- 374 Comet 1P/374 E1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0884 AUs of Earth
Appointment of Interest
527 Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne
Justinian I
- 705 Greek pope John VII chosen as successor to John VI
- 1064 Body of bishop Eleutherius of Blandain moved to Doornik
- 1318 Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English.
- 1340 Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.
- 1504 English guilds/corp goes under state control
Victory in Battle
1515 Portuguese fleet under Afonso de Albuquerque captures the Persian fortress of Ormuz, renaming it the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception
Afonso de Albuquerque
Event of Interest
1693 Cotton Mather's four-day-old son dies, and witchcraft is blamed
Cotton Mather
Event of Interest
1724 Henry Pelham becomes English minister of War
Henry Pelham
Historic Publication
1724 Jonathan Swift publishes Drapier's letters
Jonathan Swift
Ruins of Pompeii
1748 Ruins of Pompeii rediscovered by Spaniard Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre
Learn More >>
- 1776 Friedrich von Klinger's "Sturm und Drang" premieres in Leipzig
- 1778 New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock creates the "$" symbol
- 1792 Gronings feminist Etta Palm demands women's right to divorce
- 1803 French law rules the use of intention
- 1826 Samuel Morey is issued the first U.S. patent for an internal-combustion engine, which he calls a “Gas or Vapour Engine"
- 1850 San Francisco County government established
- 1853 Cincinnati becomes 1st US city to employ fulltime professional firefighters
Historic Publication
1854 Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, "Household Words"
Charles Dickens
Historic Publication
1857 Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man
Herman Melville
- 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign, Jackson's Battle of Woodstock, VA
- 1863 1st wartime conscription law in US goes into effect
- 1865 -9] Battle at Blakely Alabama
- 1865 Battle of 5 Forks Virginia, signalling end of Lee's army
- 1866 US Congress rejects presidential veto giving all equal rights in US
- 1867 Blacks vote in municipal election in Tuscumbia, Alabama
- 1867 International Exhibition opens in Paris
- 1867 Singapore, Penang & Malacca become British crown colonies
- 1868 Hampton Institute opens
- 1872 1st edition of The Standard
- 1873 British White Star steamship Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, 547 die
- 1873 Mehmed Kemals play "Vatan" premeres in Constantinople
- 1876 1st official NL baseball game (Boston-6, Phila-5)
- 1881 Anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem
- 1881 Kingdom post office in Netherlands opens
- 1888 Soccer team Sparta forms in Rotterdam
- 1889 1st dishwashing machine marketed (Chicago)
- 1891 London-Paris telephone connection opens
Event of Interest
1891 French painter Paul Gauguin leaves Marseille for Tahiti
Paul Gauguin
- 1891 The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1899 NC Mutual opens doors for business
- 1900 1st edition of Dutch newspaper "The People"
- 1905 British East African Protectorate becomes colony of Kenya
- 1905 "SOS" first adopted as a morse distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·) by German government
- 1910 Dumitru Dan (Romania) completes a 62,137 mile (100,000 m) walk
- 1912 Greek athlete Konstantinos Tsiklitiras breaks the world record -in standing long jump jumping 3.47 metres.
- 1914 UVS Soccer team forms in Lead
- 1916 1st US national women's swiming championships held
Event of Interest
1918 Henry Miller's Theater opens at 124 W 43rd St NYC
Henry Miller
- 1918 United Kingdom: the Royal Air Force is created from the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps.
