Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed in Detroit, killing all but one passenger, a 4-year-old girl. Elvis Presley died of a heart attack in 1977. Sports Illustrated published its first issue in 1954. A solar flare halted the Toronto stock market in 1989. John Tyler’s effigy was burned on the White House lawn in 1841. Joseph Kittinger set three world records skydiving in 1960. Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch in a 1920 baseball game. 6,000 child soldiers died in the Battle of Acosta Nu in 1869. A tsunami hit Chile in 1868, killing up to 70,000 people. Madonna was born in 1958.
An airliner crashed on a highway in Detroit; the only survivor was a 4-year-old passenger. (1987) Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed on takeoff from Metro Detroit Airport, impacting Freeway I-94. The plane struck a car, killing both passengers in the car, all crew members on the plane, and all but one of the passengers on the plane. The only survivor was a 4-year-old girl named Cecelia Cichan.
The “King of Rock and Roll” Elvis Presley has died. (1977) Presley was found unconscious in his Graceland mansion and was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He died of a heart attack, probably caused by a drug overdose. He was 42 years old.
Sports Illustrated has published its first issue. (1954) Today the magazine is read by more than 23 million people each week and has more than 3 million subscribers. He is perhaps best known for his popular annual swimsuit issue.
A solar flare brought the Toronto stock market to a screeching halt. (1989) Geomagnetic storm interfered with computer microchips and shut down trade for three hours.
An effigy of US President John Tyler was burned on the White House lawn. (1841) The effigy was set up by the same political party as President Tyler when he vetoed a bill that would have restored the Bank of the United States. Protesters also threw rocks at the White House. It was the most violent incident in White House history.
A skydiver set three world records jumping over New Mexico. (1960) Joseph Kittinger jumped 102,800 feet (31,330 meters) and set records for free fall, high altitude jump and maximum human speed without an aircraft. His records lasted until 2012, when they were broken by Felix Baumgartner.
Major League Baseball player Ray Chapman was hit in the head with a pitch and killed during a game. (1920) Chapman was batting for the Cleveland Indians and was hit on the head with a fastball by pitcher Carl Mays playing for the New York Yankees. He is only the second player to die of a playing injury – the first was in 1909 when Doc Powers hit a wall chasing a fastball and died two weeks later.
6,000 soldiers, mostly children, were massacred at the Battle of Acosta Nu. (1869) The children were serving for the Paraguayan battalion during the War of the Triple Alliance when the Brazilian army overwhelmed them in an eight-hour battle. This day is celebrated today as “Children’s Day” in Paraguay in honor of the children who died in battle.
A tsunami hit Chile, killing up to 70,000 people. (1868) Tsunami was created by a magnitude 8.5 earthquake that hit the coasts of Chile and Peru.
Madonna was born. (1958) Madonna is an American musician, actress and businesswoman. She has sold more than 250 million albums and is the best-selling female recording artist in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
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