TODAY IN HISTORY: The painting that ruined a friendship, triggered a lawsuit and proved a massive hit

On January 21, 1943, a highly controversial painting won the Archibald Prize, perhaps the most contentious winning work in the award's history. This portrait of artist Joshua Smith, created by William Dobell, was criticized for being more of a caricature than a true likeness.

Two other entrants filed a lawsuit, arguing that the winning work did not meet the competition's standards. Smith, the subject of the painting (pictured), whose own work won second place that year, was also deeply hurt by the portrayal in the portrait. "It tears at my heart every day," Smith said in 1990.

The painting made that year's Archibald Prize exhibition exceptionally popular, but it also caused a rift between Smith and Dobell. Years later, when the portrait was damaged in a fire, Dobell refused to restore it. However, Smith himself won the Archibald Prize the following year with a more traditional portrait of politician Sol Rosevear.

On January 21, 1968, a thermonuclear bomb was lost in a plane crash near a U.S. military base in Greenland. A B-52 bomber carrying four B28FI bombs attempted an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. However, the crew had to parachute out before landing, and one member tragically died.

The crash detonated the conventional explosives on board, and the nuclear warheads ruptured, contaminating the remote area with radioactive material. This aerial photograph shows the crash site, with the impact point visible on the left side of the image. The cleanup and recovery efforts led to lengthy lawsuits involving local and Danish workers.

By 1995, 410 of the 1,500 workers had died of cancer. This crash was classified as a "Broken Arrow" incident, an accident involving nuclear weapons. The U.S. Air Force and local Inuit people searched for the bomb, but only the wreckage of three was found.