A man hijacked a plane, parachuted out with $200,000 US Dollars (USD) and was never seen again. (1971) D.B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient passenger plane and ransomed it for $200,000 USD. Once he received the money, he parachuted down over Washington state in the US. He was never seen again, and his remains were never found. A young boy did find almost $6,000 USD of the ransom money in 1980 outside of Vancouver, Washington, however.
The smoggiest day in the history of New York City occurred, killing about 400 people. (1966) The thick smog settled into the city, causing deaths from heart attacks and respiratory failure.
The man who assassinated US President John F. Kennedy two days earlier was murdered on live TV. (1963) TV news stations were broadcasting live coverage of Lee Harvey Oswald being transferred from the police headquarters in Dallas, Texas, to a county jail. During the transport, and while the cameras were rolling and broadcasting live, Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald. The murder was seen by millions of viewers.
The Japanese Military shot and killed 650 American troops in the US’s first offensive launched in the central Pacific region during World War II. (1943) During “Operation Galvanic,” also known as the “Battle of Tarawa,” the USS Liscome Bay was sunk with a torpedo, killing everyone aboard. This also was the first time the Japanese launched a serious offense against a US amphibious attack during the war.
A professional American sporting event was known to be “fixed” for the first time. (1906) Dubbed the Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal, Canton Coach Blondy Wallace and a player from the Tigers team were accused of fixing a two-game football series, in which each time won one game each, forcing a tie-breaking third game. Both parties denied involvement. Charges were never proven, but reputations were tarnished for several years.
On the Origin of Species was published in England. (1859) Charles Darwin’s work, which was fully titled On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, introduced the concepts of evolutionary biology and natural selection for the first time.
German authorities established a speed limit on the Autobahn for the first time. (1973) The limit was set in response to the oil crisis in 1973. Four months later, the limit was removed. The Autobahn is well known for lacking speed limits. There are, however, recommended safe speed limits on the Autobahn.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) crime lab opened. (1932) The first FBI lab had rather meager beginnings. Its location, in Washington D.C. was chosen based on the fact it had a proper sink. It began operations with one full-time agent, named Charles Appel, who opened the lab with a microscope he had borrowed.
The US Congress cited the “Hollywood 10” with contempt charges. (1947) The 10 film industry professionals included producers, directors and writers. Citing the First Amendment, they refused to respond to Congressional questions regarding their political affiliations, whether communist or not, and were sentenced to spend a year in jail. Appeals were filed, but the ruling was upheld by the US Supreme Court. The fallout resulted in the famous Hollywood “blacklist,” which was a list of movie industry professionals suspected of either being communists themselves or supporting communist activities.
The extinct hominid remains of a skeleton named “Lucy” were found. (1974) “Lucy” was found by Tom Gray and Donald Johanson in Ethiopia. Her remains, which are classified under the Australopithecus afarensis species, are more than three million years old. The find was important, as the remains are believed to belong to an ancestral species of modern humans. The scientist named the skeleton “Lucy” after the famous Beatles tune, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.