- 1919 Stanley Cup Final, Seattle Ice Arena, Seattle, WA: With Montreal Canadiens (NHL) & Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) tied at 2-2-1, trophy not awarded due to flu epidemic
- 1920 The (Anglican) Church in Wales disestablished
- 1920 Stanley Cup Final, Mutual Street Arena, Toronto, ON: Jack Darragh scores a hat-trick as Ottawa Senators (NHL) beat Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA), 6-1 for a 3-2 series win
- 1924 Crown takes over Northern Rhodesia from British South Africa Co
Coup d'état
1924 Hitler sentenced to 5 years labor for "Beer Hall Putsch" but General Ludendorff acquitted
Adolf Hitler
Erich Ludendorff
- 1924 Imperial Airways forms in Britain
- 1924 The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
- 1925 1st transmission of Danish state radio
- 1925 Hebrew University, Jerusalem dedicated [see May 9, 1925]
- 1926 Halsteren Soccer team forms in Halsteren
- 1927 1st automatic record changer introduced by His Master's Voice
Event of Interest
1928 Chiang Kai-shek's army crosses Yang-tse
Chiang Kai-shek
Film Premier
1930 "The Blue Angel" starring Marlene Dietrich in her breakthrough role premieres in Germany
Marlene Dietrich
Event of Interest
1933 Heinrich Himmler becomes Police Commander of Germany
Heinrich Himmler
Murder of Interest
1934 Clyde Barrow kills two young highway patrolmen, H. D. Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler, at the intersection of Route 114 near Grapevine, Texas. Bonnie Parker's role in the murders helps turn public perception against the gang for good
Clyde Barrow
Bonnie Parker
Event of Interest
1936 Charles "Lucky" Luciano" is arrested in Arkansas on a criminal warrant from New York
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
- 1937 Aden becomes a British crown colony
- 1938 Nescafé introduces their flagship brand in Switzerland
Event of Interest
1939 US recognizes Francisco Franco's government in Spain at end of Spanish civil war. Pope Pius XII congratulates Generalissimo Franco's victory in Spain
Francisco Franco
Event of Interest
1940 Filipino President Quezon officially authorizes the printing and publication of the grammar and dictionary prepared by the Institute of the National Language.
Manuel L. Quezon
- 1941 Lillian Hellman's "Watch on the Rhine" premieres in NYC
- 1941 US Navy takes over Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay
- 1941 Nazis forbid Jews access to cafés
- 1941 Pro-German Rashid Ali al-Ghailani grabs power in Iraq
- 1941 The Blockade Runner Badge for German Kriegsmarine is instituted.
- 1942 Allied air raid on harbor city Kupang Timor
- 1942 Mexico changes from 3 time zones to 2
- 1944 Japanese troops conquer Jessami, Eastern India
- 1945 World War II: Canadian troops free the Dutch cities of Doetinchem, Enschede, Borculo and Eibergen
- 1945 World War II: The Ruhr Pocket of German forces are encircled by the US Ninth Army and US First Army, eventually leading to the capture of 317,000 German troops
Battle of Okinawa
1945 Battle of Okinawa: US ground forces invade Okinawa during World War II in the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific theatre
Learn More >>
- 1946 400,000 US mine workers strike
- 1946 Tsunamis generated by a quake in Aleutian Trench strike Hilo, Hawaii
- 1946 Van Acker forms Belgian government (without CVP)
- 1946 The Malayan Union is formed as a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca
- 1947 1st Jewish immigrants to Israel disembark at Port of Eilat
- 1947 Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island) by Osamu Tezuka published, first manga cartoon in tankōbon form
- 1948 Hines Johnson's debut as a bowler for West Indies to win v England 10-96
- 1948 Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark
- 1952 Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow
- 1952 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1953 J van Bale appointed governor of New Guinea
- 1953 KXMC TV channel 13 in Minot, ND (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1953 Walcott Worrell & Weekes all make centuries in innings v India
- 1954 US Air Force Academy established
- 1954 1st Dutch motorway, Amsterdam-Utrecht, opens
- 1954 1st US Army helicopter battalion forms, Fort Bragg, NC
- 1954 Earthquake/tsunami ravage Aleutians, 200 killed
- 1954 WQED TV channel 13 in Pittsburgh, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1955 Armed military action taken against bureaucratic strike in Amsterdam
- 1955 EOKA-bomb attacks against British government buildings in Cyprus
- 1955 WTVT TV channel 13 in Tampa-St Petersburg, FL (CBS) 1st broadcast
- 1956 10th Tony Awards: Diary of Anne Frank & Damn Yankees win
- 1956 KPIC TV channel 4 in Roseburg, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1956 Violent clashes in Algeria, kills at least 380
- 1957 Trial begins in Budapest against participants october uprising
- 1957 WYES TV channel 12 in New Orleans, LA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1957 World's biggest glass oven used
- 1958 KVIQ TV channel 6 in Eureka, CA (NBC/ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1958 Marshal Nikolai Bulganin becomes director of Soviet State Bank
- 1960 Census determines the resident population of the United States to be 179,245,000
- 1960 2nd French atom bomb explodes (Sahara)
- 1960 France performs nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds, Algeria
- 1960 U Nu elected premier of Burma
- 1960 1st weather satellite launched (TIROS 1)
- 1963 NY Mets purchase Duke Snider from the Dodgers for $40,000
- 1963 NYC's newspapers resume publishing after a 114 day strike
- 1963 Soap operas "General Hospital" & "Doctors" premiere on ABC TV
- 1964 10°F lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in April
Event of Interest
1964 John Lennon is reunited with his father Freddie after 17 years
John Lennon
Event of Interest
1966 Loyalist led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee to challenge the civil rights movement; it set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers
Ian Paisley
- 1966 "Hold On, I'm Comin'" single released by Sam & Dave
- 1967 1st British ombudsman Sir Edward Compton begins work
- 1967 The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
- 1968 KEMO (now KOFY) TV channel 20 in San Francisco, California (IND) 1st broadcast
- 1969 Royal Canadian Mint formally forms as a Crown Corporation
- 1969 Seattle Pilots trade minor league outfielder Lou Piniella to Royals
- 1969 The Hawker Siddeley Harrier (vertical take-off fighter) enters service with the RAF.
