A 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia, killed 25,000-50,000 people and left up to 500,000 homeless.
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Apollo 17 launched the final manned lunar landing mission, during which the crew took the famous 'blue marble' photo of the entire Earth.
A ban on diesel cars was called for in France.
The southern parts of Great Britain were struck by The Great Storm of 1703, which took the lives of 9,000 people.
Pearl Harbor was attacked.
One of America's oldest documented highways was completed on this day in Connecticut, USA.
