AirAsia Flight 8501 disappeared over the Java Sea with 162 people aboard
The Airbus A320 vanished during a flight from Indonesia to Singapore after the pilot requested to climb above bad weather. Wreckage and bodies were re...
Historical Events
2014
2000
Retail giant Montgomery Ward announced it was going out of business after 128 years
The company that invented the mail-order catalog and created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a marketing gimmick couldn't compete with newer retaile...
1981
Elizabeth Jordan Carr became America's first test-tube baby
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Elizabeth was the 15th successful IVF birth in the world and the first in the United States. Her birth sparked enormous eth...
1973
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Nixon
MajorThis landmark environmental legislation has been credited with saving the bald eagle, gray wolf, and dozens of other species from extinction. It passe...
1967
Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange
After being rejected by nine of the first ten men she asked to sponsor her application, Siebert finally broke through the all-male Wall Street club by...
1958
The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in what's called 'The Greatest Game Ever Played'
This NFL Championship game went into sudden-death overtime for the first time in league history, with the Colts winning 23-17. The thrilling nationwid...
1945
Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance
The U.S. Congress gave formal recognition to the Pledge of Allegiance, though the phrase 'under God' wouldn't be added until 1954. Originally written...
1917
The New York Evening Mail published a hoax claiming Uncle Sam was based on a real person named Samuel Wilson
This tall tale about a Troy, New York meat packer became so widely believed that it's still repeated today. While Samuel Wilson was a real person, the...
1908
A massive earthquake struck Messina, Italy, killing an estimated 75,000 to 200,000 people
MajorThe 7.1 magnitude earthquake devastated the Strait of Messina region, followed by a massive tsunami. It remains one of Europe's deadliest natural disa...
1895
The Lumière brothers held the world's first commercial movie screening in Paris
MajorAt the Grand Café in Paris, Auguste and Louis Lumière charged admission for the first time to show their short films to a paying audience. This event...
1856
Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia
MajorThe future 28th U.S. President was born in a Presbyterian manse to a minister father. Wilson would go on to lead America through World War I, win the...
1832
John C. Calhoun became the first U.S. Vice President to resign
Calhoun resigned to become a U.S. Senator from South Carolina, choosing to give up the second-highest office in the land for what he considered more d...
1612
Galileo became the first person to observe Neptune, though he mistook it for a star
While observing Jupiter's moons, Galileo recorded Neptune in his notebooks but didn't recognize it as a planet. Neptune wouldn't be officially discove...
1065
Westminster Abbey was consecrated in London
MajorEdward the Confessor's magnificent Westminster Abbey was consecrated, though the king was too ill to attend and died just days later. The abbey has ho...