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On This Day: Soviets bomb Helsinki, kick off Winter War

On Nov. 30, 1939, the Russo-Finnish War -- also known as the Winter War -- started after the Soviet Union failed to obtain territorial concessions from Finland.

By UPI Staff
On November 30, 1939, the Russo-Finnish War -- also known as the Winter War -- started when the Soviet Union bombed Helsinki. File Photo courtesy Wikimedia
1 of 5 | On November 30, 1939, the Russo-Finnish War -- also known as the Winter War -- started when the Soviet Union bombed Helsinki. File Photo courtesy Wikimedia

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1731, a series of earthquakes struck China. More than 100,000 people died.

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In 1782, preliminary peace articles formally ending the American Revolutionary War were signed in Paris.

In 1913, Charles Chaplin made his screen debut in Mack Sennett's short film Making a Living.

Images of Charlie Chaplin are seen during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics on July 27, 2012. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

In 1939, the Russo-Finnish War -- also known as the Winter War -- started after the Soviet Union failed to obtain territorial concessions from Finland. The war started with the bombing of Helsinki.

In 1954, a meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in Sylacauga, Ala., striking Elizabeth Hodges, who was sleeping on a couch, in the hip. The space rock was a sulfide meteorite weighing 8.5 pounds and measuring 7 inches in length.

In 1975, Israel pulled out of a 93-mile-long corridor along the Gulf of Suez as part of an interim peace agreement with Egypt. Israel captured oil fields along the corridor in the 1967 Six-Day War with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

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In 1988, the Soviet Union stopped jamming broadcasts of Radio Free Europe for the first time in 30 years.

In 1989, serial killer Aileen Wuornos killed her first of seven victims in Volusia County, Fla., Richard Mallory. She claimed self-defense, but was convicted of murder and executed in 2002.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law, the most far-reaching nationwide gun control measure enacted in a decade. It was named after White House press secretary James Brady, who was injured in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

President Bill Clinton (R) and Jim Brady (C) share a moment during the 7th anniversary of the signing of the Brady Law on gun control in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, November 30, 2000. File Photo by Ricardo WatsonUPI

In 2004, Ken Jennings lost on the U.S. game show Jeopardy! after winning 74 games and $2.5 million.

In 2005, the world's first partial-face transplant was conducted in France. A woman who had been bitten by a dog was given a new nose, lips and chin.

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In 2007, an Atlasjet Airlines plane crashed near the Ispart, Turkey, airport, killing all 56 people aboard.

In 2012, demonstrations erupted in Cairo soon after lawmakers passed a Constitutional Declaration that gave President Mohamed Morsi near-absolute power. Morsi would be ousted by the military seven months later.

In 2013, a fiery car crash in Southern California killed actor Paul Walker, 40, and his friend, Roger Rodas. Walker was perhaps best-known for his starring role in the "The Fast & the Furious" movie series.

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

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