Roman Empire
41 After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate
- 1139 Godfried II the Young becomes Duke of Brabant
Historic Event
1327 King Edward III accedes to the English throne aged 14, after his mother Isabella of France, and her lover Roger Mortimer depose his father Edward II
- 1348 Friuli Earthquake in |European southern Alps measuring approximately 6.9, largely destroys Villach, killing 5,000
- 1494 Alfonso II succeeds his father as King of Naples
- 1554 Founding of the city of São Paulo in Brazil
- 1554 Sir Thomas Wyatt gathers an army in Kent, rebels against Queen Mary
- 1565 Battle at Talikota India: Deccan sultanate destroy Vijayanagar's army and the last Hindu kingdom of Southern India
Victory in Battle
1573 Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu
Historic Event
1721 Tsar Peter the Great ends Russian-orthodox patriarchy
Historic Event
1755 Moscow University is established by Elizabeth of Russia and founded by Mikhail Lomonosov on Tatiana Day
- 1777 Americans drag cannon up hill of Kingsbridge Road to fight British, prompting a name change to Gun Hill Road (Bronx, New York)
- 1787 Shays' Rebellion suffers a setback when debt-ridden farmers, led by Capt Daniel Shays, fail to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts
- 1792 The London Corresponding Society is founded.
- 1799 1st US patent for a seeding machine, Eliakim Spooner, Vermont
Music Premiere
1817 Gioachino Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella) premieres in Rome
Historic Event
1819 University of Virginia chartered by Commonwealth of Virginia, with Thomas Jefferson one of its founders
Famous Photo
1839 Henry Fox Talbot exhibits early photographs to the Royal Institution in the UK
Historic Expedition
1840 American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes is first to identify Antarctica as a new continent
Music Premiere
1858 Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" first played, at wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia
Election of Interest
1877 Congress establishes the Electoral Commission to determine the disputed presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden
- 1879 The Bulgarian National Bank is founded
Historic Event
1881 Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
- 1882 Bilu, a Russian Zionist organization, forms
Music History
1885 Vincent d'Indy's "Saugefleurie" premieres
Historic Event
1890 Journalist Nellie Bly beats the fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg around the world by 8 days (72 days)
Historic Event
1890 National Afro-American League founded in Chicago by Timothy Thomas Fortune, one of earliest civil rights organizations in America
- 1890 United Mine Workers of America forms
- 1894 In his only successful title defence, James J Corbett KOs English champion Charley Mitchell in 3 rounds at the Duvall Athletic Club, Jacksonville, Florida for the world heavyweight boxing title
- 1895 New Haven Symphony Orchestra of Connecticut performs its first concert
- 1902 Aleksandr Skriabin's 2nd Symphony in C premieres in St Petersburg
- 1904 179 die in coal mine explosion at Cheswick, Pennsylvania
- 1904 John Millington Synge's play "Riders to the Sea" premieres in Dublin
Music History
1905 Arnold Schoenberg's "Pelleas und Melissande" premieres at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria
Music History
1909 Richard Strauss' premier of "Elektra" in Dresden
- 1910 1st stumping by a 12th man in Tests (N C Tufnell, SAf v Eng)
- 1910 Children initiate idea of planting trees in Jerusalem
Agreement of Interest
1914 An Indian mass meeting in Durban unanimously endorse the agreement between General J.C. Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters
- 1915 Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in San Francisco
- 1915 Giordano, Sardou & Moreau's opera "Madame Sans Gêne" premieres in NYC
- 1915 Transcontinental telephone service inaugurated (NY to San Francisco)
- 1916 Montenegro surrenders to Austria-Hungary
- 1918 Russia declared a republic of Soviets
- 1919 Founding of League of Nations, 1st meeting 1 year later
- 1919 The Hotel Pennsylvania, at the time the world's largest, opens in Manhattan
- 1921 Karel Čapek's play "R.U.R." premieres in Prague, introduces the word "robot"
- 1923 NVV donates 100,000 guilders to mine workers of Ruhrgebied
1st Winter Olympics
1924 1st Winter Olympic Games open in Chamonix, France
Cricket History
1929 Future Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 340 for NSW v Victoria (488 mins, 38 fours); then highest individual score in a Sheffield Shield match
- 1930 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Edgar Moon wins his first and only Grand Slam singles title; beats fellow Australian Harry Hopman 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
- 1930 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Melbourne: Daphne Akhurst Cozens wins 3rd straight Australian singles title; beats Sylvia Lance Harper 10-8, 2-6, 7-5
- 1932 1st commencement exercises at Hebrew U in Jerusalem
- 1937 1st broadcast of "Guiding Light" on NBC radio
- 1937 Miami-to-Tampa bus overturned in a canal, kills 13
- 1938 Ian Hay's "Bachelor Born" premieres in NYC
Historic Event
1939 1st nuclear fission experiment (splitting of a uranium atom) in the US, in basement of Pupin Hall, Columbia University by a team including Enrico Fermi
- 1939 Earthquake hits Chillan Chile, 10,000 killed
- 1940 Nazi decrees establishment of Jewish ghetto in Lodz Poland
Historic Event
1942 Lt General Rommels African corps reaches Msus
- 1945 Grand Rapids, Michigan, becomes 1st US city to fluoridate its water
- 1945 Japanese occupiers of Batavia arrest Indo-European youths
- 1945 NY Yankees sold by Ruppert estate to construction magnate Del Webb and partners Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail for $2.8 million
