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...

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...

1937: Gas Leak Causes New London School Explosion

On March 18, 1937, the worst school disaster in American history occurred when a gas explosion killed nearly 300 schoolchildren in Texas. Gas Explosion Destroys...

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...