This Day in History

Sat, 13 Sep 2025

Oslo Accords Officially Signed (1993)

The Oslo Accords, providing for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and Gaza and for limited Palestinian self-government, resulted from the first direct negotiation between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Though talks were conducted in secret in Oslo, Norway, the agreement was signed publicly in Washington, DC. It was signed in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, yet neither signed it. Who did? Discuss

Fri, 12 Sep 2025

Nazi Commandos Rescue Imprisoned Benito Mussolini (1943)

In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed by his own government. When German forces discovered that he was being held at a ski resort in the Apennine Mountains, they launched a daring rescue. Arriving on gliders, German troops overwhelmed Mussolini's captors and spirited him away without firing a shot. The operation was a major propaganda success for the Nazis. According to some accounts, what was Mussolini's reply when the paratroopers told him that Adolf Hitler had sent them?

Thu, 11 Sep 2025

9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. They crashed two planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City and flew a third into the Pentagon building in Virginia. Passengers on the fourth flight attempted to retake control of the aircraft, but it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11 were responsible for 2,996 deaths and countless more injuries. What were the environmental consequences of 9/11?