2009 – The communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collide in orbit, destroying both. (wiki)

1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.

Birthdays

1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 20 January 1907) In the autumn of 1890, Clerke and her brother Aubrey were founding members of the British Astronomical Association.

1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist and academic known for her work in theoretical cosmology at the interface of particle physics and astrophysics.