Here’s a summary of key historical events on this date:
– 1731: A series of earthquakes in China killed over 100,000 people.
– 1782: Preliminary peace articles ending the American Revolutionary War were signed in Paris.
– 1913: Charles Chaplin made his screen debut in Making a Living.
– 1939: The Russo-Finnish War (Winter War) began after the Soviet Union’s failed negotiations with Finland.
– 1954: A meteorite struck a house in Alabama, injuring Elizabeth Hodges.
– 1975: Israel withdrew from a corridor along the Gulf of Suez in a peace agreement with Egypt.
– 1989: Aileen Wuornos killed her first victim, Richard Mallory, starting a series of murders.
– 1993: President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, a significant gun control law.
– 2004: Ken Jennings ended his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, having earned $2.5 million.
– 2005: France performed the world’s first partial-face transplant.
– 2007: An Atlasjet Airlines plane crash near Ispart, Turkey, killed all 56 aboard.
– 2013: Actor Paul Walker and friend Roger Rodas died in a car crash in Southern California.
– 2018: Former President George H.W. Bush died, becoming the longest-lived U.S. president.
– 2021: Barbados became a republic, removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
– 2022: OpenAI released ChatGPT, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was elected leader of House Democrats, becoming the first Black lawmaker to lead a U.S. political party’s caucus.
