Britain Abolishes the Slave Trade, Italy Invades Abyssinia and the 1st Easter

Today in History

Historical Events

  • 31 1st Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus
  • 1436 Florentine Cathedral Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore with then the largest dome in the world by Filippo Brunelleschi with support from Cosimo de' Medici, consecrated by Pope Eugene IV (begun 1296)
  • 1807 British Parliament abolishes slave trade throughout the British Empire; penalty of £120 per slave introduced for ship captains

Today in Film & TV

  • 1954 RCA manufactures 1st color TV set (12½" screen at $1,000)

Today in Music

  • 1939 Billboard Magazine introduces hillbilly (country) music chart

Today in Sport

  • 1934 1st Augusta National Invitation Tournament (Masters) Golf: Horton Smith wins with 20-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole, 1 stroke ahead of Craig Wood
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Do you know this fact about today?Did You Know?

Swami Vivekananda initiates Margaret Noble (Sister Nivedita) into vow of Brahmacharya, first western woman received into Indian monastic order

Today in History in 1898

Would you believe this fact about today?Would You Believe?

British Airways flight from London mistakenly flies to Edinburgh, Scotland instead of Düsseldorf, Germany when wrong flight plan submitted

Today in History in 2019

Famous Weddings

  • 1734 William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau marries princess Anne of Great Britain, eldest daughter of King George II at St James' Palace
  • 1795 2nd Earl of Liverpool Robert Jenkinson (25) weds daughter of the Earl of Bristol Lady Louisa Hervey at Wimbledon
  • 1961 Playwright Samuel Beckett (54) weds Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil on a secret civil ceremony in England

Famous Divorces

  • 2005 American actress Jennifer Aniston (36) files for divorce from actor and film producer Brad Pitt (41) due to irreconcilable differences after 4 and a half years of marriage
Weddings & Divorces Today