1997: Bodies of Heaven’s Gate Cult Members Discovered After Mass Suicide
On March 26, 1997, police found the bodies of 39 Heaven’s Gate members who had committed suicide believing that the Hale-Bopp comet was a...
1980: United States Beats USSR in “Miracle on Ice”
On February 22, 1980, the underdog U.S. hockey team beat the powerful Soviet team in a thrilling upset at the Lake Placid Olympics.
USA 4,...
1960: Earthquake Kills Thousands in Morocco
On February 29, 1960, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Agadir, Morocco. The 15-second event killed thousands and leveled parts of the city.
It was a...
1933: Arsonist Torches the Reichstag
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin was burned down by a Dutch communist, possibly with the assistance of Nazi officials. The...
1737: First St. Patrick’s Day Celebrated in America
On March 17, 1737, Boston became the first American city to celebrate the feast day of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint.
St. Patrick’s Day Comes...
1997: Rap Icon Notorious B.I.G. Murdered
On March 9, 1997, Biggie Smalls was killed in a Los Angeles drive-by shooting that may have been linked to rap industry rivalries. His...
On This Day: United States Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
On Aug. 6, 1945, U.S. war plane Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy,” a 8,900-pound atomic bomb, on Hiroshima, Japan. Within eight days, Japan surrendered,...
USSR established -1922
In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided...
1974: Russian Dissident Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn Charged With Treason
On February 14, 1974, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer who revealed the horrors of the Soviet gulag, was charged with treason a day after...
