A daily time capsule of stories of the significant, intriguing or just plain forgotten events of history that all occurred on this day.
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shakes the ground underneath Mount St. Helens in Washington State. The quake sets off a landslide and the entire north slope of the volcano slides away exposing the core of the volcano, triggering the massive and devastating eruption On This Day in 1980.
Michael Jackson's landmark album "Thriller" is released on this day in 1982. The album contains only 9 songs, produces 7 hit singles, wins a record breaking 8 Grammy Awards and goes on to become the best selling album of all time. (rerelease)
Four members of the Clutter Family are murdered in their quiet Holcomb, Kansas farmhouse during the early morning hours On This Day in 1959. Author Truman Capote writes a book about the murders, a book he refers to as a non-fiction novel, one of the first True Crime books ever published: "In Cold Blood".
The murders of Ronald and Louise DeFeo along with their 4 children, killed by oldest son Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr...On This Day in 1974. The murder house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville will subsequently become famous as The Amityville Horror house. (Rerelease)
A chartered plane carrying southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in a wooded swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi killing six including lead singer/founding member Ronnie Van Zant On This Day in 1977.
Marie Antoinette loses her head at the hands of Monsieur de Paris, Henri Sanson, and his Guillotine, On This Day in 1793.
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall On This Day in 2005. (repeat)
On this day in 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson enters a bank in Norrmalmstorg square in the center of Stockholm, Sweden. Olsson takes all 4 bank employees hostage. The bond that Olsson and his 4 captives form over the next 5 days, the hostages sympathizing with their captor, will be called Stockholm Syndrome. (repeat)
Elvis Presley, The King of Rock'N'Roll, dies On This Day in 1977 in a 2nd floor bathroom in his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee (repeat)
The murders of Leno & Rosemary LaBianca by the Manson Family, On This Day in 1969 (repeat)
The atomic bomb codenamed "Little Boy" is detonated above the Japanese city of Hiroshima in the final days of World War 2, On This Day in 1945. (repeat)
Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home On This Day in 1892. Suspicion soon falls on 32-year-old Lizzie. (repeat)
Independence Day in America & the story behind the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Second Continental Congress On This Day in 1776. Plus, a full reading of the Declaration of Independence following the episode. (repeat)
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that creates a ripple effect of conflict throughout the 20th century, beginning with the Great War, World War I. And Canadian runner and activist Terry Fox, who's Marathon of Hope for cancer awareness makes him a Canadian folk hero and inspiration to millions. (repeat)
The Last Will & Testament of English mineralogist James Smithson, who passes away On This Day in 1829 and leaves his entire fortune to the United States of America for the creation of Smithsonian Institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." (repeat)
The Berlin Airlift begins On This Day in 1948, Operation Vittles and Operation Little Vittles. (repeat)
The sensational murder of architect Stanford White On This Day in 1906 and the trial of the century that follows. (repeat)
The Watergate burglars are caught On This Day in 1972.
The ghost story challenge of 1816 during the Year Without A Summer, and Washington Post Publisher Katherine Graham born On This Day in 1917. (repeat)
Flag Day, and documentary photographer Margaret Bourke-White, born On This Day in 1904. (repeat)
George Orwell’s “1984” published On This Day in 1949, and two American Journalists found guilty of illegally entering North Korea On This Day in 2009 (repeat)
June 6th - D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, On This Day in 1944 (repeat)
The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, On This Day in 1968.
BOAC Flight 712 makes an emergency crash landing...On This Day in 1968. Stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison is posthumously awarded the George Cross for heroism.
The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...On This Day in 1968.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire...On this day in 1911
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist...On This Day in 1990. Additional Music by Bernard Herrmann
William Buckley, Terry Anderson, the Lebanon Hostage Crisis and the Iran Contra Scandal...On This Day. Additional Music: 06 Ghosts l by NIN
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370...On This Day in 2014. Outro music: 02 Ghosts l by NIN
A show announcement!, the Salem Witch Trials begin, and the bombing of the US Capitol Building...On This Day
Scientists at DuPont create nylon, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated, ATF agents raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX, and Pope Benedict XVI steps down...On This Day
Polite People Day in Russia, the Reichstag Building is set on fire, and the standoff at Wounded Knee...On This Day
Napoleon escapes his island exile on Elba, Rogue trader Nick Leeson brings the 233 year old Barings Bank to its knees, and Levis Strauss...On This Day
Marbury v. Madison establishes the precedent of judicial review, Larry Flynt & Jerry Falwell go to court over the 1st Amendment, and Steve Jobs...On This Day
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, US Marines raise the flag on Iwo Jima, the first mass inoculation of children with the Polio Vaccine, and the start of the Persian Gulf ground war…all On This Day!
Samuel Byck tries to fly a plane into the White House, the Miracle On Ice, and Don Pardo...On This Day
The Washington Monument, Edwin Land & the Instant Camera, and the assassination of Malcolm X...On This Day
Day of Remembrance & the internment of Japanese Americans, Aaron Burr arrested, the Battle of Iwo Jima begins…On This Day
Russian mole Robert Hanssen arrested, and the Brussels Brinks heist...On This Day
The International Red Cross is founded, the submarine HL Hunley sinks USS Housatonic, Robert Preston steals a helicopter for a joy ride over DC, and Rene Laennec inventor of the stethoscope…On This Day
The first 911 call, and the trial of John Demjanjuk…On This Day
Susan B Anthony Day, USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor, the attempted assassination of president-elect Franklin Roosevelt, Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan, and a meteor in Chelyabinsk…On This Day
Valentine's Day, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Jackie Kennedy gives her televised tour of the White House, and Maceo Parker...On This Day
The Lincoln Memorial, the murder of Sal Mineo, and the theft of Edvard Munch’s The Scream…On This Day
The Beatles record their first album Please Please Me in 10 1/2 hours...On This Day
Gary Kasparov defeated by Deep Blue, Alexander Pushkin dies in a duel, and Shirley Temple Black…On This Day
William Morgan invents volleyball, The Beatles perform on Ed Sullivan, Wilhelm Maybach inventor of the modern automobile, and Fred Morrison inventor of the Frisbee…On This Day
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