2011 – The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster strikes Japan
The nuclear meltdowns occurred after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. It was the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
2004 – 191 people die as several bombs explode on Madrid commuter trains
The bombings were conducted by an Islamist terrorist cell and came 3 days before Spain's general elections.
1990 – Lithuania becomes the first Soviet republic to declare its independence
The Baltic country's secession marked an important step in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1990 – Patricio Aylwin becomes Chile's first democratically elected president since the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship
Pinochet had been in power since a CIA-backed coup d'état in 1973. Under his command, thousands of political opponents were interned, tortured, and killed.
1851 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera, Rigoletto, receives its premiere
Rigoletto is one of the most popular operas of all time. The piece was premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy.
1978 – Didier Drogba
Ivorian footballer
1952 – Douglas Adams
English/American author, playwright
1950 – Bobby McFerrin
American singer-songwriter, producer, conductor
1931 – Rupert Murdoch
Australian/American businessman, founded News Corporation
1916 – Harold Wilson
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
2006 – Slobodan Milošević
Serbian politician, 3rd President of Serbia, Montenegro
1971 – Philo Farnsworth
American inventor, invented the Fusor
1955 – Alexander Fleming
Scottish scientist, Nobel Prize laureate
1898 – William Rosecrans
American general, diplomat
1874 – Charles Sumner
American politician
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