24 January 1252

Japan launched the Hiten spacecraft (pictured), the first lunar probe launched by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States.

The Soviet nuclear-powered satellite Kosmos 954 burned up during atmospheric reentry, scattering radioactive debris across Canada's Northwest Territories.

Spanish transition to democracy: Neo-fascists attacked an office in Madrid, killing five people and injuring four others.

Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found in the jungles of Guam, where he had been hiding since the end of World War II.

Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong.

A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress carrying two Mark 39 nuclear weapons broke up in mid-air near Goldsboro, North Carolina; one bomb was recovered intact, the other disintegrated.

Greek military aviators Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis performed the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.

The University of Calcutta was established as the first modern university in the Indian subcontinent.

James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill (reconstruction pictured) in Coloma, California, leading to the California gold rush.

The Estates unanimously proclaimed 14-year-old Matthias Corvinus King of Hungary after being persuaded to do so by his uncle Michael Szilágyi.

The Fatimid Caliphate began their first invasion of Egypt, against the Abbasids, which eventually ended in failure.

Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat dedicated a 65-ton stele, the largest stone known to be quarried by the Maya civilization, at his city of Quiriguá.

At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.

An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.

Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.

At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.

The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.

An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.

The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.

Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.

The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.

Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.