Sumptuary Law
1363 English King Edward III introduces his Sumptuary Laws, restricting what people ate and wore to preserve social status (largely ignored)
- 1492 Supplies to build Portuguese trading post Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle) arrive on the Gold Coast (now Ghana), first European building south of the Sahara
- 1493 France cedes Roussillon & Cerdagne to Spain by treaty of Barcelona
- 1511 Italian city Mirandola surrenders to the French
- 1520 Sten Sture the Younger, Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund
- 1547 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is executed in the Tower of London for treason
- 1607 San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; the oldest church in the Philippines
Steele Publishes "Crisis"
1714 Richard Steele publishes "Crisis" defending Hanoverian success
Scottish History
1746 "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Prince Charles Edward Stuart's troops occupy Stirling, Scotland [OS=Jan 8]
- 1770 Battle of Golden Hill (Lower Manhattan)
- 1785 First manned balloon flight in Ireland
- 1795 Democratic revolution in Amsterdam ends oligarchy
- 1806 United Kingdom re-occupies the Cape of Good Hope following victory in the Battle of Blaauwberg over French vassal, the Batavian Republic. Establishes British rule in South Africa.
- 1808 Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
- 1810 Cold Friday: temperature at Portsmouth, New Hampshire drops from 54°F to minus 12°F in one day with many frozen to death
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
1812 Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo
- 1825 Ezra Daggett and nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans
"Faust, Part 1" Premieres
1829 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's tragic play "Faust, Part 1" premieres
"Il Trovatore" Premieres
1853 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premieres in Rome
- 1861 Georgia secedes from the Union (US Civil War)
- 1861 Mississippi troops take Fort Massachusetts and Ship Island (US Civil War)
- 1862 Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky (Fishing Creek, Logan's Crossroads)
- 1863 General Mieroslawski appointed dictator of Poland
- 1865 NV Suriname Bank established
- 1865 Union occupies Fort Anderson, North Carolina
- 1871 1st Negro lodge of US Masons approved, New Jersey
Electric Lighting Begins
1883 The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey
"Manon" Premieres
1884 Jules Massenet's opera "Manon" premieres in Paris
- 1885 Battle of Abu Kru (Battle of Gubat), Sudan: British Desert Column defeat Mahdist forces: 121 British and untold Mahdists killed
- 1886 Aurora Ski Club, 1st in US, founded in Minnesota
- 1893 Henrik Ibsen's play "The Master Builder" premieres in Berlin
- 1898 Brown defeats Harvard 6-0 in 1st intercollegiate hockey game
- 1899 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan forms
- 1903 1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England
- 1903 French newspaper L'Auto announces new 5-stage, long distance bicycle race, "Tour de France"
Theater Premiere
1906 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Und Pippa Tanzt!" premieres in Berlin
First Air Raid on Britain
1915 World War I: 4 people in Norfolk are killed in the 1st German Zeppelin air raid attack on the United Kingdom
- 1917 The Silvertown explosion: 73 die when a munitions factory in Essex explodes.
- 1918 Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles between the Red Guards and the White Guard
- 1918 Soviets disallow a Constitution Assembly
- 1919 National elections held in Germany to form a National Constituent Assembly and draft a constitution
- 1920 Alexandre Millerand forms French government
- 1921 Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador sign Pact of Union
- 1922 Geological survey says US oil supply would be depleted in 20 years
Britain's War Debt
1923 UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin and US Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon agree to reschedule repayment of Britain's $4.5 billion war debt over 62 years
World 500m Skating Record
1929 Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg sets new world 500m record in 42.8 seconds in Davos, Switzerland
- 1932 Charlie Conacher becomes first Toronto player to score 5 goals in an NHL game as Maple Leafs rout the NY Americans, 11-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens
Sports History
1934 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denies Joe Jackson's appeal for reinstatement into baseball; Jackson was banned after 1919 "Black Sox" World Series
- 1935 Coopers Inc. sells the world's first men's briefs in Chicago, calls it the "Jockey"
- 1935 KLM begins flight path between Curacao & Aruba
Hall of Fame
1937 Cy Young, Tris Speaker & Nap Lajorie elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Historic Event
1937 Millionaire Howard Hughes sets transcontinental air record (7h 28m 25s)
Film Release
1940 The Three Stooges film "You Nazty Spy!" about the Nazis released with the disclaimer "Any resemblance between the characters in this picture and any persons, living or dead, is a miracle."
Historic Event
1943 1st Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins
- 1943 Joint Chiefs of Staff decide on invasion in Sicily
- 1947 SS Himera runs aground at Athens, kills 392
- 1949 Cuba recognises Israel.
