MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2017: The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games in P'yŏngch'ang, South Korea, after uncovering a Russian state-sponsored doping program. [ Discover other Olympic cheating scandals.]

2013: South African nationalist and statesman Nelson Mandela, who helped end the country's apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule, died at age 95. [Read Mandela's most noteworthy quotes.]

2012: Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer—an early exponent of modern architecture in Latin America, especially known for the curvaceous glass-and-white-concrete buildings that he designed for Brasília —died in Rio de Janeiro. [How much do you know about the history of architecture?]

1955: The American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) became a united body of autonomous labour unions, with George Meany as its first president.

1947: American boxer Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title against challenger Jersey Joe Walcott in New York City. [How much do you know about boxing?]

1933: Utah became the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment, repealing Prohibition . [Take our quiz about amendments to the U.S. Constitution.]