1964: Pisa Tower needs help
On February 27, 1964, the Italian government announces that it is accepting suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapse. It had been shifting since the first three stories were constructed on soft ground in the 12th century. A century later, four more stories were erected at a slight angle in the hope of correcting the tilt.
However, by the 1960s, the tower was 17 feet off-center, and experts warned that the medieval building was in serious danger of toppling in an earthquake or storm. An average of 250 tourists climbed the tower daily, and some local officials feared that if the tilt were corrected, the tourists might stop coming. In 1966 and 1985, attempts to reduce the lean by drilling were aborted when the tower tilted further south. In 1990, the Italian government closed the Leaning Tower's doors to the public out of safety concerns.
Finally, in 1999, engineers began a process of soil extraction that showed positive effects. Once an 18-inch reduction is achieved, probably sometime in 2001, the project will end. This reduction will give another 300 years of life to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and it will once again be open to the public.
2006
In the High Court of Justice in London the authors of the 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, sue Random House, publishers of the Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code, claiming that Brown’s book contains ideas stolen from them.
2004
Shoko Asahara, the leader of a Japanese cult that gassed the Tokyo subway in 1995, is sentenced to death.
2003
In England, Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.
2003
Architect Daniel Libeskind wins the competition to design the former World Trade Centre site.
2002
In India, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims catches fire, killing fifty seven people.
1999
In Nigeria, a general election takes place, ending fifteen years of military rule.
1973
Sioux Native Americans, led by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), occupy Wounded Knee, the site of the infamous 1890 massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. Seventh Cavalry.
1972
American President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issue the 'Shanghai Communiqué', ending Nixon’s historic visit to China.
1963
Antoine Argoud, a former colonel in the French Army is charged with trying to assassinate President De Gaulle two years ago.
1962
The Vietnam War: South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem survives a coup attempt when two South Vietnamese pilots bomb Diem’s presidential palace.
1942
The Second World War: The U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier, the Langley, is sunk by Japanese warplanes
1933
The German parliament, the Reichstag, is set on fire.
1922
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for female suffrage, is unanimously declared constitutional by the Supreme Court.
1900
The Labour Representation Committee is formed in Britain by the Independent Labour Party, the Fabian Society, the Social Democratic Federation and trade unions at a conference in London.
1844
The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.