On This Day: Archaeologists open King Tut's tomb

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1923, archaeologists opened the treasure-laden inner tomb of Tutankhamen, "King Tut," in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

In 1933, a patent for the synthetic fiber nylon was awarded to the DuPont Co.

In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Cuba's leader and set up a Communist regime.

UPI File Photo

In 1983, roaring summer brush fires fanned by 50 mph winds swept southern Australia, killing dozens of people and destroying at least 100 homes.

In 1984, Bill Johnson became the first American male downhill skier to win an Olympic gold medal. His mother, D.B. Johnson, told UPI, "I'm just so proud of him I could just burst."

In 1986, Mario Soares was elected Portugal's first civilian head of state in 60 years.

In 1992, the Los Angeles Lakers retired Magic Johnson's No. 32 jersey during a tearful ceremony.

File Photo by Steve Grayson/UPI

In 1999, Germany announced $1.7 billion would be set aside to compensate victims of the Holocaust.

In 2005, after a five-month lockout, the National Hockey League canceled its entire 2004-05 season.

In 2009, Japan reported its domestic product fell at a 12.7 percent annual rate in the last quarter of 2008, plunging the country into what experts say was its worst financial crisis since World War II.

In 2011, Borders, the 40-year-old retail book superstore chain that began as a used book shop in Ann Arbor, Mich., and rapidly expanded in the 1990s with 650 locations and 19,500 employees, filed for bankruptcy. The retailer fully shuttered in September 2011.

In 2021, Dallas recorded its lowest temperature since 1949 -- minus 2 -- amid a widespread winter storm that left millions without power and killed at least 246 people in Texas.

In 2022, Norway's Erik Valnes and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won gold in men's cross-country skiiing team sprint at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

File Photo by Vassil Donev/EPA-EFE