On this day in 1987, Taiwan ended thirty-eight years of martial law—but that didn’t necessarily mean peaceful, democratic governing would follow.

On this day in 1789, angry French citizens and soldiers stormed a garrison-turned-political prison: The Bastille.

On this day in 2003, French intelligence operatives aborted a mission to rescue French-Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia—resulting in an international political scandal.

On this day in 1562, a Spanish friar named Diego de Landa ordered the destruction of dozens of sacred texts in an attempt to convert the Maya people to Christianity.

On this day in 472, enemies of Emperor Anthemius, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, captured and beheaded him in Old St. Peter’s Basilica.

On this day in 1086, King Canute IV of Denmark was killed during a peasant uprising. He was eventually canonized as the patron saint of the country.

On this day in 1821, 486 Greek Cypriots were executed by the Ottoman Empire.

On this day in 1898, the Wild West’s most notorious con man, Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith, was killed in a shootout in Skagway, Alaska.

On this day in 1984, Virginia Temple and her ten-year-old daughter were found dead in Toledo, Ohio.

On this day in 1415, Czech religious reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake for heresy. His martyrdom fueled a nearly 20-year war between the Pope and Hus’s followers.

On this day in 1934, police opened fire on the longshoreman striking at the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. The men were protesting for better wages and working conditions, but the violent assault left over a hundred wounded and two dead.

On this day in 2002, four-year-old Dannarriah Finley disappeared from her home in Orange, Texas. Residents of Orange rallied together in the search for Dannarriah… but after four days, they discovered that she was the victim of a horrific murder.

On this day in 1844, the last pair of great auks was killed. Due to overhunting from eager collectors, these penguin-like birds were wiped off the earth.

On this day in 1881, President James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield would survive another 79 days before succumbing to his bullet wounds.

On this day in 1981, members of the drug-peddling Wonderland Gang were viciously beaten to death in their home on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles. Guest hosted by Molly Brandenburg from the Parcast series, Medical Mysteries.

On this day in 2007, Kafeel Ahmed and Bilal Abdulla drove a Jeep Cherokee filled with propane canisters and barrels of gasoline into the entrance of Glasgow Airport in a failed terrorist attack.

On this day in 1804, two members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were court-martialed for breaking into the party’s stores and drinking while on duty.

On this day in 1960, dictator Fidel Castro began seizing control of American oil refineries in Cuba. The incident caused the relationship between the United States and Cuba to deteriorate beyond repair for decades.

On this day in 1942, the FBI captured the last of eight Nazi saboteurs planning to decimate the American war machine.

On this day in 1977, 16-year-old Jayne MacDonald was murdered on her way home from a night out with friends. It was the fifth in a string of murders by the mysterious killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper.

On this day in 1983, four-year-old Nyleen Kay Marshall vanished in the Helena National Forest.

On this day in 1973, 32 members of the Metropolitan Community Church were killed in an arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On this day in 1848, workers in Paris revolted against France’s newly installed conservative government. It marked the beginning of a historic 4-day uprising known as June Days.

On this day in 1964, FBI officers were called to Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers. What they uncovered would shock the nation.

On this day in 1989, the United States Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.