T.S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in literature for his work in poetry. Eliot is 60 years old at the time and will continue teaching and lecturing up until his death in 1965.

Lee Ann Roberts Breedlove becomes the first female driver to exceed 300 mph. She races to 308.50 mph in the Spirit of America - Sonic 1 vehicle in Utah. Just a few hours later, her husband Craig Breedlove will shatter his own record from the previous year, by reaching 555.49 mph.

Parker Brothers releases the board game Monopoly, letting players pile up big sums of money, and send other players into financial ruin. Monopoly will become the best-selling game in history.

George Foreman becomes boxing's oldest heavyweight champion at the age of 45. He beats 26-year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round of the WBA fight before more than 12,000 spectators. Foreman dedicates his upset win to "all my buddies in the nursing home and all the guys in jail."

54-year-old John Carroll is named bishop of Baltimore. He is the first Catholic bishop in the United States, after receiving ordination as a priest at the age of 34 in Europe. Carroll will oversee the creation of the nation's first Catholic University (Georgetown) and cathedral (Baltimore Basilica).

Basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson stuns the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Johnson is one of the first sports stars to go public about his HIV-positive status. Today, 48-year-old Johnson is a prominent spokesman for AIDS awareness.