanta killed five people.

Yemenia Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Comoros, killing 152 people, with French schoolgirl Bahia Bakari the sole survivor.

An Indonesian Air Force military transport aircraft (pictured) crashed near a residential neighborhood in Medan, killing 139 people.