- 1716 Britain & Netherlands renew alliance
- 1760 Niccolò Piccinni's opera buffa "La buona figliuola" (The Good-Natured Girl) first performed at the Teatro delle Dame, Rome, Italy, with an all-male cast
- 1778 France recognizes USA, signs Treaty of Alliance in Paris, 1st US treaty
- 1788 Massachusetts becomes 6th state to ratify constitution
- 1815 New Jersey issues 1st US railroad charter (John Stevens)
Singapore Founded
1819 Stamford Raffles founds Singapore as a British trading port
- 1820 1st organized emigration of blacks back to Africa (NY to Sierra Leone)
- 1820 First 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society start a settlement in present-day Liberia
- 1820 US population announced at 9,638,453, African Americans 1,771,656 (18.4%)
- 1832 1st appearance of cholera in Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1832 US ship destroys Sumatran village in retaliation for piracy
Darwin Arrives in Tasmania
1836 HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin arrive in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
Treaty of Waitangi
1840 The Treaty of Waitangi is signed between 40 Māori Chiefs (later signed by 500) and representatives of the British crown in Waitangi, New Zealand. The treaty was designed to share sovereignty between the two groups.
- 1843 The first minstrel show in the United States The Virginia Minstrels opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
Premiere of Rhenisch
1851 Robert Schumann's 3rd Symphony "Rhenisch" premieres in Dusseldorf
Henry John Temple
1855 British government of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston forms
Battle of Fort Henry
1862 General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee
- 1864 -7] Skirmish at Barnett's Ford Virginia
- 1865 2nd day of battle at Dabney's Mills (Hatcher's Run)
- 1867 American financier and philanthropist George Peabody establishes the Peabody Education Fund to provide improvements to existing schools in poor areas of the southern USA
- 1869 Harper's Weekly publishes 1st picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers
- 1882 The society of the Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven, Connecticut
- 1891 1st great train robbery by the Dalton Gang: Southern Pacific #17, near Alila (now Earlimart), California
- 1894 Bottle opener patented by William Painter
Spain Declares War Against the United States
1899 Spanish–American War ends, peace treaty ratified by Senate
- 1900 The Battle of Vaal Krantz, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
- 1902 Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC
- 1904 Japan notifies Russia that in view of Russia's delaying tactics and provocative military action, Japan is ending negotiations and recalling its members from Moscow
- 1911 1st old-age home opened in Prescott, Arizona
- 1911 Great fire destroys downtown Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
- 1918 Great Britain grants women (30 & over) the vote
- 1919 1st day of 5-day Seattle general strike
- 1919 The first day of the Weimar Republic which, because of its support of the Treaty of Versailles, does not receive proper allegiance from the German nation
- 1920 Saarland administrated by League of Nations
The Kid
1921 Charlie Chaplin releases his first full-length feature - "The Kid", a silent film starring Charlie Chaplin & 6-year old Jackie Coogan
- 1922 US, UK, France, Italy & Japan sign Washington naval arms limitation
- 1926 NFL rules college students ineligible until college classes graduates
- 1926 St Louis Browns acquire catcher Wally Schang from NY Yankees
- 1928 A woman dubbed Anna Anderson [possibly Franziska Schanzkowska] arrives in NYC, using the alias "Anastasia Tschaikovsky" claims to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II
- 1929 Rudy Vallee records single "Deep Night"
- 1932 1st Olympic dog sled race at Lake Placid, New York (demonstration sport)
- 1932 Fascist coup in the Memel territory
- 1933 -90°F (-68°C), Oymyakon, USSR (Asian record)
German History
1933 German President Paul von Hindenburg and Franz von Papen end the Prussian parliament
- 1933 Highest recorded sea wave (not tsunami), 34 m, in North Pacific hurricane by USS Ramapo
- 1934 Far right leagues rally in front of the Palais Bourbon in an attempted coup against the French Third Republic, creating a political crisis in France
- 1934 Reds purchase 43-year-old Dazzy Vance from the Cards for $7,500
- 1935 "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for 1st time
- 1935 1st election to allow women to vote in Turkey
- 1936 IV Winter Olympic Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Music History
1936 Pravda criticizes Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "Clear Brook"
- 1937 K Elizabeth Ohi becomes 1st Japanese-US female lawyer
- 1939 Spanish government flees to France
- 1941 Auke Adema wins 6th official Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race (9:19)
- 1941 Battle of Beda Fomm: Italian 10th army destroyed
- 1941 British troops conquer Bengazi, Libya
- 1943 1st Spitfire in action above Darwin, Australia, Mu Ki-46 shot down
Radio Premiere
1943 Singer Frank Sinatra debuts on radio's "Your Hit Parade"
- 1945 WWII: Russian Red Army crosses the Oder River between Poland and Germany
- 1945 WWII: US 8th Air Force bombs oil facilities in Magdeburg and Chemnitz, Germany
- 1946 "Lute Song" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 142 performances
- 1947 Compton & Arthur Morris both complete dual tons in same Test Cricket
Magnum Photos Founded
1947 Magnum Photos founded in Paris by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David Seymour
- 1948 1st radio-controlled airplane flown
- 1948 KNXT (now KCBS) TV channel 2 in Los Angeles, CA (CBS) 1st broadcast
- 1948 Nils Karlsson wins the 50k cross country gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Swedish skiers win all 3 cross-country events at the Games
