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• In 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.
• In 1963, Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis was attacked by right-wingers after delivering a speech in Thessaloniki; he died five days later. (The assassination inspired a book as well as the 1969 Costa-Gavras film "Z.")
• In 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)
• In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
• In 1972, President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.
• In 1981 "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in London of murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life in prison.
• In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time.
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• Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council gave the U.S. and Britain a mandate to rule Iraq, ending 13 years of economic sanctions. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to tee off against the men on the pro tour, playing in the first round of the Colonial golf tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. (Sorenstam missed the cut the next day by four shots.)
• Five years ago: A Texas appeals court said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist group's ranch the previous month. (The children were returned to their parents.) Britain's Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a rebuke to Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown. Indiana Jones returned to the big screen in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
• One year ago: The Falcon 9, built by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies, (Continued on page 35)
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