- 1950 Maiden flight by Canada's Avro Canada CF-100 military plane
- 1952 NFL purchases struggling football franchise, New York Yanks from owner Ted Collins; moves club to Dallas, Texas
- 1952 PGA approves allowing black participants
Sports History
1953 American track and field olympian Jesse Owens named Illinois Athletic Commission secretary
- 1955 "Scrabble" debuts on board game market
- 1955 "The Millionaire" TV program premieres on CBS
Historic Communication
1955 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower)
Sports History
1956 Hoboken dedicates a plaque honoring achievements of Alexander Cartwright in organizing early baseball at Elysian Field
- 1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
- 1958 Canadian Football Council renamed Canadian Football League
- 1960 Eisenhower & Premier Kishi sign US-Japanese Security pact
Television Debut
1961 1st episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is filmed
Australian Men's Tennis Open
1963 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson wins 1st of 5 straight Australian titles; beats countryman Ken Fletcher 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
- 1963 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Jan Lehane O'Neill for 4th consecutive year 6-2, 6-2
- 1964 3rd AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, SD: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 27-24; MVPs: Keith Lincoln, LA Chargers, RB; Archie Matsos, Oakland Raiders, LB
- 1964 KFME TV channel 13 in Fargo, North Dakota (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1966 British composer Michael Tippett's cantata "Vision of St Augustine" premieres in London
Election of Interest
1966 Indira Gandhi elected India's 4th Prime Minister
- 1967 Herr Karl Tausch writes shortest will "Vse Zene" (All to wife)
Historic Event
1968 Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill calls for "a new endeavour by organisations in Northern Ireland to cross denominational barriers and advance the cause of better community relations"
- 1968 WKBF TV channel 61 in Cleveland, Ohio (IND) begins broadcasting
- 1969 19th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 10-7; MVPs: Roman Gabriel, Los Angeles Rams, QB; Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams, DT
- 1969 8th AFL All Star Game, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 38-25; MVPs: Len Dawson, KC Chiefs, QB; George Webster, Houston Oilers, LB
- 1970 Eight Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands say there should be room in the church for both married priests and celibate priests
- 1970 US President Richard Nixon nominates G Harold Carswell to Supreme Court, approval rejected by US Senate
- 1971 "No, No Nanette" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 861 performances
NHL All-Star Game
1971 24th NHL All-Star Game, Boston Garden: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 2-1; MVP: Bobby Hull, Chicago, LW
- 1971 NHL Writers' Association renamed Professional Hockey Writers' Association
Music History
1971 The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" is played at Charles Manson trial
Hall of Fame
1972 Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, & Early Wynn elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1974 Belgium government of Leburton falls
- 1974 China and South Vietnam clash over the Paracel Islands, resulting in a Chinese victory
- 1974 Notre Dame beats UCLA, 71-70 in South Bend, Indiana to end Bruins' NCAA-record 88-game basketball win streak
- 1975 4 mail truck assault on El Al B-747 in Paris, escape to Iraq
- 1975 Triple J begins broadcasting in Sydney, Australia.
Hall of Fame
1977 Ernie Banks elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1977 Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas.
- 1977 US President Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose)
- 1977 World's largest crowd gathering - the Hindu Kumbh Mela in India attracts a then record 15 million people
- 1978 Eddie Mathews elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Appointment of Interest