- 1948 World & European champion Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win a women's figure skating Olympic gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games
- 1951 "Broker Special" train crashes in Woodbridge NJ, killing 84
Radio History
1951 Radio commentator Paul Harvey arrested for trying to sneak into Argonne National Laboratory, a nuclear test site located 20 miles (32 km) west of Chicago
- 1951 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site Argonne Atomic Lab (Ill), to demonstrate lax in security
Queen Elizabeth II
1952 Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms including Canada, Australia and New Zealand
Event of Interest
1956 French Prime Minister Guy Mollet pelted with tomatoes in Algiers
- 1956 University of Alabama suspends African-American student Autherine Lucy claiming that it can no longer provide for her safety
- 1958 21 dead in air crash at Munich-Riem Airport; 8 players and 3 staff are from the Manchester United football team
Sports History
1958 Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams becomes highest paid player in MLB when he re-signs with Boston Red Sox for $135,000
- 1959 1st successful test-fire of Titan ICBM
Event of Interest
1959 Edward R. Morrow interviews Cuban revolution leader Fidel Castro on his "People tp People" program
Latest Wonder of the World
1964 France & Great-Britain sign accord over building channel tunnel
Boxing Title Fight
1967 Muhammad Ali pummels Ernie Terrell for 15 rounds to retain his world heavyweight boxing crown at Houston Astrodome; regains Terrell’s WBA belt as well
- 1968 Dutch 2nd Chamber condemns US bombing of North Vietnam
Event of Interest
1968 Former President Dwight Eisenhower shot a hole-in-one
- 1968 KESD TV channel 8 in Brookings, SD (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1968 X Winter Olympic Games opens in Grenoble, France
- 1969 Jerry Herman's "Dear World" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 132 performances
Event of Interest
1969 The New Ulster Movement forms, promoting moderate and non-sectarian policies and to assist those candidates who support Northern Ireland Prime MinisterTerence O'Neill
- 1970 Graeme Pollock completes 274 v Australia at Durban
- 1970 NBA expands to 18 teams with Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston & Portland
Sports History
1971 American astronaut Alan Shepard is 1st to hit a golf ball on the moon [1]
- 1971 Bernard Watt (28), a Catholic civilian, is shot and killed by the British Army (BA) during street disturbances in Ardoyne, Belfast
- 1971 James Saunders (22), a member of the IRA, is shot and killed by the British Army during a gun battle near the Oldpark Road, Belfast
- 1971 The Irish Republican Army shoots and kills Gunner Robert Curtis, the first British soldier to die during the 'Troubles'
Golden Globes
1972 29th Golden Globes: "The French Connection", Gene Hackman, & Jane Fonda win
- 1972 A Civil Rights march held in Newry, County Down; very large turn-out with many people attending to protest at the killings in Derry the previous Sunday
Olympic Gold
1972 Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk follows his win in the 5,000m with victory in the 1,500m, on his way to 3 gold medals at the Sapporo Winter Olympics; also wins 10,000m
- 1973 40,000 civil servants demonstrate against higher pension contribution
- 1973 6th ABA All-Star Game: West 123 beats East 111 at Utah
- 1973 Bernice Fekete skips her curling rink to 2nd straight 8-ender, Edm
Music Concert
1973 Drummer Buddy Rich plays influential performance at the Top of the Plaza, Richmond New York, later televised by PBS
- 1973 Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer's musical "Shelter" opens at John Golden Theater, NYC; runs for 31 performances
- 1974 3rd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
- 1974 Dutch speed limit set at 100km due to oil crisis
Event of Interest
1974 US House of Reps begins determining grounds for impeachment of President Richard Nixon
- 1975 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)
1976 George Harrison releases single "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)"
- 1977 4th time New York Rangers shut-out New York Islanders, 4-0
- 1977 Alain Prieur jumps his motorcycle 65 m over 16 buses, near Paris
- 1977 Harley Race beats Terry Funk in Toronto, Ontario to become NWA wrestling champ
Appointment of Interest
1978 Muriel Humphrey, former Second Lady, is appointed to serve remainder of late husband Hubert Humphrey's term as US Senator by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich
- 1978 Snowstorm hits New England, parts of Rhode Island (54" / 137cm)
- 1979 Supreme court of Lahore affirms death sentence against Premier Bhutto
Trial of Interest
1980 John Wayne Gacy goes on trial for the murder of 33 young men in Cook County, Illinois
Music History
1981 Beatles George Harrison & Paul McCartney record vocals to a Ringo Starr track written by George, and re-worked as a tribute to John Lennon - "All Those Years Ago"
Fort Apache: The Bronx
1981 Crime film "Fort Apache: The Bronx" starring Paul Newman released amid protests in the US
- 1981 Suleiman Nyambui runs world record 5k indoor (13:20.4)
- 1981 TV sitcom "The Brady Brides", a sequel to "The Brady Brunch" debuts on NBC TV, runs for 10 episodes
- 1982 "Centerfold" by J. Geils Band hits #1 on pop chart
- 1983 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 20-19; MVPs: Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers, QB; John Jefferson, Green Bay Packers, WR
Trial of Interest
1983 Trial of former Gestapo commandant Klaus Barbie begins in France for war crimes during World War II
Event of Interest
1989 Solidarity union leader Lech Wałęsa begins negotiating with Polish government
Sports History
1990 Brett Hull becomes 1st son of NHL 50 goal scorer (Bobby Hull) to also score 50 goals
- 1990 Groundbreaking begins on Baltimore Orioles' new $102 million stadium
- 1990 Steve Briers of Wales recites entire lyrics of Queen's album "A Night At The Opera" in 9 minutes 58.44 seconds backwards!
