On this day in history

The House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the United States; it is ratified by the states later that year.

Source: ThisDayTrivia

Private Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad in France, the only American soldier executed for desertion in World War II.

Source: ThisDayTrivia

President Harry Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb, accelerating the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.

Source: On-This-Day.com

The United States launches Explorer 1, its first successful satellite, in response to the Soviet Sputnik program.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

NASA launches Ham the chimpanzee on a suborbital Mercury flight, paving the way for the first American manned spaceflight.

Source: On This Day

German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders at Stalingrad, marking the turning point of the war on the Eastern Front.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Guy Fawkes is executed in London for his role in the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Germany carries out the first large scale poison gas attack of World War I at Bolimow on the Eastern Front, using xylyl bromide against Russian troops.

Source: Wikipedia

Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare, a decision that helps draw the United States into World War I.

Source: Pages of History

South African president P.W. Botha offers to free Nelson Mandela if he renounces violence; Mandela refuses.

Source: On This Day

A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh, dies in Sussex, England.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The first McDonald's restaurant in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, serving more than 30,000 customers on its first day.

Source: ThisDayTrivia

Seventeen year old Lydia Ko of New Zealand becomes the youngest golfer ever ranked world number one.

Source: On This Day