During World War II, on this day in 1942, Singapore fell. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrendered. It was the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
On this day in 1965, a new red-and-white maple leaf design was adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
On this day in 2001, the first draft of the complete human genome was published in the journal Nature.
And on this day in 2013, a meteor exploded over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blew out windows and rocked buildings.