2021
Winter Storm Uri caused blackouts and killed 82 people in Texas & northern Mexico.
The damages from the blackouts are estimated to be $195 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in the recorded history of Texas.
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2017
After a near collision with another aircraft at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, Star Wars actor Harrison Ford was almost killed.
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2012
The European Space Agency successfully launched the Vega launch rocket for the first time.
The launch took off from the Centre Spatial Guyanais, otherwise known as Europe’s Spaceport, located in French Guiana. The Vega’s maiden flight carried nine satellites into orbit – two science satellites and seven miniature satellites called CubeSats. The mission was a complete success.
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2009
At exactly 23:31:30 (UTC), Unix time passed 1,234,567,890.
Unix time is the number of seconds passed since a certain point. The Unix time was at 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970. Leap seconds are ignored.
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1996
The world-famous British boy band, Take That, announced their breakup.
The British charity The Samaritans set up a helpline for distressed fans.
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1972
Grease The Musical first opened at the Eden Theatre in Manhattan, New York.
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1945
Planes dropped bombs across Dresden, Germany, during WWII.
The bombing destroyed over 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), and up to 25,000 people were killed.
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1923
Robert L. Douglas, the Father of Black Professional Basketball, set up the first pro-black basketball team called Renaissance.
The Rens took part in 2,699 games and won 2,318 of them!
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1866
Jesse James performed his first daylight armed robbery in the US.
He robbed Clay County Savings Association bank in Liberty, Missouri.
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1795
The University of North Carolina opened, becoming the first US public state university.
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1689
William and Mary ascended to the English throne as co-rulers.
While this isn’t the only case of England being co-ruled, it’s the only time both co-rulers had equal power.
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1633
Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for his trial before the Roman Inquisition.
He was eventually placed under house arrest.
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1258
The city of Baghdad, Iraq, surrendered to the Mongols after a battle that saw thousands killed.
The battle took place between January 29 and February 10, but the Mongols did not move into Baghdad until this day.
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