A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, killing over 200,000 people
MajorThe catastrophic earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, destroying much of the capital city and leaving 1.5 million people homeless. It remains one of...
Historical Events
2010
2007
Comet McNaught became the brightest comet visible from Earth in over 40 years
The comet was so bright it could be seen in broad daylight near the sun. Southern hemisphere observers were treated to spectacular views as the comet'...
1998
Nineteen European nations agreed to ban human cloning
The agreement came just months after Dolly the sheep became the first cloned mammal. The treaty prohibited creating genetically identical humans but a...
1991
Congress authorized military force against Iraq in Operation Desert Storm
MajorThe U.S. Congress voted to authorize President George H.W. Bush to use military force to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The vote passed by a narrow m...
1971
All in the Family premiered on CBS and changed television forever
The groundbreaking sitcom tackled controversial topics like racism, sexism, and politics through the bigoted character Archie Bunker. It became the #1...
1967
The Doors released their self-titled debut album featuring 'Light My Fire'
The album introduced the world to Jim Morrison's haunting vocals and the band's psychedelic rock sound. 'Light My Fire' became a number-one hit and th...
1959
Motown Records was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. with an $800 loan
MajorGordy borrowed the money from his family to start the Detroit-based label that would revolutionize popular music. Motown went on to launch the careers...
1959
Berry Gordy loaned his first Motown artist, Marv Johnson, $1,000 to record a single
Johnson's song 'Come to Me' became Motown's first release, though it was leased to a larger label. The modest investment helped Gordy prove his ear fo...
1945
The Soviet Red Army began the Vistula-Oder Offensive, liberating Poland from Nazi occupation
One of the largest Red Army operations of World War II involved over 2 million soldiers advancing across Poland. The massive offensive broke German de...
1932
Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate
The Arkansas Democrat won a special election to fill her late husband's seat, then won a full term. She served for 14 years and was the first woman to...
1926
The first televised weather forecast was broadcast in the UK
The BBC aired the experimental broadcast showing hand-drawn weather maps and symbols. The primitive forecast reached only a few hundred viewers with e...
1906
A massive landslide in the Swiss Alps buried the village of Elm, killing 83 people
Years of slate quarrying destabilized an entire mountainside, causing 10 million cubic meters of rock to crash down at speeds up to 180 km/h. The disa...
1876
Jack London, author of The Call of the Wild, was born in San Francisco
The adventure novelist became one of the first American authors to make a fortune from writing. His tales of survival in harsh environments were drawn...
1628
Charles Perrault, the writer who gave us Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, was born
The French author created the literary fairy tale genre with his collection 'Tales of Mother Goose.' His versions of classic stories like Little Red R...