Pope John Paul II was sent to hospital for 55 days after contracting an infection.
The first cases of AIDS are reported.
Mount St. Helens erupts.
Smallpox eradication was certified.
The world's strongest storm ever was recorded.
Many volcanoes were discovered on one of planet Jupiter's moons called Io.
The Sahara Desert temperature dropped so low that some areas became covered in snow.
Janet Parker became the last person to die of smallpox in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The first baby was born after being conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF).
United States Naval Observatory astronomer James Christy discovered Pluto's largest moon.
Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope detected a deep-space radio signal.
The Space Shuttle takes off on its maiden flight.
A 44 lb lobster was captured off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The world's first solar power plant is opened.
Miami, Florida, received snow for the first and last time ever.
The Viking 2 became the second spacecraft to land on Mars.
The world's first McDonald's drive-through was opened in Arizona.
Mariner IX took two photos of Mars' north pole.
The US spacecraft Pioneer 10 launched.
A week-long blizzard struck Iran and killed 4,000 people, making it the deadliest in history.
The mapping of Mars' surface began.
Doctors Without Borders was founded in Paris by French doctors and journalists.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ITOS-B weather satellite launched atop a Delta rocket.
Astronauts on Apollo 15 discovered a rock that could date back to the birth of the moon.
The crew of Soviet spacecraft 'Soyuz 11' dies after the loss of air supply.
The US Mariner 9 was launched – it went on to become the first satellite to orbit Mars.
The Soviet Union launches the world's first manned space station.
A 100 feet (30 meter) high wave destroys a Peruvian mining camp and kills hundreds of people.
Astronaut Alan Shepard was the first to hit a golf ball on the Moon.
Prospect Creek Camp in Alaska recorded -80°F, making it the coldest temperature recorded in US history.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed in the US under Director William Ruckelshaus.
The Apollo 11 astronauts were released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the moon.
Apollo 11 landed on the Moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
Denton Cooley implants the first artificial heart.
Dr. Fritz Derom performed a successful single-lung transplantation on patient Aloïs Vereecken at the University Hospital in Ghent, Belgium.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono planted acorns for world peace after also mailing acorns to many world leaders to do the same.
Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. was selected as the first African-American astronaut.
The Outer Space Treaty was signed to prevent the use of nuclear weapons being utilized in space.
Astronomer Richard Walker discovered Saturn's moon, Epimetheus.
The Venera 3 space probe became the first human-made object to land on another planet.
Luna 9 touches down on the Moon.
The first weather satellite (ESSA-1) was launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Gemini V spacecraft returned to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sandwich restaurant Subway was founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut, US.
The idea of the Big Bang Theory being the creation of the universe was supported by scientists.
Millions watch NASA spacecraft Ranger 9 crash into the Moon.
Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov made the first spacewalk when he left his Voskhod 2 spacecraft.
A 9.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Alaska.
The world's largest cheese weighing 34,591 lbs (15,723 kg) was manufactured.
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.
