Apollo 14 Launches

1971: Apollo 14 launches on a successful mission to land on the moon. This was the third successful mission to land on the moon, and the first after the failed Apollo 13 mission. Several hundred seeds were taken aboard the command module, and many were planted after the astronauts returned. These became known as the "Moon trees".

Tet Offensive Begins

1968: The Tet Offensive was launched in Vietnam by the People's Army of Vietnam in the North and the National Liberation Front in the South. This was a large coordinated military campaign that involved operations throughout the country. The Vietnamese would suffer many casualties, and would lose the campaign. Nevertheless, while losing the battle, the Tet Offensive likely helped to win the war.

The US military was surprised and alarmed by the scale and coordination of the offensive. They had not previously believed the Vietnamese had such capabilities in terms of organization and support. The US public was shocked by news reports and public opinion about the war began to change. It became clear that the previous US strategy of a "war of attrition" could not be successful. Walter Cronkite famously responded:

We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds [...] we are mired in a stalemate that could only be ended by negotiation, not victory.

Many historians now consider the Tet Offensive the turning point of the war. It led to a recognition by the US that a military victory was impossible, which did indeed lead to peace negotiations, the withdrawal of troops, and the end of the war.

Sleeping Beauty Released

1959: Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty is released to theatres. It was the first Disney movie presented in widescreen format, and the last movie based on a fairy tale that Walt Disney would produce.

Iceland Legalizes Abortion

1935: Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize abortion, and the second country in the world to do so, after the USSR in 1920.

Apollo 1 Astronauts Killed

1967: Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the command module on the ground. It is unclear what started the fire, but since a high-pressure 100 percent oxygen atmosphere was being used, the tiniest spark could have set it off. At the time, the hatch in the command module was designed to open inwardly, and the high pressure meant it was impossible for the astronauts to open it and escape. The hatch was subsequently redesigned to open outwardly in order to avoid a similar accident in the future.

Ranger 3 Launched

1962: NASA launches Ranger 3 to the moon. The probe was intended to take pictures of the moon prior to impacting with it. However, a serious of malfunctions occurred and the probe missed the moon, and was unable to take any pictures.

First Transcontinental Call

1915: Alexander Graham Bell makes the first transcontinental phone call when he calls Thomas Watson in San Francisco from New York. This was done as part of an inauguration ceremony for US transcontinental phone service. This was the same Thomas Watson who had served as Bell's assistant in 1876, almost 40 years earlier, when he received the first phone call ever from Bell.

Nuclear Satellite Crashes in Canada

1978: The Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 was a RADAR satellite with a nuclear reactor. As the orbit of the satellite began to decay, the nuclear reactor was supposed to detach and launch into a higher safe orbit so it would not present a threat to the Earth. However, the separation failed, and the it went down with the satellite. It would eventually break up and spread nuclear material across northern Canada, including the Northwest Territories, and northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. A dozen pieces were eventually found, most of which were radioactive. The USSR would eventually pay three million dollars in compensation.

Guinea-Bissau War of Independence

1963: The Portuguese colony of Guinea begins its fight for independence. After 10 years of fighting, independence would be declared in 1973, and recognized the following year. The country was renamed Guinea-Bissau to distinguish it from the neighbouring Guinea, which was formally a French colony.

Macintosh Introduced

1984: Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh in its famous 1984 Super Bowl ad.

Québec Adopts Flag

1948: Québec adopts its first official provincial flag.

Kennedy Inaugurated

1961: John F. Kennedy is officially sworn in as President of the United States.

Soviets Liberate Łódź

1945: The Soviet Red Army liberates the Łódź Ghetto in Poland, the second largest ghetto after the Warsaw Ghetto. Out of 200,000 inhabitants, only 900 had survived.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

1943: As the Germans began a second deportation of Jews to the Treblinka death camp, Jewish resistance groups began an armed insurgency in the Warsaw Ghetto. Fighters from the Jewish Military League and the Jewish Combat Organization led the fight. They managed to halt the deportation, and engaged in an intense insurgency for several months until overwhelming Nazi opposition finally defeated the uprising in May.

The fighters were poorly armed, and were mainly equipped with pistols, ineffective beyond short range, and just a few rifles. Some external support was provided by the Polish Home Guard, and the Polish Communist People's Guard, who tried to smuggle in weapons, supplies and ammunition. Limited ammunition meant the insurgents had to rely on the use of improvised explosive devices and incendiary bombs.

