MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2020: American mathematician Katherine Johnson—whose trailblazing work at NASA became known to a wide audience through the book Hidden Figures and its film adaptation (both 2016)—died at age 101. [ Sort fact from fiction in our space exploration quiz.]

2020: American film producer Harvey Weinstein, whose career ended amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault, was convicted of rape and a criminal sex act; many viewed the verdict as a victory for the #MeToo movement, which sought to assist survivors of sexual assault.

1955: American businessman Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple Inc.and a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era, was born. [Take our quiz about tech companies.]

1836: American painter Winslow Homer, who captured the interaction of humans and nature in his watercolours, was born in Boston. [ Test your knowledge of artists.]

1991: U.S. ground operations began in the Persian Gulf War, more than a month after an air war was launched against Iraq to free Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. [ Read about the conflict's key events in our timeline.]

1976: The regime of Fidel Castro adopted the constitution of Cuba, which mandated the operation of only one political party—the Communist Party of Cuba. [ Discover six interesting facts about Castro.]