1985
Gorbachev takes over
Mikhail Gorbachev became head of the Soviet Union following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. At 54, he was the youngest member of the ruling Politburo.
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1861
The Confederate States of America adopted its constitution.
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1888
A torrential rainstorm hit the East Coast. The rain turned to snow the next day and it became the Blizzard of 1888, the most famous snowstorm in American history. It caused more than 400 deaths.
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1930
William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to be buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
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1941
President Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Bill.
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1942
General Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippines saying, "I shall return."
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1990
A newly elected parliament in Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
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1993
Janet Reno won unanimous Senate confirmation to be the first female U.S. Attorney General.
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2004
Over 200 people were killed and over 1,400 were injured when bombs exploded in Madrid train stations. Al-Qaeda took responsibility for the attacks.
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2011
Japan is hit by an enormous earthquake that triggers a deadly 23-foot tsunami in the country's north, about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo. Cooling systems in one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station fail shortly after the earthquake, causing a nuclear crisis.
