1994 The World Trade Organization is founded

The WTO coordinates and strives to liberalize international trade. It has been criticized for ignoring and escalating the negative social and environmental side-effects of globalization.





1989 A small group of students initiates pro-democracy protest on Tiananmen Square in Beijing

The death of reformer Hu Yaobang triggered the demonstrations, which grew in size and were brutally dispersed in the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4.





1986 The United States launches retaliatory air strikes against Libya

Around 40 Libyans died in Operation El Dorado Canyon, including an infant girl. The attack was the United States' response to the bombing of a Berlin discotheque on April 5, in which 3 people had died.





1945 The German concentration camp Bergen-Belsen is liberated

British and Canadian troops found about 53,000 prisoners inside the camp. Tens of thousands died before and after the liberation.





1935 The Eastman Kodak Company launches Kodachrome

The photographic film was one of the most popular media used by professional and hobby photographers around the world. The product was discontinued in 2009 because of the advent of digital photography.

TODAY IN HISTORY


2012 The trial of Anders Behring Breivik begins in Oslo

The right-wing extremist had killed 77 people, mostly teenagers, in Oslo with a car bomb and at a youth camp on Utøya island. After doubts about his mental health emerged before the trial, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison.





2003 Ten new member states are admitted to the European Union

The Treaty of Accession admitted countries including Poland, Cyprus, and the Czech Republic to the EU. Its original title contains 99 words.





1964 The Rolling Stones release their debut album

The album The Rolling Stones, released in the United States with the added title “England's Newest Hit Makers”, topped the UK charts for twelve weeks.





1917 Vladimir Lenin returns to Russia from exile

The communist revolutionary became leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR) later that year. From 1922, he was the first Premier of the Soviet Union.





1912 Harriet Quimby flies across the English Channel

The U.S. aviator was the first woman who achieved this feat. She died at the age of 37 when her plane crashed in Massachusetts.