1978 Judge William H. Webster is appointed Director of the FBI
Volkswagen Beetle
1978 The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.
- 1979 John N Mitchell (former US Attorney General) released on parole from federal prison
Historic Event
1979 US President Jimmy Carter announces he is awarding Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to anthropologist Margaret Mead
Agreement of Interest
1981 Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) led by Bernie Ecclestone, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile led by Jean Marie Balestre and the Formula One teams agree to the First Concorde Agreement granting FOCA the right to televise Formula One races and requiring all teams to compete in every race under fixed rules
Sports History
1981 Muhammad Ali talks a despondent 21 year old out of committing suicide
- 1981 US & Iran sign agreement to release 52 American hostages
- 1982 Aust-WI one-day game that produced a Privy Council libel case
- 1982 Heater explodes at Star Elementary School, Oklahoma, kills 6 children & teacher
Historic Event
1983 Klaus Barbie, SS chief in Lyon in Nazi-occupied France, arrested in Bolivia
- 1984 California Supreme Court rejects the request of quadriplegic Elizabeth Bouvia's to starve herself to death in a public hospital
- 1984 Francesco Moser bicycles world record time: 50,808 km
Music History
1985 "Born in the USA", single by Bruce Springsteen, peaks at #9
- 1985 4 die in a car & train crash in Buda Ill
- 1986 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $17 million
Historic Event
1986 Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres visits Netherlands
Sports History
1989 President Reagan pardons George Steinbrenner for illegal funds for Nixon
- 1990 Police break up protests in Johannesburg against the cricket players defying a boycott on playing in apartheid South Africa
- 1990 Test debut of Mushtaq Ahmed, v Australia at Adelaide
- 1990 Turning point in the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus from Indian-administrated Kashmir due to violence from Muslim militants
- 1991 42nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Campbell beats Wales, 11-5; Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs, C
Golden Globes
1991 48th Golden Globes: Dances with Wolves, Jeremy Irons, & Kathy Bates win
- 1991 Eastern Airlines shuts down operations
- 1991 Iraq files SCUD missiles at Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel during the Gulf War
- 1991 Sgt Slaughter defeats Ultimate Warrior for WWF championship belt
- 1992 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $23.5 million
- 1992 Cy Coleman and David Zippel's musical "City of Angels" closes at the Virginia Theater, NYC, after 879 performances, winning 6 Tony and 8 Drama Desk Awards
- 1992 IBM announces a nearly $5B loss for 1992
Film & TV History
1992 Roddy Piper beats Mountie to become WWF Intercontinental Champ
Album Release
1993 Columbia Records releases "The Wheel", the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash. co-produced by Cash and future husband John Leventhal
- 1993 Israel recognizes PLO as no longer criminal
- 1993 Oakland As unveil new elephant logo
- 1993 Robert M Gates, ends term as 15th director of CIA
- 1993 STS-54 (Endeavour) lands
- 1994 -20°F (-29°C) (5:32 AM) coldest day ever recorded in Cleveland Ohio
- 1994 -36°F (-38°C) in New Whiteland, Indiana (state record)
Hall of Fame
1994 9th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Animals; The Band; Duane Eddy; The Grateful Dead; Elton John; John Lennon; Bob Marley; Rod Stewart; Willie Dixon; and Johnny Otis
Golden Globes
1997 54th Golden Globes: The English Patient, Geoffrey Rush, & Brenda Blethyn win
Historic Event
1997 Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
NBA Finals
2000 Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships as a player, returns to the NBA, joining the Washington Wizards as part owner and President of Basketball Operations
Film Premiere
2001 Cult film "Donnie Darko" written and directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
El Chapo Finally Recaptured
2001 Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from Puente Grande maximum-security prison near Guadalajara by bribing prison guards and hiding in a laundry cart
- 2002 "Tuck Rule Game" AFC Divisional Playoff Game; with under 2 minutes to play New England Patriots trail Oakland Raiders, 13-10 in a driving snowstorm, when a Tom Brady fumble ruled an incomplete pass. Patriots win 16-13 in overtime
Golden Globes
2003 60th Golden Globes: The Hours, Jack Nicholson, & Nicole Kidman win
- 2003 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Oakland Raiders beat Tennessee Titans, 41-24
- 2003 NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10
- 2006 A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.
- 2006 Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously
- 2006 The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto
- 2007 Armenian journalist Hrant Dink assassinated in front of his "Agos" newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultranationalist Ogün Samast
- 2012 FBI shuts down Megaupload.com for alleged copyright infringement, hacker group Anonymous responds by attacking government and entertainment industry websites
- 2013 Calcium deposits are discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover
- 2013 Four climbers are killed by an avalanche in Glen Coe, Scotland
Armstrong's Doping Downfall
2013 Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories
- 2013 The 2012-2013 NHL season begins after a 119-day lockout
- 2014 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat New England Patriots, 26-16
NFC Championship
2014 NFC Championship, CenturyLink Field, Seattle: Seattle Seahawks beat San Francisco 49ers, 23-17
- 2016 China's economic growth revealed as lowest for 25 years - 6.9% in 2015
Palin Endorses Trump
2016 Sarah Palin officially endorses Donald Trump's presidential bid at a Trump rally in Ames, Iowa
Historic Event
2017 Adama Barrow sworn in as President of Gambia in Dahkar as Senegalese troops enter Gambia to persuade former President Yahya Jammeh to leave
- 2017 High-rise building collapses in Tehran, killing 20 firefighters
Uyghur Genocide
2021 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China is committing genocide in its repression of Uighurs and other Muslim people
UK Eases Restrictions
2022 UK PM Boris Johnson eases Omicron COVID-19 restrictions, saying the current wave of infections has peaked
