1906 – In presence of the King of Spain and a big crowd, Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the invention of 'Telekino' in the Basque port city of Bilbao, guiding a boat from shore, in what is now considered the birth of the remote control.
1983 – The UK's biggest prison break-out since World War II occurs when 38 Republicanprisoners at Maze Prison, armed with 6 handguns, hijack a prison meals lorry and smash their way out.
1983 – The TGV high-speed train track, from Paris to Lyon, is opened along its entire length.
1992 – NASA launches the Mars Observer to the planet Mars. It would fail 11 months later.
1996 – The last of the Magdalene Asylums closes in Ireland.