The Whack Heard ‘Round the World

On this day in 1992, at an ice rink in Detroit, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed in the leg by a man dressed in black. The injury forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, clearing the way for her rival Tonya Harding to win the competition, qualify for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and become the center of attention in one of figure skating’s biggest scandals. 1994.

Supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. 2021. 

The Boston Globe launched its Spotlight series exposing rampant sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the Boston archdiocese and a cover-up by church authorities. The paper won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its “courageous, comprehensive” reporting of the abuse. 2002. 

The U.S. Congress certified George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 presidential election following a legal battle. 2001. 

Composer A.R. Rahman, known as “the Mozart of Madras,” was born in Madras (now Chennai), India. 1966. 

At a small gathering to celebrate the new year, the Mirabal sisters decided to create a nationwide movement in the Dominican Republic to oppose the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. 1959. 

George Washington, the future first president of the United States, married Martha Dandridge in Virginia. 1759.