1880

Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

1945

During World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

1967

Astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1973

The Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

2013

A fire started by pyrotechnics in the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, killed 242 people and injured over 600.

2017

President Donald Trump barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, declaring the ban necessary to prevent “radical Islamic terrorists” from entering the country.

Birthdays

Actor James Cromwell is 85. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 81. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 77. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is 70. Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 66. Actor Bridget Fonda is 61. Actor Alan Cumming is 60. Rock singer Mike Patton is 57. Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 56.