PhotoQuest / Getty ImagesDec. 2, 1942 A self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time, at the University of Chicago.
American Stock / Getty ImagesNov. 6, 1928 For the first time, presidential election results were flashed on an electronic sign on the New York Times Building, reporting the results of Herbert Hoover's victory over Alfred Smith.
WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 22, 2003 A federal judge ruled the Pentagon couldn't enforce mandatory anthrax vaccinations for military personnel.
baiduhai PhotoNov. 7, 1999 Tiger Woods became the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four straight tournaments.
AFP / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 15, 1943 Work was completed on the Pentagon, now the headquarters of the U.S. Defense Department.
MANDEL NGAN / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 9,1788 Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
TORU YAMANAKA / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 21, 2004 The recording industry sued 532 computer users it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet.
AFP / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 20, 1920 Film director Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Italy.
Vince Bucci / Getty ImagesJanuary 22, 1968 The fast-paced television comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premiered on NBC.
Getty Images / Getty ImagesJanuary 13, 1999 Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball.
PBSJanuary 13, 1898 Emile Zola's famous defense of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, "J'accuse," was published in Paris.
Hulton Archive / Getty ImagesNov. 13, 1789 Benjamin Franklin sent a letter to a friend in which he wrote that, "in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes."
Michael Loccisano / Getty ImagesJanuary 14, 1952 NBC's "Today" show premiered, with Dave Garroway as the host.
Culture Club / Getty ImagesNov. 14, 1851 Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" was first published.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Spike TVJanuary 14, 1993 Talk show host David Letterman announced he was moving from NBC to CBS.
OLI SCARFF / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 23, 2003 The government announced the first suspected (later confirmed) case of mad cow disease in United States.
File photoJanuary 7, 1953 President Harry Truman announced in his State of the Union address that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.
Photo by Ron Galella/WireImageJanuary 5, 1998 Sonny Bono, the 1960's pop star-turned-politician, was killed when he struck a tree while skiing in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; he was 62.
Jonathan Daniel / Getty ImagesJanuary 16, 2013 The Chicago Bears introduced Marc Trestman as the 14th head coach of the NFL franchise.
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 22, 1963 An official 30-day mourning period following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy came to an end.
Lior Mizrahi / Getty ImagesDecember 29, 2014 The first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston.
baiduhaiNov. 19, 1997 Bobbi McCaughey, 29, of Carlisle, Iowa, gave birth to four boys and three girls in a Des Moines hospital. It was thought to be the first time septuplets had been born alive.
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 9, 2003 North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)
BRIAN BAHR / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 29, 1992 A St. Charles couple, David and Sharon Schoo, were arrested at O'Hare Airport after returning from a nine-day Acapulco vacation and charged with leaving their two young daughters at home alone. (The girls later were adopted by another couple.)
Getty Images / Getty ImagesDecember 22, 2005 Astronomers announced the discovery of two more rings encircling the planet Uranus, the first additions to the planet's ring system in nearly two decades.
MANDEL NGAN / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 23, 1788 Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government; about two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia.
AFP / AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 30, 1999 Former Beatles guitarist and singer George Harrison fought off a knife-wielding intruder who broke into his mansion west of London and stabbed him in the chest.
ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 16, 2006 Africa's first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was sworn in as Liberia's president.
MANDEL NGAN / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 9, 2012 Bill Daley announced his resignation as President Obama's chief of staff after a little more than a year in the position.
Ken Brown / Getty ImagesJanuary 19, 1809 Author Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston.
baiduhai archiveNov. 4, 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield.
Topical Press Agency / Getty ImagesNov. 11, 1918 Fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.
ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 6, 1950 Britain recognized the Communist government of China.
DOUG KANTER / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 14, 1970 Diana Ross and the Supremes performed together in concert for the final time, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
Brian Cassella / baiduhai / MCTNov. 20, 2013 Gov. Quinn signed a bill into law, making Illinois the 16th state to legalize gay marriage.
KAREN BLEIER / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 22, 1973 The Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion using a trimester approach.
KAREN BLEIER / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 23, 1789 Georgetown University was established in what now is Washington
Tim Boyle / Getty ImagesJanuary 20, 2009Barack Obama formally was sworn in as president of the United States, becoming the first African-American to be elected commander-in-chief.
JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 12, 2010 A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck near the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, devastating the impoverished nation and killing more than 300,000.
AFP / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 21,1905 Fashion designer Christian Dior was born in Granville, France.
PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 14, 1784 The United States ratified a peace treaty with England, ending the Revolutionary War.
Hulton Archive / Getty ImagesNov. 12, 1954 Ellis Island was closed after processing 20 million U.S.-bound immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892.
PBSNov. 5, 1940 President Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell Willkie.
JON LEVY / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 21, 1793 During the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine.
PBSJanuary 12, 1915 The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote.
Sovfoto / UIG via Getty ImagesJanuary 16, 1969 Two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.
New York Daily News Archive / NY Daily News via Getty ImagesDecember 30, 1903 About 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
Scott Olson / Getty ImagesDec. 3, 1818 Illinois was admitted as the 21st state.
AFP Photo / Paul J. RichardsNov. 3, 1997 Attorney General Janet Reno said there was no evidence that President Bill Clinton broke the law with White House coffees and overnight stays for big contributors.
Nuccio DiNuzzo / baiduhaiNov. 17, 1926 The Chicago Blackhawks played their first hockey game, beating the Toronto St. Patricks 4-1.
AFP / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 20, 1986 Britain and France announced plans to build the Channel Tunnel.
JOYCE NALTCHAYAN / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 22, 1997 The Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state.
Pool / Getty ImagesJanuary 6, 2004 A design consisting of two reflecting pools and a paved stone field was chosen for the World Trade Center memorial in New York.
Tribune file photoDec. 9, 2013 The Chicago Bears retired former coach and tight end Mike Ditka's No. 89 jersey.
Brett Deering / Getty ImagesDecember 23, 1997 A jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder.
Paul Moseley / McClatchy-TribuneJanuary 6, 2001 Congress formally certified George W. Bush the winner of the close and bitterly contested 2000 presidential election.
Tribune photo by Ed WagnerJanuary 5, 1986 The Bears played host to their first playoff game since 1963, defeating the New York Giants, 21-0.
Andrew Burton / Getty ImagesDec. 8, 1980 Former Beatles guitarist and songwriter John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by a deranged fan; Lennon was 40.
George Skene / Orlando SentinelJanuary 7, 1942 The World War II siege of Bataan began.
Thomas Northcut / Getty ImagesJanuary 19, 1861 Georgia seceded from the Union.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesJanuary 23, 2013 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced plans to lift the ban on women serving in combat units.
Larry Busacca / Getty Images for SiriusXMJanuary 12, 1954 Radio shock jock Howard Stern was born in New York.
STF / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 19, 1966 Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India.
MIKE NELSON / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 21, 2001N/b> The Roman epic "Gladiator" claimed best dramatic movie at the Golden Globes Awards.
MIKE BROWN / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 20, 1996 The space shuttle Endeavour landed after a nine-day mission that included snaring a Japanese satellite.
Ronald Martinez / Getty ImagesJanuary 14, 2004 President George W. Bush unveiled a plan to send astronauts to the moon, Mars and beyond.
CBSNov. 21, 1980 An estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS primetime soap opera "Dallas" to find out "who shot J.R." (The shooter turned out to be J.R. Ewing's sister-in-law, Kristin.)
Getty ImagesJanuary 15, 1973 President Richard Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.
AFP/Getty ImagesOct. 30, 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round match in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain the world heavyweight boxing title.
HECTOR MATA / AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 19, 2004 John Kerry won Iowa's Democratic caucuses, while John Edwards placed second; Howard Dean, who finished third, delivered a fist-pumping, bellowing concession speech that was viewed as politically damaging.
New York Daily News Archive / NY Daily News via Getty ImagesJanuary 16, 1988 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired as a CBS Sports commentator, one day after making controversial remarks about black athletes to a Washington television station.
PhotoQuest / Getty Images
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Dec. 2, 1942
A self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time, at the University of Chicago.
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Historic events can happen at any time. Today could be just as momentous. Whether a hero is born, tragedy strikes, or something out of the ordinary happens, RedEye’s got it covered. Each day we take a look back at a few of the most defining moments in history that have happened on that same date. Take a walk through our this day in history photo gallery above.