The 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect on this day in 1920. The amendment prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in the voting booth.
Investigators pinpoint the cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on this day in 2003.
NASA space shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore holds a piece of insulation foam from an external fuel tank to describe how a piece hit the underside of the shuttle during the craft’s liftoff.
It was on this day in 1974.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)
Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people on this day in 79 AD. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.
The above Photos of Plaster casts were made from actual victims trapped in the lava flows of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy.
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Florida City: Gary Davis cradles his chihuahua Boo Boo in front of his mobile home in the Goldcoaster Mobile Home Park the morning after Hurricane Andrew.
Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the White House and Capitol on this day in 1814.
An artists depiction of the White House ruins after the conflagration of August 24, 1814.
The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union on this day in 2006. Pluto’s status was changed due to the IAU’s new rules for an object qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.
On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark, NJ, took about 19 hours.
U.S. military forces attacked a terrorist camp in Afghanistan and a chemical plant in Sudan on this day in 1998. Both targets were chosen for cruise missile strikes due to their connection with Osama bin Laden.
In a speech to the nation, President Bill Clinton detailed strikes against terrorist-related facilities in Sudan and Afghanistan.
On this day in 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague Spring" liberalization.
Voyager 2 was launched by the United States on this day in 1977 and aboard was a copper 12 inch phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of music and sounds of nature.
A photo of the 12 inch copper record that was sent into space on both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
Robert Anthony Plant is 70 years old today.
Iconic rock star Robert Plant gained fame as the vocalist and songwriter of the classic rock band Led Zeppelin, known for such hits as "Stairway to Heaven" and "When the Levee Breaks." He was named the #1 Lead Singer of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2011. Plant was once training as a chartered accountant, but quit to become part of the English Midlands blues scene.
The American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon’s surface on this day in 1964.
The 19 year old from France began making a name for himself in the American Revolution on this day in 1777.
Thomas Jefferson commissioned this portrait of Marquis de Lafayette. (Portrait by Joseph Boze).
Sens. Thomas Eagleton (left) and George McGovern celebrate their candidacy for vice president and president, respectively, at the Democratic National Convention in 1972.
Eighteen days after Eagleton was picked to run with McGovern, Eagleton arrived in Washington to hold a press conference on this day in 1972.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will not divide the Democratic Party," Eagleton announced. "Therefore, tomorrow morning I will write to the chairman of the Democratic Party withdrawing my candidacy." His mental health was the main issue.
The election was held 99 days later. Richard Nixon would defeat George McGovern in a landslide — the widest margin of victory in the popular vote in presidential history.
Novelist Joanne Rowling,writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is 53 years young today.
English author J.K. Rowling wrote the bestselling Harry Potter fantasy books. Her first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997), was followed by six equally popular installments, all of which were made into feature films. She began writing as a child, creating stories about a rabbit family for her younger sister’s enjoyment.
England’s Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married on this day in 1981.
Italy’s leader of the National Fascist Party, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini(July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945).
From left: Benito Mussolini with the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was authorized by the U.S. Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower (center) signed an act creating the agency on this day in 1958.
