On This Day in History

"Love Me Do", the first single by the Beatles, was released in the United Kingdom.

Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released.

The U.S. suspended the Commercial Import Program, its main economic support for South Vietnam, in response to the oppression of Buddhists by President Ngô Đình Diệm (pictured).

Eugene Hasenfus's plane was shot down by Nicaraguan forces while carrying weapons to the Contra rebels on behalf of the U.S. government; he was subsequently captured, leading to an international controversy.

During the United States vice-presidential debate, Democratic candidate Lloyd Bentsen told his opponent Dan Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Swiss police found the bodies of 48 members of the Order of the Solar Temple, who had died in a cult mass murder-suicide.

Two trains collided head-on in Ladbroke Grove, London, killing 31 people, injuring 417, and severely damaging public confidence in the management and regulation of safety of Britain's privatised railway system.

Colour revolutions: During protests over irregularities in the Yugoslavian general election, a wheel-loader was driven into the Radio Television of Serbia building, giving the protests the nickname "Bulldozer Revolution".

Two Chinese cargo ships were attacked and their crews murdered on a stretch of the Mekong River in far northern Thailand.

Formula One racing driver Jules Bianchi sustained fatal head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, dying the following year.