Discover What Happened Today in History
A U.S.-led coalition launched a massive air campaign against Iraq to expel its forces from Kuwait. This marked the start of the combat phase of the Gulf War, utilizing advanced military technology and precision bombing.
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, was born in Boston. He was a renowned polymath, known for his contributions to science, politics, and philosophy, including his famous experiments with electricity.
British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached the South Pole, only to discover they had been beaten by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition by over a month. Tragically, Scott and his party perished on the return journey.
A U.S. B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling over Spain, dropping four hydrogen bombs near the village of Palomares. Two conventional explosives detonated, contaminating the area with plutonium, though no nuclear explosion occurred.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the symbolic Doomsday Clock two minutes forward, citing nuclear proliferation and climate change as major threats to humanity. It was set to 11:55 pm, the closest it had been to 'midnight' since the Cold War.