Today in History

Trans World Airlines’ final flight following the carrier’s purchase by American Airlines; TWA began operating 76 years earlier. The final flight, 220, piloted by Capt. Bill Compton, landed at St. Louis International Airport.

Ukraine’s voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the USSR.

Channel Tunnel sections from France and the UK meet beneath the English Channel.

East Germany’s parliament changes its constitution, abolishing a section that gave the Communist Party the leading role in the state.

Benazir Bhutto, politician, becomes the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Pakistan and the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North pleads the 5th Amendment before a Senate panel investigating the Iran-Contra arms sale.

AIDS virus officially recognized.

Indian Army recaptures part of Kashmir, which had been occupied by Pakistan.

America’s first draft lottery since 1942 is held.

Andrew Adamson, New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter (Shrek; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe); he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006.

Candace Bushnell, author (Sex and the City, The Carrie Diaries).

Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, defying the South’s segregationist laws.

Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord whose Medellin Cartel killed thousands.

Bette Midler, singer, songwriter, actress, producer; her awards include 3 Grammys, 4 Golden Globes, 3 Emmys and a special Tony for her contribution to Broadway (1974).

National gasoline rationing goes into effect in the United States.