Sinking of MS Estonia:
MS Estonia, a passenger and car ferry, sank in the Baltic Sea killing more than 800 passengers. It is considered to be the worst maritime peace-time disaster of the 20th century.

Coup in Haiti:
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed in a military coup. Aristide had been elected in a national election held 8 months before the coup.

First Canadian Satellite:
Canada launched its first ever satellite, Alouette 1, on this day from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States.

Babi Yar massacre:
About 33,000 Soviet Jews were killed at the Babi Yar ravine in Kiev by the Nazis in a two-day massacre that started on this day.