What Happened Today in History
Important Events
- 1534 Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent occupies Baghdad
- 1563 Council of Trent holds its last session, after 18 years. Last ecumenical council for more than 300 years.
- 1619 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish, England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
- 1791 Britain's Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, first published
- 1829 Britain outlaws "suttee" in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre)
- 1918 US President Woodrow Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France
- Today's Historical Events
Today in Film & TV
- 1933 Jack Kirkland's play "Tobacco Road" premieres in NYC, became the longest-running play of its time
Today in Music
- 1927 Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem
Today in Sport
- 1943 Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes
Did You Know?
Did You Know?Killer fogs begin in London, England; the term "Smog" is coined
Today in history in 1952
Famous Birthdays
- Thomas Carlyle
(1795 - 1881) - Crazy Horse
(1840 - 1877) - Chester Greenwood
(1858 - 1937) - Francisco Franco
(1892 - 1975) - Jeff Bridges
72nd Birthday - Jay-Z
52nd Birthday
Thomas Carlyle
Crazy Horse
Chester Greenwood
Francisco Franco
Jeff Bridges
Jay-ZTomorrow's Famous Birthdays
- Julius II
(1443 - 1513) - Martin Van Buren
(1782 - 1862) - George Armstrong Custer
(1839 - 1876) - Walt Disney
(1901 - 1966) - Bhumibol Adulyadej
(1927 - 2016) - Little Richard
(1932 - 2020)
Julius II
Martin Van Buren
George Armstrong Custer
Walt Disney
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Little RichardFamous Weddings
- 1878 Novelist Bram Stoker (31) weds Florence Balcombe (20) in Dublin, Ireland
- 1973 NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle (47) weds activist Carrie Cooke
- 1976 Actress Elizabeth Taylor (44) marries for the 7th time to politician John Warner (49)
Famous Divorces
- 2006 American tennis player Chris Evert (51) divorces American alpine skier Andy Mill (52) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, citing irreconcilable differences
- 2015 Actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas divorce after 19 years of marriage
Famous Deaths in History
- Thomas Hobbes
(1588 - 1679) - Robert Jenkinson
(1770 - 1828) - Hannah Arendt
(1906 - 1975) - Benjamin Britten
(1913 - 1976)
Thomas Hobbes
Robert Jenkinson
Hannah Arendt
Benjamin BrittenTomorrow's Famous Deaths in History
- Phillis Wheatley
(1753 - 1784) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756 - 1791) - Alexandre Dumas
(1802 - 1870) - Claude Monet
(1840 - 1926) - Robert Watson-Watt
(1892 - 1973) - Nelson Mandela
(1918 - 2013)
Phillis Wheatley
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Alexandre Dumas
Claude Monet
Robert Watson-Watt
Nelson MandelaThis Month in History
Goodbye Scratchy 78s, Hello Vinyl
Peter Goldmark will most be remembered for creating the long-playing vinyl record. But his many inventions earned him America’s National Medal of Science.December 2, 1906Flannelfoot, The False Teeth Filcher
Flannelfoot, a burglar who operated in London but gained international notoriety, would steal almost anything that came to hand – even a set of false teeth!December 3, 1937The Beheading of Saint Barbara
From artillerymen to architects and from bricklayers to butchers, Barbara is the patron saint. If legend is to be believed her sad life had a brutal ending.December 4, 4 ADMozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius who composed over 600 works in his short lifetime, died mysteriously on this day and was buried unceremoniously.December 5, 1791
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