On This Day

This Day in History

1. 2012Croatia held a referendum where voters approved joining the European Union as a member state.
2. 2006Evo Morales was sworn in as President of Bolivia, becoming the nation's first indigenous head of state.
3. 1987Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer committed suicide by shooting himself in front of television cameras at a press conference after being convicted of bribery.
4. 1984Apple Computer debuted the Macintosh, the first successful personal computer featuring a graphical user interface, via the "1984" television commercial broadcast during Super Bowl XVIII.
5. 1979Tanzanian forces launched an assault on Mutukula after surrounding the town the day prior, forcing Ugandan troops to flee.
6. 1973The landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade invalidated laws that restricted abortion during pregnancy's first two trimesters.
7. 1970Pan Am launched commercial service for the Boeing 747, the world's first wide-body airliner, operating on its New York–London route.
8. 1969Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev survived what was considered an assassination attempt, an event kept secret from the public until after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
9. 1968Apollo 5 launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, marking the maiden flight of NASA's Lunar Module.
10. 1957George Metesky, notoriously called the "Mad Bomber," was apprehended by New York City police for placing more than 30 bombs across the city over a 16-year period.
11. 1943The Battle of Buna–Gona in New Guinea concluded in an Allied victory during World War II following two months of intense fighting against Japanese forces displaying unprecedented tenacity and resolve.
12. 1924Ramsay MacDonald assumed office, becoming the first politician from the Labour Party to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
13. 1906The SS Valencia sank off Vancouver Island, Canada, in a notoriously treacherous maritime area referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific.
14. 1879Zulu forces commanded by King Cetshwayo earned a decisive triumph against British forces at the Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War.
15. 1689The Convention Parliament convened to determine the throne's succession after James II, England's final Catholic monarch, escaped to France in the wake of the Glorious Revolution.
16. 1273Muhammad II ascended to power as Sultan of Granada following the death of his father in a riding accident.