This day in history

In Rome, the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic missionary organisation, receives its formal charter from Pope Paul III.

Ignatius De Loyola, a Spanish soldier turned priest, founded the Society in 1534. Important in the Counter Reformation in the 16th century, Jesuit missionaries began fanning out from Europe in the 17th century. The highly educated Black Robes, as they were known in native America, often preceded European nations in their infiltration of foreign lands and societies. The life of a Jesuit missionary was one of immense risk though, and foreign authorities hostile to their task of conversion persecuted thousands of Jesuit priests. In other nations, such as India and China, the Jesuits were revered as men of wisdom and science.

In Switzerland, Friedrich Leibacher shoots dead 15 people and then himself in a government building. Leibacher had been having a long-running disagreement with local officials.

The Taliban seize control of the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul.

Canadian Ben Johnson is officially stripped of his 100 metre gold medal at the Seoul Olympics after it is confirmed that his drug test proved positive.

After 10 days of bitter fighting in Jordan, King Hussein of Jordan and the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, sign a ceasefire agreement.

The Axis powers are formed as Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact in Berlin.