On this day in 1959, rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson, better known as "The Big Bopper" were killed in a plane crash.

The day will forever be known as "the day the music died." Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and pilot error. In 1972, Don McLean immortalized the tragedy with his number one hit "American Pie."

On this day in 1985, dozens of American pop stars gathered to record "We Are the World."

The song, which was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, went on to sell more than 7 million copies, raising over $60 million for famine relief in Africa.

On this day in 1880, inventor Thomas Edison received a history-making patent for his electric incandescent lamp -- which, of course, is better known as the light bulb.

Mike Derer/Associated Press

A model of an 1879 street light burns in the Edison Museum in Edison, N.J., in front of a portrait of inventor Thomas A. Edison Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Monday as her husband and daughter look on.

On this date in 2009, former first lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton is sworn in as Secretary of State after the Senate approves her nomination by a vote of 94-2.

On this date in 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered one of the most memorable speeches in political history, calling on a new generation of American leadership and patriotism.

Learn more from the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. Read the full text here.