1994 The Rwandan genocide begins

The assassination of Rwandan President, Juvénal Habyarimana, and Burundian President, Cyprien Ntaryamira, triggered a mass slaughter of ethnic Tutsis with up to 1 million victims.

1965 The first commercial communications satellite is launched

Intelsat I, also known as Early Bird, facilitated the first live TV broadcast of a spacecraft splashdown when Gemini 6 landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

1924 A team of aviators begins the first round-the-world flight in history

Four aircraft left Seattle on a westbound route around the globe. 157 days later, two of them reached the same location.

1909 Robert Peary allegedly becomes the first person to reach the North Pole

Peary’s claim has never been verified and is widely contested. The first undisputed journey to the North Pole was the 1948 Soviet Sever-2 expedition.

1896 The first modern Olympic Games are opened in Athens

241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the First Olympiad. The event took place over 1500 years after the last ancient Olympic Games, which originated in Olympia in south-western Greece.