French foreign intelligence agents blow up the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, New Zealand to prevent it interfering with French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira is killed.
New Zealand adopts new currency. The New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. The denominations of the new currency followed a decimal system.
Telstar, the world's first communication satellite is launched in space. The satellite, made by a collaboration between organizations in the U.S., the U.K., and France, transmitted the first live television images in the world.
Death Valley, U.S experiences the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth. Measurements showed that the temperature had reached a whopping 134°F or 56.7°C!