MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2013: Russian weapons designer Mikhail Kalashnikov—who invented the AK-47 (automatic Kalashnikov Model 1947), an assault rifle that became one of the most successful and ubiquitous firearms of the modern era—died in Izhevsk, Russia. [ Take our weapons and warfare quiz.]

2001: Argentina announced the suspension of payments on its external debt—the biggest debt default in history to date. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South America.]

1972: American gridiron football running back Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers made “the Immaculate Reception,” a dramatic catch that is regarded as one of the most famous plays in NFLhistory. [Test your knowledge of American football.]

1968: Eighty-two crewmen of the USS Pueblo were released after being held in captivity for 11 months by North Korea , which claimed the U.S. Navy intelligence ship had crossed into its waters.

1941: Early in World War II, invading Japanese forces defeated U.S. troops at the Battle of Wake Island. [Sort fact from fiction in our wars throughout history quiz.]

1929: American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, who was noted for the plaintive, fragile tone of both his playing and his singing, was born. [Test your knowledge of music.]