In one performance, the famous sharpshooter shot the ashes off a cigarette held by German Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Nobody recognized him - except for his dog, Argos. The loyal animal perked up for his old master, then rolled over and died.

The English poet, Willliam Wordsworth, spied a long swath of daffodils on this day. It inspired him to write one of his most famous poems,

A dark blizzard of dust swept across the Great Plains on this day.

His name became a descriptor for situations that feel irrational, bureaucratic, and quietly terrifying.

This was the day that the elephant made its first appearance in America.

Today was the day Jan Berry (of the surf-rock duo, Jan and Dean) slammed his Corvette Stingray into the  back of a parked truck in Beverly Hills.

The legendary weapon was part of Project Babylon, a top-secret plan by Saddam Hussein to build a weapon that could launch projectiles into orbit.

He was the first catcher inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He was the original bass player for The Beatles, but he left the band in July of 1961 to pursue a career in art.

The story goes that Sir Francis Bacon was traveling through a blizzard in a carriage when he was suddenly struck with the idea of preserving meat with snow.

A drill instructor ordered 74 Marine Corps recruits on a disciplinary march through a swamp. Some of the men could not swim and 6 of them drowned.

In 1934 Christiansen formed a stand alone toy company called Lego. It got its name from the Danish phrase "leg godt" which translates to "play well."

In their first year, Swanson & Sons sold over 10 million TV dinners.

When Canada blew up an underwater mountain, it was one of the largest planned non-nuclear explosions of all time.

His 133 days all alone in the life raft still stands as the longest ordeal survived by a single man at sea.
 

It's now estimated that one in every three homes in America has a Scrabble game.

He was the first American president to die in office.

The Church of St. John on the Greek island of Rhodes was blown to smithereens.

A tragic loss inspired him to pioneer a method of sharing news instantaneously.