- 1970 John Lennon and Yoko Ono release hoax they are having dual sex change operations
- 1970 Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney Volinn declares MLB's Seattle Pilots bankrupt; car dealer Bud Selig buys franchise for $10.8 million and moves club to Milwaukee (Brewers)
Event of Interest
1970 US President Richard Nixon signs bill limiting cigarette advertisements from 1st Jan 1971
Richard Nixon
- 1970 Serious riots continue in the Ballymurphy estate in Belfast between Catholic residents and the British Army
- 1971 US/Canada ISIS 2 launched to study ionosphere
- 1971 United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership
- 1972 30,000 attend Mar Y Sol rock concert, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
- 1972 Major league baseball players stages 1st collective strike
- 1973 Japan allows its citizens to own gold
- 1973 John Lennon and Yoko Ono form a new country with no laws or boundaries, called Nutopia, its national anthem is silence
- 1973 OPEC increases price of petroleum by 5.7 percent
Event of Interest
1974 Ayatollah Khomeini calls for an Islamic Republic in Iran
Ayatollah Khomeini
Event of Interest
1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' parents house in Cupertino, California
Steve Wozniak
Steve Jobs
Event of Interest
1976 "Helter Skelter", detailing Charles Manson's cult "family", their capture, trial, conviction and aftermath, premieres on CBS
Charles Manson
Event of Interest
1978 "The Bob Newhart Show" last airs on NBC-TV
Bob Newhart
- 1978 Philippine College of Commerce becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines by presidential decree
- 1978 132nd Grand National: Bob Davies aboard 14/1 chance Lucius wins by half a length from Sebastian V
- 1979 Iran proclaimed an Islamic Republic following fall of Shah
- 1980 Baseball Players' Association votes to cancel 92 remaining exhibition games
- 1980 Failed assassination attempt on Iraqi vice-premier Tariq Aziz
- 1980 France performs nuclear test
NHL Record
1980 Wayne Gretzky breaks Bobby Orr's record with 103rd assist
Wayne Gretzky
- 1980 New York City's Transit Worker Union 100 begins a strike lasting 11 days.
Event of Interest
1981 CNN airs a videotape that shows that Tamara Rand predicted that Reagan is in danger from someone named Jack Humley (a hoax)
Ronald Reagan
Event of Interest
1983 NY Isle Mike Bossy becomes 1st to score 60 goals in 3 cons seasons
Mike Bossy
PGA Players Championship
1984 PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 24-year old Fred Couples finishes at 277 (-11), 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino
Fred Couples
- 1985 47th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Villanova beats Georgetown, 84-75; Wildcats lowest-seeded team to win tournament (8)
- 1986 Delhi beat Haryana by innings & 141 to win Ranji Trophy
- 1986 US submarine Nathaniel Green runs aground in Irish Sea
- 1986 World oil prices dip below $10 a barrel
- 1989 1st NY Met-NY Yankee game in NYC since 1983, Yanks win 4-3
- 1989 A Bartlett Giamatti replaces Ueberroth as 7th commissioner of baseball
- 1990 "Ha!" comedy Channel on cable TV begins transmitting
Golf Tournament
1990 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Jack Nicklaus wins his first start on the Senior PGA Tour by 4 strokes from Gary Player
Jack Nicklaus
Gary Player