- 1991 Mousey Davis becomes 1st coach of NY-NJ Knights
- 1992 "Late Night's 10th Anniversary Show At Radio City Music Hall" on NBC
- 1992 The Sámi people of the far northern Nordic countries have an official day celebrating their existence
NHL All-Star Game
1993 44th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: Wales beats Campbell, 16-6; MVP: Mike Gartner, NY Rangers, RW
Boxing Title Fight
1993 Riddick Bowe TKOs Michael Dokes in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1994 "Government Inspector" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 37 performances
- 1994 Jose Maria Figueres elected President of Costa Rica
- 1994 Martti Ahtisaari elected President of Finland
- 1994 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 17-3; MVP: Andre Rison, Atlanta Falcons, WR
- 1995 Greg Blewett scores his 2nd century in his 2nd Test Cricket
Sports History
1995 MLB outfielder Darryl Strawberry suspended from baseball for 60 days for positive cocaine test
- 1996 Heidi Fleiss scheduled to begin her 7 year jail sentence
Music History
1996 Rapper Tupac Shakur sentenced to up to 4 1/2 years in prison for sexual assault conviction
- 1997 Diane Blood, 32, in England, won right to use her dead husband's sperm
- 1998 In Corsica, the prefect Claude Erignac is assassinated in Ajaccio, presumably by Yvan Colonna.
- 1998 Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, who violated probation by seeing 14 year old father of her baby, sentenced to 7 years
- 1998 Twins trade Chuck Knoblauch to NY Yankees for $3M & 4 minor leaguers
Event of Interest
1998 Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport
NHL All-Star Game
2000 50th NHL All-Star Game, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON: World beats North America, 9-4; MVP: Pavel Bure, Florida Panthers, RW
NFL Pro Bowl
2000 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 51-31; MVP: Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings, WR, HI
- 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX, Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, FL: New England Patriots beat Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21; MVP: Deion Branch, New England, WR
Event of Interest
2005 Tony Blair, now the longest-serving Labour PM, marks 2,838 days as British Prime Minister
Violin Concerto
2009 "Violin Concerto", by Jennifer Higdon premieres, in Indianapolis, Indiana (Pulitzer Prize for Music 2010) [1]
Super Bowl
2011 Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX: Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25; MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, QB
- 2012 6.9 magnitude quake hits near the central Philippines with 43 confirmed deaths
Music History
2012 Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot is presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Laureus Awards
2012 Laureus World Sports Awards, Central Hall Westminster, London, England: Sportsman: Novak Đoković; Sportswoman: Vivian Cheruiyot; Team: FC Barcelona
- 2012 Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of becoming British monarch, becoming only the second to do so
- 2013 9 people are killed as an 8.0 magnitude 8.0 earthquake strikes off the Solomon Islands coast
- 2014 64th Berlin International Film Festival: "Black Coal, Thin Ice" wins the Golden Bear
- 2014 The Taliban and Pakistani government begin peace negotiations
- 2015 46th NAACP Image Awards: "Selma" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- 2016 Eighth Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by ABC, held in Goffstown, New Hampshire
- 2017 Qatar Airways achieves the longest-ever commercial flight in service when its B777 aircraft lands in Auckland after a 16 hour and 23 minutes flight from Doha
- 2018 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Hualien County, Taiwan, leaving 10 dead and over 50 missing
- 2018 Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo equals world record number of victories for a jockey - 12,844 in Rio de Janeiro
- 2018 Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declares state of emergency ordering arrest of two judges
- 2018 Polish president Andrzej Duda signs controversial Holocaust law, outlaws accusing Poles of complicity under Nazis
- 2018 UN calls for ceasefire in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area by Syrian government troops after 40 people reportedly killed
- 2019 2018 named the 4th warmest year on record according to NOAA and NASA, after 2016, 2015, and 2017
- 2019 Honeybees are able to add and subtract and understand concept of zero according to research from RMIT University in Australia
- 2019 Quadriga, Canada's biggest cryptocurrency exchange is unable to get to $145 million of bitcoin assets after its CEO dies with its access passwords
State of Union
2019 US President Donald Trump makes presidential State of Union address to Congress a week later than usual due to government shutdown
- 2020 Antarctica records high temperature of 64.9 F / 18.2 C at Esperanza, Argentina’s research station
- 2020 Date of the 1st COVID-19 related death in the US (confirmed by the CDC April 21)
