HISTORY At A Glance

TODAY is xxday, Mm dd, the xxth day of 2021. There are xx days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:

1931 The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.

1940 The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.

1945 World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.

1960 Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.1982 Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.

1994 Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

1999 The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924.

1999 Spongebob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon after the 1999 Kids’ Choice Awards.

2003 Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the “Mission Accomplished” speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), US President George W. Bush declares that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.

2011 Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.