ALT Launch of Apollo 1 ends in tragedy killing all three astronauts

ALT In 1788, the first European settlement in Australia was established by Captain Arthur Phillip.

ALT Inauguration of John F. Kennedy as 35th President of the United States occurred

ALT In 1898, Emile Zola's open letter 'J'accuse' was published, accusing the French government of anti-Semitism in the Dreyfus affair.

ALT On January 11, 1964, The U.S. Surgeon General reports that smoking may be hazardous to one's health.

ALT In 1965, The New York transit strike started, lasting for 12 days and essentially paralyzing the city.

ALT On January 4, 1965, the British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill suffered a severe stroke.

ALT In 1801, the United Kingdom becomes the first country to claim its territorial waters, under the Act of Union. Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign

ALT On this day in 1944, the Battle of the Bulge ended during World War II.

ALT In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union, marking the official end of the Cold War.

ALT In 1666, a great fire broke out in London, destroying most of the city. The Great Fire of London: In That Apocalyptic Year, 1666 Neil Hanson

ALT In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland.

ALT In 1803, The Louisiana Purchase was completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

ALT In 1732, Benjamin Franklin began publishing 'Poor Richard's Almanack'.

ALT Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai becomes the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

ALT In 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded.

ALT In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America.

ALT On December 4, 1872, the Mary Celeste, an American merchant brigantine, was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean.