Today in History

Suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills 25 people, including three ministries of the Transitional Federal Government.

Prince Sverre Magnus, third in line of succession to the Norwegian throne.

Representatives of 121 nations sign the Ottawa Treaty prohibiting the manufacture or deployment of antipersonnel landmines; the People’s Republic of China, the US and the USSR do not sign.

A test engineer for Sema Group sends the world’s first text message, using a personal computer and the Vodafone network.

Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev announce the official end to the Cold War at a meeting in Malta.

Toxic gas leaks from a Union Carbide plant and results in the deaths of thousands in Bhopal, India.

Eleven are dead and eight injured in a mad rush to see a rock band (The Who) at a concert in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The State Department proposes the admission of 10,000 more Vietnamese refugees to the United States.

Holly Marie Combs, actress, TV producer (Charmed; Pretty Little Liars TV series).

The National Council of Churches asks the United States to halt the massive bombings in North Vietnam.

Terri Schiavo, who became the focus of a 15-year legal struggle over the question of artificially prolonging the life of a patient, Schiavo, whom doctors had diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state.

Daryl Hannah, actress (Blade Runner, Steel Magnolias).

Rick Mears, race car driver; three-time Indycar national champion (1979, 1981, 1982).

The Chinese close in on Pyongyang, Korea, and UN forces withdraw southward.