The Encyclopedia for Everything on the NetOn this day, Dec. 14 … 2012: A gunman with a semi-automatic rifle kills 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., then commits suicide as police arrive. Also on this day: 1799: George Washington, the first president of the United States, dies at his Mount Vernon, Va., home at age 67. 1819:… read more »
On this day, Dec. 8 … 1980: Beatles star John Lennon is shot and killed outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan, Mark David Chapman. Also on this day: 1813: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, is first performed in Vienna, with Beethoven himself conducting. 1854: Pope… read more »
On this day, Dec. 7 … 1941: Japan launches a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as part of its plan to conquer Southeast Asian territories; the raid, which claims 2,400 American lives, would prompt the United States to declare war against Japan the next day. Also on this day:… read more »
On this day, Dec. 1 … 1955: Rosa Parks, a Black seamstress, is arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a White man on a Montgomery, Ala. city bus — an incident that would spark a year-long boycott of the buses and the Civil Rights movement. Also on this day: 1824: The presidential election is turned… read more »
On this day, Nov. 30 … 2013: Paul Walker, star of the “Fast & Furious” movie series, dies with his friend, Roger W. Rodas, in a car crash in Los Angeles. Also on this day: 1782: The United States and Britain sign preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris would be signed… read more »
On this day, Nov. 29 … 2017: “Today” show host Matt Lauer is fired for “inappropriate sexual behavior” during the 2014 Sochi Olympics after an accuser comes forward in a secret meeting with NBC executives. Also on this day: 1864: A Colorado militia kills at least 150 Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre. 1890: The first Army-Navy… read more »
On this day, Nov. 28 … 2001: Enron Corp., once the world’s largest energy trader, collapses after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backs out of an $8.4 billion takeover deal. (Enron would file for bankruptcy protection four days later.) Also on this day: 1520: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that… read more »
On this day, Nov. 24 … 1971: A hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” (but who would become popularly known as “D.B. Cooper”) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom; his fate remains unknown. Also on this day: 1859: Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species,” which explains his theory of… read more »
On this day, Nov. 23 … 1889: The first jukebox makes its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon. (The coin-operated device consists of four listening tubes attached to an Edison phonograph.) Also on this day: On this date: 1765: Frederick County, Md., becomes the first colonial American entity to repudiate the British Stamp Act. 1903:… read more »
On this day, Nov. 17 … 1973: President Richard Nixon tells The Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Fla.: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” Also on this day: 1558: Elizabeth I accedes to the English throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen… read more »