On This Day in History

Ruby Bridges and the McDonogh Three became the first black children to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana as part of the New Orleans school desegregation crisis.

American physicist Theodore Maiman was given a patent for his ruby laser systems, the world's first laser.

Apollo 12 (pictured) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, later becoming the second crewed flight to land on the Moon.

Southern Airways Flight 932, chartered by the Marshall University football team, crashed into a hill near Ceredo, West Virginia, killing all 75 people on board.

Music producer Frank Farian admitted that the German R&B duo Milli Vanilli did not sing the vocals on their album Girl You Know It's True.

Croatian War of Independence: Croatian naval commandos attacked the Yugoslav patrol boat Mukos, starting the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels.

In poor conditions caused by Cyclone Forrest, Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 crashed near Nha Trang, killing 30 people.

As a result of budget conflicts between President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress led by Newt Gingrich, the federal government was forced to shut down non-essential services.

Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object Sedna.

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race of the season, becoming the youngest Formula One champion.