33 years ago today
ATF Raids Branch Davidians in Waco
On February 28, 1993, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives launched a raid on the Mount Carmel Center compound near Waco, Texas, home of David Koresh's Branch Davidian religious sect. The operation — intended to arrest Koresh on firearms charges — went catastrophically wrong. The Branch Davidians had been tipped off, and an intense firefight erupted in which four ATF agents and six Davidians were killed. The raid's failure triggered a 51-day standoff with the FBI that riveted the nation and ended on April 19 with a fire that killed 76 people inside the compound, including 25 children. The Waco siege became a defining moment in debates about government overreach, religious freedom, and the militarisation of federal law enforcement, and influenced the radicalism that led to the Oklahoma City bombing two years later.
Michel de Montaigne
Philosopher & Writer
Michel de Montaigne invented the literary essay as a form, using his own experience and mind as the subject of sceptical, humane, and wide-ranging reflections on everything from cannibalism to cruelty. His Essays remain among the most influential works in Western literature.
Linus Pauling
Chemist & Peace Activist
Linus Pauling won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 for his work on chemical bonds and molecular structure, and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against nuclear weapons testing — one of only four people to win two Nobel Prizes, and the only person to win two unshared prizes.
Mario Andretti
Racing Driver
Mario Andretti is one of the most successful racing drivers in history, winning the Formula One World Championship in 1978, the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and multiple CART championships — the only driver to win all three of those races.
Frank Gehry
Architect
Frank Gehry is one of the most celebrated architects of the 20th century, known for his radical deconstructivist designs including the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Dancing House in Prague.
Bernadette Peters
Actress & Singer
Bernadette Peters is one of Broadway's most beloved performers, winning Tony Awards for Song and Dance and Annie Get Your Gun while earning legendary status through her performances in Stephen Sondheim musicals including Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods.
Luka Doncic
Basketball Player
Luka Doncic became one of the NBA's brightest stars almost immediately upon joining the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, winning Rookie of the Year and making multiple All-Star appearances with a uniquely creative, European-influenced style of play.
Liu Bang Founds the Han Dynasty
Liu Bang was enthroned as Emperor Gaozu of Han, founding the Han Dynasty — one of China's greatest imperial dynasties — which would rule for over four centuries and establish the cultural and political templates still central to Chinese identity today.
Hernán Cortés Executes Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the execution of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor, accusing him of plotting rebellion during the march through Central America — extinguishing the last symbolic resistance of the Aztec Empire.
Scottish National Covenant Signed
Thousands of Scots signed the National Covenant in Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirk, pledging to defend the Presbyterian Church against King Charles I's attempts to impose Anglican religious practices — an act of defiance that helped trigger the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
USS Princeton Gun Explosion Kills Senior Officials
A cannon explosion aboard the USS Princeton during a public cruise on the Potomac River killed Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and four others — nearly killing President John Tyler, who was below deck at the time.
Taiwan Massacre: 228 Incident
The 228 Incident erupted in Taiwan when Nationalist authorities violently suppressed a popular uprising triggered by an assault on a widow selling untaxed cigarettes. Estimates of civilian deaths range from 18,000 to 28,000 over the following weeks of brutal repression.
Moorgate Tube Crash Kills 43
A London Underground train failed to stop at Moorgate station, ploughing into the end wall of a dead-end tunnel at speed. Forty-three people were killed and 74 injured in the worst peacetime accident in the history of the London Underground.
M*A*S*H Series Finale Watched by 106 Million
The finale of the TV series M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," aired to an estimated 106 million viewers — the largest audience for a single television broadcast in US history at the time, a record that stood for 27 years.
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme Assassinated
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead on a Stockholm street while walking home from the cinema with his wife, in one of Europe's most shocking political assassinations. The crime remained officially unsolved for 34 years until 2020.
ATF Raids Branch Davidian Compound in Waco
A failed federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas killed four agents and six cult members, triggering the 51-day standoff that ended in a devastating fire killing 76 people.
Pope Benedict XVI Resigns
Pope Benedict XVI resigned the papacy — the first pope to do so in nearly 600 years — citing his declining strength. His resignation paved the way for the election of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and first Latin American pope.
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Swedish Prime Minister
Olof Palme was a charismatic Social Democratic leader who served as Swedish Prime Minister twice and was a prominent voice for international social democracy and anti-imperialism. His unsolved assassination shocked the world and divided Sweden for decades.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Historian
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and adviser to President Kennedy, author of The Age of Jackson and A Thousand Days. He was one of America's most prominent public intellectuals of the 20th century.
Andre Previn
Conductor, Composer & Pianist
Andre Previn won four Academy Awards for film scores, conducted the London Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras, and composed works spanning jazz, classical, and musical theatre — one of the most versatile musicians of his generation.
Daniel J. Boorstin
Historian & Librarian of Congress
Daniel J. Boorstin was a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Librarian of Congress whose works, including The Americans trilogy and The Discoverers, made scholarly history accessible to a wide popular readership.
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