In Hong Kong 1962: The original Blake Pier, a 62-year-old waterfront landmark, was demolished as the Central reclamation project continued. 1964: The Dateline Discotheque Restaurant in Wellington Street opened for business. The discotheque, a new concept in entertainment which had its origins in France, had no bands or floor show and was believed to be the first of its kind in Asia. 1965: Mandarin actress Lily Mok Chau, 26, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being in a coma for more than 30 hours. The former beauty queen had made 10 films. 1967: The Quests, a popular six-member singing group, arrived from Singapore for a three-month television and nightclub engagement at the Mocambo. Around the world 1822: Louis Pasteur, French chemist and bacteriologist, was born. He originated the heat process known as pasteurisation, used to destroy micro-organisms in certain foods and drinks. 1831: The British Admiralty survey ship HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, set out from Plymouth on its scientific voyage round the globe. 1879: Sydney Greenstreet, British actor who starred notably in The Maltese Falcon, was born. 1927: Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, marking a victory for Stalin in their power struggle. 1932: The Radio City Music Hall opened in New York. 1945: The International Monetary Fund was established in Washington. 1945: Britain, the US and the Soviet Union agreed on a plan to rule Korea for five years. 1956: After the Suez crisis between Egypt, Israel, Britain and France, a UN fleet began clearing the canal. 1965: British Petroleum's North Sea oil rig Sea Gem collapsed, killing 13. 1975: More than 400 Indian miners died after being trapped underground following an explosion and flooding in Chasnala Colliery, Bihar state. 1979: Afghan President Hafizullah Amin was executed following a coup backed by Soviet forces, who had begun their invasion two days earlier. 1985: Fifteen people were killed when four Palestinian terrorists attacked the El Al check-in counter at Rome's Fiumicino airport. A similar attack at Vienna's Schwechat airport left four dead, including one gunman. 1989: Egypt and Syria resumed full diplomatic relations after a 12-year break. 1995: France staged the fifth in a series of bitterly disputed nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific. 1995: Ukraine-born Shura Cherkassky, one of the world's last great romantic pianists, died. 1997: Billy Wright, one of the leading Protestant extremist guerillas in Northern Ireland, was killed inside the top-security Maze jail. 1998: Iraq said it did not recognise Western-imposed no-fly zones over its territory, beginning a series of clashes with US forces.
