Dili massacre. Several pro-independence protesters were shot at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, East Timor by Indonesian soldiers. about 250 people were killed in this event, which is also known as the Dili massacre or the Santa Cruz massacare

Coup in Lesotho. Justin Metsing Lekhanya staged a coup against King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho and took over the government of Lesotho. Lekhanya was deposed a few months later in another military coup.

First salvage operation in space. Astronauts Dale A. Gardner and Joseph P. Allen aboard space shuttle Discovery performed a series of space walks to salvage parts from two satellites, the Palapa B-2 and the Westar 6 which had steered away from their orbits.

STS-2 launched. The second space shuttle mission by NASA, space shuttle Columbia was launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the first time a manned space shuttle had been launched twice.

First images of a Solar Eclipse taken from space. The crew of Gemini 12 which included Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin were able to view and take pictures of the total solar eclipse over South America.