On This Day

This Day in History

1. 2008Five bomb blasts took place in Delhi, India, killing at least 20 people in a series of attacks carried out by the Indian Mujahideen.
2. 2005A software bug triggered a simulated pandemic inside the online video game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for epidemiologists studying how human interaction influences disease outbreaks.
3. 1993Nirvana released In Utero, their third and final studio album, which ultimately sold more than 15 million copies.
4. 1988Hurricane Gilbert achieved a minimum pressure of 888 mb (26.22 inHg) alongside sustained flight-level winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), making it the most intense Atlantic hurricane recorded at that time.
5. 1985Super Mario Bros., one of the most influential and best-selling video games in history, was first released in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
6. 1971Mao Zedong's second-in-command Lin Biao died in a plane crash while trying to flee China after a failed coup attempt.
7. 1964South Vietnamese generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức staged a coup attempt after being demoted by junta leader Nguyễn Khánh.
8. 1959The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 struck the Moon, becoming the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.
9. 1937Chicago Public Schools began delivering lessons over the radio due to a polio outbreak, marking the first large-scale use of radio broadcasts for distance education.
10. 1919The Boston police strike ended following four days of rule by the state militia, the deaths of nine people, and allegations that striking officers were "agents of Lenin".
11. 1914During World War I, the French army repulsed a German assault against French high-ground positions near the city of Nancy.
12. 1848An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage. His survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussions of psychology and neuroscience.
13. 1814British forces attacked Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor during the War of 1812's Battle of Baltimore. This inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry", which later became the lyrics to the United States national anthem.
14. 1759During the French and Indian War, British forces won the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, despite General James Wolfe being mortally wounded.
15. 1567The siege of Inabayama Castle began as the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to conquer Mino Province, culminating in a decisive victory for Nobunaga.
16. 1541After three years of exile, French theologian John Calvin returned to Geneva to reform the church under a system of Christian theology later known as Calvinism.