On this day in 1970, "Yu Chao," the first 100,000-ton oil tanker built in Taiwan, was launched. "Yu Chao" is the name of a legendary Chinese ruler who taught the people to build tree houses for protection against wild beasts.
On this day in 1990, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist and its territory became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union.
On this day in 1997, Japan's magnetically levitated train broke the world speed record for a manned train when it was clocked at 451 kilometers per hour on an experimental track west of Tokyo.
On this day in 1995, O. J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.