Two Australian warships, the HMAS Melbourne and the HMAS Voyager, collided off the New South Wales coast.
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Edmond Halley was given the senior post as the second Astronomer Royal at Greenwich Observatory.
Oil well gusher fired 1,000 feet into the air near Tampico, Mexico making it the largest in history.
Tom and Jerry made their debut appearance.
A computer defeated world champion chess player Gary Kasparov for the first time.
Amy Winehouse scored five awards at the 50th Grammy Awards.