On this day, February 5, 1885, news reached London that the Mahdists had taken Khartoum and killed General Charles George Gordon. The news would prompt an expedition to rescue Emin Pasha, the Governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria.
The first class of nuclear submarines were a learning experience for the Soviet Navy. The November class boats experienced numerous difficulties and accidents, culminating in what has been described as a potential “Underwater Chernobyl."