1770: British Soldiers Kill 5 in “Boston Massacre”

On March 5, 1770, British soldiers stationed in Boston fired on a crowd of hecklers, killing five and wounding others. British Soldiers Open Fire on...

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...

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...

1993: Feds Raid Branch Davidian Compound in Waco

On February 28, 1993, federal agents tried to arrest David Koresh at his Waco, Texas, compound. A gunfight ensued, killing 10 and beginning a...

1954: Puerto Rican Nationalists Launch Assault on U.S. Congress

On March 1, 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House of Representatives, injuring five congressmen. Nationalists Attack Congress Three members of the Puerto Rico...

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...

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...

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...

1633: Galileo Faces Inquisition

On February 13, 1633, Galileo arrived in Rome to be tried for promoting Copernican theories, such as the revolutionary idea that the Earth orbits...

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...