Turkmenistan declared independence from the Soviet Union.
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Inventor Fred Waller patented the aquaplane, which would become water skis.
NASA's Saturn I rocket was tested for the first time in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1.
Riots broke out in Paris, France, after two Muslim teenagers were electrocuted trying to evade police.
Gliese 229B became the first brown dwarf to be seen and identified by astronomers.
Roman Emperor Constantine had his Vision of the Cross.