BITS OF HISTORY

1940: F Scott Fitzgerald, US short story writer and novelist, died. His works included "The Great Gatsby".

1973: The first peace conference between Israel and her Arab neighbours opened in Geneva. Jordan, Israel, Egypt, the United States, the Soviet Union and the UN took part.

1988: A bomb destroyed a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 people on the ground.