1971: Charles Manson and Followers Sentenced to Death

On March 29, 1971, a jury sentenced Charles Manson and three members of his “Family” to death for murdering actress Sharon Tate and seven...

On This Day: Bodies of Three Civil Rights Workers Discovered in Mississippi

On Aug. 4, 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights volunteers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman were discovered in a dam outside...

1962: Soviets Release U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers

On February 10, 1962, U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Powers had been...

1991: “Birmingham Six” Freed After 16 Years in Prison

On March 14, 1991, six men wrongfully accused of carrying out Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombing attacks on two Birmingham pubs were released after...

1977: Hanafi Muslim Gunmen End Siege in Washington, DC

On March 11, 1977, Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, leader of the Nation of Islam splinter group Hanafi Movement, ended a three-day siege of three buildings...

1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Kills 146

On March 25, 1911, a fire at New York City’s crowded, unsafe Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 146 workers. Public outrage over the incident galvanized...

1938: “Kristallnacht” Attacks Mark Unofficial Start of Holocaust

On Nov. 9, 1938, Nazi storm troopers launched a coordinated attack against Jewish communities, destroying property and shipping thousands to concentration camps. “Night of Broken...

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...

1981: John Hinckley Shoots President Reagan and James Brady

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinckley Jr., a college dropout hoping to impress actress Jodie...