MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2003: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces during the Iraq War; three years later he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and was executed. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Middle East.]

1989: American country music singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose pop-infused tales of young heartache achieved widespread crossover success in the early 21st century, was born. [How much do you know about Taylor Swift?]

1937: The Japanese Imperial Army seized Nanjing, China, during the Sino-Japanese War, leading to the Nanjing Massacre, in which up to 300,000 Chinese may have been killed. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about China.]

1956: The film drama Anastasia was released in American theatres; it marked the Hollywood comeback of Ingrid Bergman , whose extramarital affair had caused a scandal, and she won an Academy Award for her performance. [Take our quiz about women in classic cinema.]

1934: British astronomer J.P.M. Prentice discovered Nova Herculis, one of the brightest novas of the 20th century. [ Take our astronomy quiz.]

1921: The Four-Power Pact was signed during the Washington Conference by the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and France , stipulating that all the signatories would be consulted in the event of a controversy between two of them over “any Pacific question.”