Today in History

The I-35W bridge at Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.

In Asuncion, Paraguay, a fire in the Ycua Bolanos V supermarket complex kills nearly 400 people and injures 500.

Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh begins his national radio show.

Charles Whitman, shooting from the Texas Tower at the University of Texas, kills 16 people and wounds 31 before being killed himself.

Arthur Ashe becomes the first African-American to play on the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.

Singer Chubby Checker releases “The Twist,” creating a new dance craze. The song had been released by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters the previous year but got little attention.

US and Canada create North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam into two countries at the 17th parallel.

Nancy Lopez, professional golfer.

Jim Carroll, musician and writer of The Basketball Diaries.

Lead elements of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division arrive in Korea from the United States.

President Harry S Truman establishes the Atomic Energy Commission.

Yuri Romanenko, Soviet cosmonaut who set the record for the longest stay in space with 326 days aboard the Mir Space Station

Over 177 B-24 Liberator bombers attack the oil fields in Ploesti, Romania, for a second time.