Space Shuttle Discovery completes its final mission. The shuttle touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

The deadliest cable car accident in history occurs in Italy. 43 people died when the cable car plunged 160 ft (50 meters) to the ground after the steel cable had snapped. 14-year-old Alessandra Piovesana was the only survivor.

Ivan Ivanovich, a human dummy, travels into space. On its test flight on board the Soviet spacecraft Korabl-Sputnik 4 (also known as Sputnik 9), the mannequin was accompanied by a dog, reptiles, mice, and guinea pigs.

The Barbie doll goes on sale. The American toy company Mattel claims that more than one billion Barbie dolls have been sold so far, with about 3 dolls being sold every second.

The electron microscope is invented. German physicist Ernst Ruska is credited with the invention of the microscope. His first instrument allowed a resolution of 50 nanometers (billionths of a meter).