An exploding cannon killed 8 people, including members of President John Tyler's cabinet.
Spring Heeled Jack
He breathed blue flames and bounced over high walls with ease.
The First New Orleans Mardi Gras
It was Fat Tuesday, and a bunch of students decided to dress up and dance in the streets of the French Quarter.
The Emperor's Collar
János Libényi was executed on this day, a little over a week after he tried to kill Austrian Emperor Franz Josef.
The Battle of Los Angeles
At around 3 o'clock in the morning, residents were rattled out of bed by the loud thumps of anti-aircraft guns lobbing 12-pound shells into the sky.
The Simplon Tunnel
It was on this day that two work crews converged deep under the Swiss Alps to form one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.
Japanese Sub Attacks Santa Barbara
This was the night that a Japanese submarine attacked an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California.
The Murder Trust
A notorious true story about a plot to kill a man who stubbornly refused to die.
The White Rose
"...what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?"
The Peace Sign
The distinctive symbol was a combination of the letters N (for nuclear) and D (for disarmament) from the semaphore alphabet.
The Last Carolina Parakeet
Bright green with an orange and yellow head, it was one of the most colorful birds living in the eastern United States.
Tecún Umán
On this day the last King of the K'iche' Maya people was killed during a battle in what is now Guatemala.
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.
The Lost Cosmonaut
Just before dawn on this day, a Soviet cosmonaut was wandering drunk and stepped in front of a train.
QWERTY
Christopher Latham Sholes was a newspaper publisher, politician and most notably - the inventor of the QWERTY keyboard.
4 and 20 Blackbirds
It was a lavish party on this day that may have inspired a popular nursery rhyme.
The Pope and the Sneeze
On this day Pope Gregory the Great decreed that the proper way to respond to someone sneezing was to say, "God bless you."
The Great Elm
The tree was a prominent local landmark with a long history as a gathering place for political rallies and public hangings.
Plunge into Hell
It was on this day that 12-year-old Todd Dobowski of Centralia, Pennsylvania fell into a hot, gaseous void caused by an underground coal fire.