On This Day in History

Invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, the first working prototype of the Wankel rotary engine ran for the first time at the research and development department of NSU Motorenwerke AG.

Civil rights movement: Four African-American students staged the first of more than five months of sit-ins at an F. W. Woolworth lunch counter (pictured) in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest the company's policy of racial segregation.

Kuala Lumpur (pictured), the capital of Malaysia, was granted city status.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile and soon led the Iranian Revolution to overthrow the Pahlavi dynasty.

The Timor-Leste Defence Force was established from the erstwhile anti-Indonesian independence movement Falintil.

All seven crew members aboard Space Shuttle Columbia were killed when the orbiter disintegrated over Texas during reentry.

During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, Janet Jackson's breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake in what was later referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction", resulting in an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in U.S. broadcasting.

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (pictured) became the first female prime minister of Iceland.

Following an Egyptian Premier League match in Port Said, Al Masry fans rioted and violently attacked Al Ahly supporters, resulting in 74 deaths.

The Burmese military staged a coup d'état that deposed the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking nationwide protests and a civil war.