The NASDAQ holds its first trading day. The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations was the world's first electronic stock exchange.

The first 8 stars are added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. More than 2400 five-pointed stars have since been embedded in the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street to honor stars of the entertainment industry.

The Stasi, East Germany's notorious secret police, is established. The “Staatssicherheit”, which was dissolved in 1990, is considered one of the most repressive intelligence agencies in the world.

The Boy Souts of America is founded. 3 years earlier, British General Robert Baden-Powell had founded the Scout movement in England.

Sandford Fleming proposes the use of time zones. The later introduction of Universal Standard Time, which is based on time zones, revolutionized time keeping.