I still remember the picture of the crowd staring up at the explosion even though I haven't seen it in decades.
i would have been in the sixth grade at the time. i seem to remember watching the launch live in class. i definitely remember the confusion when it first exploded and nobody was quite sure what had just happened.
I remember that day distinctly. I screamed "Holy F*&^" in front of my entire class and teacher. I subsequently received several days of detention. On a more personal note, several years later my grandfather died on this date. So not so much a fan of January 28th.
I was a freshman in college, had taken advantage of unseasonably warm weather and gone golfing with a friend in the morning, we went straight to English Lit class after. We sit down and everyone is asking "Can you believe it? Can you believe it?" and we had no idea what anyone was talking about, since we hadn't been near a radio or TV since 8 am.
I was 4 years old, soon to be 5 so I have no memory of it. My mom's birthday is the 28th, so I'm sure it's a birthday she'll never forget.
ON THIS DAY On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.
And one more: 44 years ago, the Beatles gave their final live performance, from the rooftop of the Apple Studios in London. What a frakkin' downer of a day.
ON THIS DAY On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 1, 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they'd been refused service.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 3, 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 4, 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
Shortly afterwards, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with the nation of Symbiona (Joke courtesy of The Onion's Our Dumb Century)
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 5, 1937, President Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; critics charged Roosevelt was attempting to "pack" the court.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 6, 1952, Britain's King George VI died; he was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 7, 1984, the space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk.
ON THIS DAY On Feb. 8, 1996, in a ceremony at the Library of Congress, President Clinton signed legislation revamping the telecommunications industry, saying it would "bring the future to our doorstep."
And did it ever!! Go internet! Oh, wait, that was probably the bill that expanded the cable TV industry. I take it back!
Was it? Good. My family's cable offerings, living out in the boonies, were rather sucky until sometime in the late '90s. No Comedy Central, no Sci Fi Channel, no Cartoon Network, you get the idea. It whipped them into shape, to give the customers what they want.