Though the Jewish groups took heavy casualties and lost most of their leaders, they continued to fight. Several hundred fighters, perhaps as many as a thousand, had to persevere against an eventual German commitment of over 2000 well-armed troops. In the end, the Germans resorted to the use of flamethrowers to burn down houses as they moved systematically from block to block. By May 16, the insurgency was suppressed. Many of the survivors were executed and the rest were sent to the death camps.

The woman pictured above on the right is Malka Zdrojewicz. She was sent to the Majdanek concentration camp, but managed to survive. In 1967 she recounted her experience:

We went to a neutral place in the ghetto area and climbed down into the underground sewers. Through them, we girls used to carry arms into the ghetto; we hid them in our boots. During the ghetto uprising, we hurled Molotov cocktails at the Germans.

After the suppression of the uprising, we went into hiding, taking refuge in an underground shelter where a large quantity of arms was piled up. But the Germans detected us and forced us out. I happened to be there with Rachela and Bluma Wyszogrodzka (and that is how they took our picture) …

Rachela and I, together with the others, were driven to the Umschlagplatz. They later took us to Majdanek from there.

Gulf War Begins

The Gulf War begins as the US launches operation Desert Storm and begins a massive bombing campaign against Iraq, which would be followed up by a ground attack the following month.

I purchased the newspaper pictured above 19 years ago today.

Prohibition Begins

1919: Prohibition officially takes effect in the United States. Alcohol would be illegal to sell or manufacture until 1933.

Soyuz 5 Launches

1969: Soyuz 5 launches successfully. It performed the first docking of two manned spacecraft when it connected with Soyuz 4, launched the day before. The cosmonauts also conducted the first transfer of crew from one vehicle to another in space, done via spacewalk.

Sex Pistols Final Performance

1978: The Sex Pistols perform their final concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Three days later the band would split up, and a year later Sid Vicious would die of a heroin overdose.

Johnny Cash Plays Folsom Prison

1968: Johnny Cash performs at Folsom prison and records his famous live album.

Congress Rejects Women's Vote

1915: The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote. Suffragettes would later be successful in getting The Nineteenth Amendment passed, prohibiting discrimination of voters by sex, which took effect in 1920.

First Solo Flight From Hawaii to California

1935: Amelia Earhart completes the first successful solo flight from Hawaii to California.

45 RPM Record Introduced

1949: RCA announces the introduction of the 7-inch 45 RPM vinyl record. The 45 would become very popular during the fifties and sixties with the release of many rock and roll singles. Its popularity would continue through the eighties, after which it began to die out with the rest of vinyl, though some new releases are still issued today.

UN Headquarters Opened

1951: The United Nations Headquarters officially opens in New York.

Britain Introduces Rationing

1940: Britain begins rationing after the start of World War II. Initially food was rationed, and this was later expanded to clothing and gasoline (when it was available at all). Rationing continued after the war, and actually became more strict as items such as bread and potatoes, which had previously been exempt, were included. After more than 14 years, rationing finally came to an end in 1954.

Hydrogen Bomb Announced

1953: US President Harry Truman announced that the US has developed the hydrogen bomb.

Surveyor 7 Launched

1968: Surveyor 7 was launched. This was the last lunar lander in the series, and would be followed up the next year by a manned landing as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

Space Shuttle Commissioned

1972: US President Nixon announces the development of the Space Shuttle program. The first test shuttle was named Enterprise and the first mission was launched in 1981 using the Columbia orbiter. The original goal was for a cheap and easy way to routinely shuttle astronauts and cargo into orbit. Unfortunately, due to design compromises and other problems, this goal was never fully met.

Spirit Lands on Mars

2004: The Spirit rover lands successfully on Mars. A second rover, Opportunity, would land three weeks later. While the primary mission was originally intended to last only a few months, the rovers continued to operate well beyond this time and the mission has been continually extended. The rovers are still operating today, though in a diminished capacity as they begin to break down.

The rovers have made many exciting scientific discoveries, including the confirmation that Mars once had significant amounts of liquid water on the surface. This has raised expectations that we may find evidence of past or even current life on Mars. It is hoped that a future sample return mission might be able to answer this question.

Apple Computer Incorporated

1977: Apple Computer is officially incorporated.

Luna 1 Launched

1959: The Soviet Luna 1 vehicle is launched into space. Originally known as the "First Cosmic Rocket", it was the first human object to reach escape velocity and leave the orbit of the Earth. After performing various scientific measurements, it was intended to crash into the moon. Because of a malfunction, however, it instead performed the first flyby of the moon, and became the first spacecraft to orbit the sun. This led to it being renamed "Mechta", and it remains in orbit to this day between the Earth and Mars.

Batista Overthrown

1959: US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista overthrown by the Cuban Revolution.