It was a warm July day, like any other, in 1994 when something magnificent happened—something big and fantastical and kind of sad at times (but also happy!). Something that won Tom Hanks his second Oscar for Best Actor; something that dominated the box office that summer. 

On this day in 1994, Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump was released. 

Zemeckis' film was based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name and was subsequently nominated for 13 Academy Awards, six of which were won.

The now-classic films tells the story of Forrest Gump, a simple man from Alabama who (among many other culturally significant events of the twentieth century) teaches Elvis to dance, fights in Vietnam, invests in Apple, invents the iconic smiley face, and even falls in love. But most importantly, Forrest taught us that life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get. 

Read more about Forrest Gump on HISTORY.com.