After over five decades of severed diplomatic ties, the United States reopened its embassy in Havana, signaling a thaw in relations between the two nations and a historic shift in U.S.-Cuba policy.
📍 Havana, Cuba
Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted, causing massive lava flows through the city of Goma. Over 400,000 people were displaced and infrastructure was heavily damaged.
📍 Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Kobe and surrounding areas, killing over 6,400 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings. It was one of Japan’s worst natural disasters in the 20th century.
📍 Kobe, Japan
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Northridge in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, killing 57 people and causing an estimated $20 billion in damage. It remains one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
📍 Northridge, California, United States
U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced the start of Operation Desert Storm’s aerial bombardment against Iraq, initiating the combat phase of the Gulf War. It marked one of the most significant military operations since World War II.
📍 Iraq and Kuwait
A massive coalition air campaign led by the United States was launched against Iraq following Saddam Hussein’s refusal to withdraw from Kuwait. It marked the beginning of the active combat phase of the Gulf War.
📍 Baghdad, Iraq
Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah, becoming the first person put to death in the United States after the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The case reignited global debate over capital punishment.
📍 Draper, Utah, United States
East Germany ratified a new socialist constitution that reinforced the role of the ruling Socialist Unity Party and aligned the state's legal framework more closely with the Soviet model during the Cold War.
📍 East Berlin, East Germany
In his farewell address, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of the growing influence of the 'military-industrial complex', a term that has since become central to critiques of defense spending and corporate influence.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was executed under controversial circumstances. His death became symbolic of Cold War-era interventions in post-colonial Africa.
📍 Katanga, Congo
The USS Nautilus, the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, was launched by the United States Navy. It revolutionized naval warfare and demonstrated the strategic potential of nuclear propulsion.
📍 Groton, Connecticut, United States
The United States initiated Operation Teapot, a series of nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site. These tests contributed to Cold War arms race advancements and civil defense planning.
📍 Nevada Test Site, United States
The United Nations set up the Commission on Human Rights, which would go on to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and set global standards for fundamental freedoms after World War II.
📍 New York, United States
The first meeting of the United Nations Security Council was held in London, marking a significant moment in post-WWII diplomacy and the beginning of structured international conflict resolution efforts.
📍 London, United Kingdom
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust, was detained by Soviet forces in Budapest and subsequently disappeared. His fate remains a mystery and symbol of Cold War secrecy.
📍 Budapest, Hungary
Nevada passed a bill legalizing gambling to combat the effects of the Great Depression, laying the foundation for Las Vegas to become the gambling capital of the world and a major global tourist hub.
📍 Carson City, Nevada, United States
A devastating earthquake struck Yerevan, then part of the Soviet Union, killing hundreds and causing widespread destruction. It highlighted the region’s seismic vulnerability and limited emergency infrastructure at the time.
📍 Yerevan, Armenia (then USSR)
British forces reached Khartoum during the Mahdist War but found it had already fallen and General Gordon had been killed. This event intensified public and political pressure on Britain regarding its imperial strategy in Africa.
📍 Khartoum, Sudan
American forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan decisively defeated the British in the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina, marking a turning point in the Southern campaign of the Revolutionary War.
📍 Cowpens, South Carolina, United States
Pope Gregory XV issued the papal bull *Aeterni Patris Filius*, introducing new rules for papal conclaves, including secret ballots. These reforms greatly influenced the structure of modern papal elections.
📍 Rome, Papal States