Wednesday, August 11, 1688

At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.

A tornado struck downtown Salt Lake City, damaging 120 homes and injuring over 100 people.

Ken Levine's System Shock 2 was released to mediocre sales, but later received critical acclaim and influenced subsequent first-person shooter game design.

The Mall of America (pictured) in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened as the largest shopping mall in the United States.

Two Aeroflot passenger jets collided in mid-air near Dniprodzerzhynsk in the Ukrainian SSR, killing all 178 people on both aircraft.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the alleged vulnerability of the Ford Pinto to fuel leakage and fire in a rear-end collision.

The Timorese Democratic Union launched a coup in Portuguese Timor, starting the East Timorese civil war.

At a party in New York City, Jamaican musician DJ Kool Herc (pictured) began rapping during an extended break, laying the foundation for hip hop music.

King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hussein.

Amid rumors of kidnappings of children by Jews in Kraków, a crowd of Poles took part in a pogrom, resulting in at least one death.

The first Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, the oldest and largest African-American parade in the United States, was held in Chicago.

Francis Light founded George Town (city hall pictured), the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and the present-day capital of the Malaysian state of Penang.