2020
Coronavirus was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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2017
Researchers identified the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans.
The microscopic, bag-like sea creature was discovered in fossils in China, which dates back 540 million years.
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2013
South Korea’s first launch vehicle successfully reached orbit for the first time.
The launch vehicle, Naro-1, was a two-stage rocket with a modified Russian Angara URM as the first stage and a solid-fuel second stage constructed by South Korea’s national space agency. The first two attempts to launch were total failures, with the Naro-1 exploding in mid-air. This third attempt successfully carried a South Korean Science and Technology Satellite 2C (STSAT-2C) into orbit.
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2010
Justin Bieber reached one million followers on Twitter.
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1979
Varig Flight 967 disappeared thirty minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
The Boeing 707 cargo plane was carrying more than a million dollars worth of artwork in addition to its regular cargo. It lost radio contact about 120 miles (200 km) northeast of Tokyo. Neither the plane, its cargo, nor any of the crew members were ever seen again.
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1965
Over 321,000 people attended Winston Churchill’s funeral to say goodbye.
It was the largest state funeral of its time.
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1961
Patsy Cline released her single “I Fall to Pieces.”
The single went on to being the Billboard Song of the Year in 1961.
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1959
A three-day-long “dense smog” rolled through London.
With visibility being almost zero, the AA reported the pollution level as “very grim.”
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1956
White supremacist terrorists bombed Martin Luther King Jr’s home.
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1948
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
Gandhi was taking part in afternoon prayers when Nathuram Godse shot him point-blank.
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1933
Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany.
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1931
Silent romance comedy “City Lights” by Charlie Chaplin premiered at the Los Angeles Theater.
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1774
Captain James Cook reached a record 1,130 miles from the South Pole.
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