Estimates are that as many 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles and billions of salmon eggs were killed.
Death by Chandelier
A counterweight had failed and the 6-ton baroque behemoth came crashing down. The incident would inspire Gaston Leroux to write The Phantom of the Opera.
Burst of Joy
Associated Press photographer, Slava "Sal" Veder snapped a photo that would become an iconic symbol of America's healing in the wake of the Vietnam War.
Nugget Man
Robert C. Baker invented some of the most popular fast food items of all time.
The Great White Hurricane
A huge mother of all storms struck the east coast in 1888.
Mount Etna Erupts
The city walls were sixty feet high and they held back the lava for a week before it cascaded down and blazed a path of destruction to the sea.
Long Beach Earthquake
Over 200 schools were destroyed in the disaster and it was clear that had the quake struck during school hours the death toll would have been significantly higher.
Cavalese Cable Car Disaster
Two of the tram's steel cables got crossed and somehow one of them was severed. The cabin plunged 700 feet down the mountain and skidded another 300 feet before coming to a stop.
Death by Toothpick
Sherwood Anderson loved to write about "grotesques." That was his way of describing people who are undermined by their own illusions or false dreams.
The Peace Sign
The distinctive symbol was a combination of the letters N (for nuclear) and D (for disarmament) from the semaphore alphabet.
The Station Nightclub Fire
100 people died on this night in one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history.
The Pap in Smear
A doctor who in 1928 figured out that cervical and uterine cancer could be easily detected using a vaginal smear.
4 and 20 Blackbirds
It was a lavish party on this day that may have inspired a popular nursery rhyme.
Jack Paar Walks Away
This was the day that Jack Paar, host of The Tonight Show, made a very public stand against censorship.
Road Trouper
Troup may be most remembered for writing the classic song, "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66." It's a song he wrote while driving from Pennsylvania to California
Missing: Nuclear Bomb
Researchers believe they have narrowed it down to an area the size of a football field.
The Emperor of America
He reigned for 20 years as one of San Francisco's most colorful characters.
The Man Behind the Maneuver
Henry Heimlich is credited with the lifesaving abdominal thrust, but that was just one of his contributions to the world.
Great Race of Mercy
On this day a dogsled team completed a 674 mile journey across ice and snow to deliver a life-saving anti-toxin.
Wardrobe Malfunction
It was on this day during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII that 90 million viewers were shocked and awed by Janet Jackson's breast.