1. 1978: First transatlantic balloon flight
It was on this date in 1978 that the Double Eagle II landed in a barley field roughly 50 miles outside Paris, France, completing the first transatlantic balloon flight in history. It was piloted by endurance sport balloonists, Larry Newman, Ben Abruzzo, and Maxie Anderson. The trip would take a total of six days for the trio to cover 3,233 miles in a helium-filled balloon that stood more than 11 stories tall. The trip went fairly smoothly for the most part; the first four days they were able to remain at the 20,000 ft cruising altitude while surviving on canned sardines and cold hot dogs. They did run into some weather and atmospheric pressure problems the day before they were scheduled to arrive, which brought them down to a dangerously low altitude under 5,000 ft. However after dropping some ballast they were able to get back on course. There had been a reported 17 previous attempts to make the flight over the Atlantic, none of which were successful and resulted in at least 7 casualties.
2. 1999: Massive earthquake strikes Turkey
More than 40,000 homes were destroyed when a devastating earthquake struck Turkey on this date in 1999. The quake happened along the Northern Anatolian fault, which also happens to be the most densely populated area of Turkey housing more than 20 million people. The Turkish government was completely unprepared for such a disaster and soon rescue aid was given by many surrounding countries. There were people trapped under rubble for as much as six days before workers could reach them. The city at the center of it all was Ismit, which was a coastal town located near Istanbul but many of the surrounding areas were also hit very hard. Over 90 percent of the homes in the neighboring town of Yalova were destroyed. As cleanup began, people started to notice that most of the new buildings that had been recently completed were among the destroyed property. Upon further investigation it was determined there had been no building regulations enforced. The combination of too much sand in the concrete and cheep iron rods made most of the buildings crumble like a sand castle. When all all the dust had settled, there were more than 250,000 people left homeless and over 17,000 fatalities.
3. 1998: First President to testify before a grand jury
President Bill Clinton was the subject of a grand-jury investigation and forced to give his testimony before the Office of Independent Council on this date in 1998. Clinton had been under a four year investigation regarding the alleged involvement in many different scandals. But the main focus of the testimony given on this day was the President’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. When previously asked about his relationship with the intern, he denied it, which led to Ken Starr charging Clinton with obstruction of justice and perjury. Shortly after testifying, Clinton addressed the nation, giving his side of the story and admitted he did indeed have an inappropriate relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. However, at this point the damage had already been done, and just a few months later the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton. He was eventually acquitted after a five week Senate trial.