1669 Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000
1888 - Great Blizzard of 1888, a rare severe blizzard begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
1895 Spanish cruiser Reina Regente sinks in Straits of Gibraltar, over 400 die
1897 A meteorite enters the earth's atmosphere and explodes over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris causes damage but no human injuries are reported.
1918 Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia
1960 Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth & Venus
1974 Mount Etna in Sicily erupted
1990 Lithuania declares its Independence
2011 - An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake strikes 130 km (80 miles) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people and causing second largest ever nuclear accident
