McDonnell Company and Douglas Aircraft Company officially merge, forming McDonnell Douglas Corp. However, the union is more of a takeover, as McDonnell buys 1.5 million shares of Douglas stock for $68 million to complete the transaction, which had been approved by the Douglas board of directors on Jan. 13.
Thomas C. Reed, who served as the 11th Secretary of the Air Force and a national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan, died Feb. 11 at age 89.