Wikipedia, the worldโs largest and most-used online encyclopedia, was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, pioneering a free, collaborative approach to global knowledge-sharing.
๐ Internet (Global Project)
Ray Bolger, the American actor best known for playing the Scarecrow in *The Wizard of Oz*, died at age 83. His performance remains iconic in cinematic history.
๐ Los Angeles, California, United States
The World Economic Forum held its first annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, bringing together leaders in business, politics, and academia to discuss global economic challenges.
๐ Davos, Switzerland
On the day of the first Super Bowl, NBC and CBS broadcast the game simultaneously, a unique media experiment that marked the rise of American football as a global entertainment force.
๐ Los Angeles, California, United States
Doctors in Belfast successfully used a portable defibrillator to restart a patientโs heart, marking a historic moment in emergency medicine and the future of lifesaving interventions.
๐ Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Pentagon, the world's largest office building and headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, was completed during World War II to centralize military operations.
๐ Arlington, Virginia, United States
Poland adopted the April Constitution, shifting power toward a presidential system during the volatile interwar period. It symbolized the struggle for democratic balance in post-WWI Europe.
๐ Warsaw, Poland
Martin Luther King Jr., American Baptist minister and iconic leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was born. His advocacy of nonviolent resistance transformed the fight for racial equality.
๐ Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were executed in Berlin after the failure of the Spartacist uprising, symbolizing the violent suppression of revolutionary socialism in post-WWI Germany.
๐ Berlin, Germany
Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptโs second president and a major figure in Arab nationalism and anti-colonialism during the Cold War era, was born. He nationalized the Suez Canal and led the Non-Aligned Movement.
๐ Alexandria, Egypt
Lloyd Bridges, American actor known for his prolific career in both dramatic and comedic roles across film and television, was born. He is also remembered as father of actors Jeff and Beau Bridges.
๐ San Leandro, California, United States
Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and key figure in the development of the hydrogen bomb, was born. His controversial advocacy of nuclear weapons influenced Cold War science policy.
๐ Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)
Armand Hammer, an American industrialist known for his ties to Occidental Petroleum and dealings with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was born. He was a prominent figure in business diplomacy.
๐ New York City, United States
Mathew Brady, American photographer known for his powerful visual documentation of the U.S. Civil War and portraits of key historical figures, died. His legacy shaped photojournalism.
๐ New York City, United States
Francis Parkman, renowned for his vivid accounts of the American frontier and French-British colonial conflicts in North America, died. His work became a model of 19th-century narrative history.
๐ Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States
The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow staged a ballet using electric lighting for the first time, revolutionizing theatrical production and setting a new standard for modern performance art.
๐ Moscow, Russian Empire
Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish-German Marxist theorist, anti-war activist, and co-founder of the Spartacist League and the German Communist Party, was born. Her writings remain influential in leftist theory.
๐ Zamoลฤ, Poland (then Russian Empire)
Vittorio Alfieri, considered the father of Italian tragic drama and a strong advocate for political liberty in literature, died. His works shaped Italian nationalism and literary identity.
๐ Florence, Italy
Moliรจre, one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature and a central figure in French theater, was born. His works, including *Tartuffe* and *The Misanthrope*, remain classics.
๐ Paris, France
After several years of avoiding convening Parliament, Queen Elizabeth I finally opened a session to address finances and defense, highlighting the tension between monarchy and legislative power.
๐ London, England