25 people who witnessed historical events (26 photos)

Life is unpredictable. You never know what you will see even in the next minute. Users of the Reddit forum shared which historical events or disasters they saw with their own eyes, and in which events they took part. It was both a unique and frightening experience that left a mark on each of them.





1. “I stood on my porch and watched the Challenger launch on January 28, 1986.”



On January 28, 1986, the Challenger shuttle disaster occurred. The shuttle collapsed as a result of the explosion of the external fuel tank - this led to the death of all 7 crew members.

2. “And I was sitting on the roof of a house and saw the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. It was about 150 kilometers away.”



The catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens (in Washington State, USA) killed 57 people.

3. “I fled the deadly tsunami in 2004.”



On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean. It caused the deadliest tsunami in modern history, affecting the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, Thailand and other countries. Between 225 thousand and 300 thousand people died.

4. “I was in training with the daughter of one of the pilots on September 11, 2001, when she learned that her father had died. It was the most painful thing I have seen.”



5. “In April 2020, I worked in intensive care in New York. Then Covid-19 began. I don’t wish this on anyone.”



6. “October 17, 1989: I watched the Nimitz Freeway collapse during the San Francisco earthquake.”



“I was driving my Triumph Spitfire convertible. The car was slightly scratched by debris, I was unharmed, but I was quite scared,” said an eyewitness.

7. "Watched Terry Fox run the Marathon of Hope"



Canadian with bone cancer Terry Fox launched his "Marathon of Hope". A young guy ran 42 km a day across the country for almost 5 months to help cancer patients.

8. “I saw actor OJ Simpson running from the police in his white Ford Bronco. I was 10 years old.”



On June 12, 1994, actor O. J. Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her lover. A year later he was acquitted and avoided the death penalty, but later he was officially admitted guilty and demanded to pay a fine.

9. “I took a small piece from the Berlin Wall when it was destroyed on November 9, 1989.”



10. “On February 9, 1986, I saw Halley’s Comet in the sky. At that moment I was going to school.”



11. “Heard an announcement about an “incoming ballistic missile” in Hawaii in January 2018. I was a tourist there, and it was scary to receive this warning on my phone.”



The alarm turned out to be false: the emergency service worker mistakenly pressed the wrong button.

12. “The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on March 28, 1979. I was 21 years old, working as a journalist and standing at the plant on the morning of the accident.”



“I was the first reporter on the scene, as I had reported on other problems at the station earlier. The moment I arrived there, workers began to be evacuated,” the witness writes.

13. “I witnessed the Great Alaska Earthquake on March 27, 1964. Its magnitude was 8.4 on the Richter scale.”



14. “And I saw a little of the Los Angeles riot in 1992. I was returningI was home from school and saw someone throw a brick through the window. I didn't wait, I ran home."



From April 29 to May 4, 1992, riots took place in Los Angeles, resulting in the death of 63 people. The riot began when the court acquitted four white police officers who beat black Rodney King (he resisted arrest for speeding).

15. “Participated in the human chain of Hands Across America on May 25, 1986.”



On May 25, 1986, people in the United States created a human chain. 5 to 6.5 million people joined hands and stood for 15 minutes. The goal is to raise funds to help the poor in Africa and the United States, and draw attention to the problem.

16. “I was at a concert by The Who on December 3, 1979 in Cincinnati, USA. The stampede led to the death of 11 people. I was a couple of meters from the dead.”



17. “I saw the explosion in the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, which occurred on February 26, 1993. At that moment I was driving on the Manhattan Bridge.”



18. “Took part in polio vaccine trials on March 26, 1953. My parents brought me there as a volunteer.”



On March 26, 1953, American virologist Jonas Salk conducted the first successful test of a polio vaccine.

19. “I attended the Women’s March against Trump in Washington on January 21, 2017.”



The day after Donald Trump's inauguration, large protest marches took place in Washington. 500 thousand women took part.

20. “I was sitting in the seventh row when Tyson bit off Holyfield’s ear.”



On June 28, 1997, boxer Mike Tyson bit off the ear of his opponent, Evander Holyfield.

21. “On April 15, 2013, I was part of the medical team when explosions occurred at the Boston Marathon.”



On April 15, 2013, a terrorist attack occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Two explosions occurred, killing three people and injuring 280.

22. “I was in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake happened.”



On October 17, 1989, an earthquake occurred near San Francisco, USA, killing 62 people. The epicenter of the earthquake was 10 km from Loma Prieta, a famous mountain peak in the area.

23. “I was the dispatcher who called the Pentagon to report Kim Jong Un's first missile launch (and 6 subsequent launches over the next 5 years).”



24. “On March 8, 2014, I sat at the gate opposite the gate of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which crashed. I saw people boarding the fatal flight.”



25. “Witnessed the B-52 crash at Fairchild AFB on June 24, 1994. I didn’t see the plane, but I immediately saw the fireball.”



The crash killed 4 US Air Force pilots.