This Day in History

Viking 1 Lands on Mars

Continuing the theme of space exploration, Viking 1 successfully landed on Mars on July 20, 1976. This mission, part of NASA’s Viking program, was the first U.S. mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of Mars and return images of the surface. The primary objectives of the Viking missions were to obtain high-resolution […]

First Women Graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy

July 6, 1976, marked another milestone in gender equality when the first class of women graduated from the United States Naval Academy. This historic class included 81 women who were among the first to receive commissions in the Navy and Marine Corps, paving the way for future generations of women in the military. Their graduation […]

Ebola Breaks Out in Sudan

The first recorded outbreak of Ebola virus disease occurred on June 27, 1976, in Sudan (concurrently with an outbreak in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo). This outbreak marked the world’s introduction to Ebola, a severe and often fatal illness in humans. The virus’s emergence challenged the global health community due to its high […]