1870-Mark Twain, 34, marries Olivia Langdon in Elmira NY
1924-International Ski Federation (FIS) founded
1931-First siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students
1935-Lie detector 1st used in court (Portage WI)
1943-Battle of Stalingrad ends with final surrender of the German army, turning point of WWII
1944-Allied troops first set foot on Japanese territory
1954-President Eisenhower reports detonation of first H-bomb (done in 1952)
1957-U.N. adopts a resolution calling for Israeli troops to leave Egypt
1962-Eight of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
1967-Formation of the American Basketball Association is announced
1982-Government troops & Moslem-fundamentalists battle in Hamah, Syria
1985-U.S. male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano
1986-Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India
1989-0ºF (-18ºC) or below in 15 US states
1990-South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk promises to free Nelson Mandela & legalizes African National Congress & 60 other political organizations
1995-U.S. space shuttle Discovery launched
1998-Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board