On this day, 1978, 909 people committed suicide on a remote property in the South American country of Guyana. Of the 909, about a third were children, and many were forced against their will. These people were part of a group called the People’s Temple, led by its founder Jim Jones, a man that forced many of his followers to commit suicide at gunpoint via cyanide injection and poison-laced punch.

Information found on History.com.