Discover What Happened Today in History
The House Un-American Activities Committee cited ten Hollywood figures for contempt of Congress after they refused to answer questions about alleged communist influence. This marked the formal start of the Hollywood blacklist, which ruined many careers during the Red Scare.
Albert Einstein presented his field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. This revolutionary theory redefined gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that proceeds from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua, violating congressional bans. The scandal became a major political crisis for the Reagan administration.
Agatha Christie's murder mystery play 'The Mousetrap' opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It would go on to become the world's longest-running play, continuing its run for decades.
A massive snowstorm, later called the 'Great Appalachian Storm,' paralyzed the eastern United States with record snowfalls, hurricane-force winds, and severe cold. It caused over 300 deaths and remains one of the most destructive extratropical cyclones in U.S. history.