- 1945 West Africa 82nd division occupies Myohaung, Burma
- 1946 Richard Strauss' "Metamorphosis" premieres in Zurich
- 1946 United Mine Workers union rejoins American Federation of Labor
- 1949 1st Emmy Awards: Shirley Dinsdale & Pantomime Quiz (KTLA) win
Election of Interest
1949 1st Israeli election won by David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party
- 1950 73°F (23°C) highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in January
Cricket Debut
1952 Test debut of great Australian cricket captain (62 Tests) and broadcaster Richie Benaud, v West Indies at the SCG
- 1953 WABI TV channel 5 in Bangor, ME (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1953 Yuri Sergejev skates world record 500m in 40.9 sec
- 1955 Columbia University scientists develop an atomic clock accurate to within one second in 300 years
- 1955 Jill Kinmont hits a tree & breaks her back in Snow Cup Ski Race
- 1955 Russia ends state of war with Germany
- 1955 US & Panama sign canal treaty
- 1956 96.5 cm (38.0") of rainfall, Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
- 1957 FBI arrests Jack & Myra Sobel, charged with spying for USSR
- 1959 1st transcontinental commercial jet flight (American) (LA to NY for $301)
Historic Event
1959 Pope John XXIII proclaims 2nd Vatican council
Sports History
1960 Wilt Chamberlain scores 58 points, the most ever by an NBA rookie, as Philadelphia Warriors beat Detroit Pistons, 127-117 at Bethlehem, PA
- 1961 Military coup in El Salvador
Sports History
1961 Toronto left wing Frank Mahovlich scores twice, giving him 39 for the season, and making him highest single season goal scorer in Maple Leafs' history, as Toronto beats Montreal Canadiens, 5-3
Film Release
1961 Walt Disney's animated film "101 Dalmatians", based on the novel by Dodie Smith and directed by Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske is released in the US
- 1964 Echo 2, US communications satellite launched
- 1964 The Beatles get their first US #1, "I Want to Hold your Hand" (Cashbox)
- 1966 WCMC (now WMGM) TV channel 40 in Wildwood, NJ (NBC) 1st broadcast
- 1968 Risse St in Bronx named
- 1968 Robert Anderson's "I Never Sang for My Father" premieres in NYC
- 1969 US-North Vietnamese peace talks begin in Paris
Film Premiere
1970 Dark comedy film "M*A*S*H", directed by Robert Altman, starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould, and based on novel by Richard Hooker, premieres (Palme d'Or 1970)
Murder of Interest
1971 Charles Manson & 3 women followers convicted of Tate-LaBianca murders
- 1971 Himachal Pradesh becomes 18th Indian state
Historic Event
1971 Philadelphia mint's 1st trial strike of Eisenhower dollar
Historic Event
1971 The 170 delegates of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) call for the resignation of Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark
- 1971 WHMB TV channel 40 in Indianapolis, IN (IND) begins broadcasting
NHL All-Star Game
1972 25th NHL All-Star Game, East beats West, 3-2; MVP: Bobby Orr, Boston, D, at Metropolitan Sports Centre, Bloomington, Minnesota
- 1972 7' Ohio State center Luke Witte is stomped in face during a brawl in a game with Minnesota
Historic Event
1974 Dr. Christiaan Barnard transplants 1st heterotopic heart transplant (adding donor heart without removal of old)
Sports History
1975 10th hat trick in NY Islander history, Denis Potvin's 1st
Golden Globes
1975 32nd Golden Globes: "Chinatown", Jack Nicholson, & Gena Rowlands win
Historic Event
1975 Bangladeshi parliament disposes of premier Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sports History
1978 MLB San Diego Padres trade pitcher Dave Tomlin & $125,000 to Texas Rangers for Gaylord Perry (He wins 1978 Cy Young Award)
- 1978 Muriel Humphrey (D-Mn) appointed to fill late husband's Senate seat
- 1979 1st documented case of a robot killing a human in US
- 1979 22.2-km Oshimizu railroad tunnel holed through, central Honshu, Japan
Historic Event
1979 Pope John Paul II's 1st overseas trip as supreme pontiff
- 1980 Bani Sadr elected president of Iran
- 1980 Dutch government demands boycott of Olympics
- 1980 Highest speed attained by a warship, 167 kph, USN hovercraft
Music History
1980 Paul McCartney is released from Tokyo jail & deported
Iran Hostage Crisis
1981 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US
Historic Event
1981 Mao's widow Jiang Qing sentenced to death
- 1981 Super Bowl XV, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: Oakland Raiders beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10; MVP: Jim Plunkett, Oakland, QB
American Music Awards
1982 9th American Music Awards: Pat Benatar & Kenny Rogers win
- 1983 China's supreme court commutes Chiang Ch'ing's death sentence to life
- 1983 Infrared telescope satellite launched into polar orbit
Historic Event
1983 Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie arrested in Bolivia
- 1985 "Black & Blue" premieres in Paris
Sports History
1985 Test debut of Wasim Akram, v New Zealand at Auckland (2-105)
NHL Record
1986 Edmonton's Paul Coffey sets NHL record for defensemen with a point in his 28th consecutive game, as the Oilers beat the visiting LA Kings, 5-2
- 1986 General Tito Okello's government flees Kampala, Uganda
- 1987 3rd Sundance Film Festival: "Waiting for the Moon" and "The Trouble with Dick" (tie) win Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Australian Men's Tennis Open
1987 75th Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 2nd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
Super Bowl
1987 Super Bowl XXI, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: NY Giants beat Denver Broncos, 39-20; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB
American Music Awards
1988 15th American Music Awards: Anita Baker; Paul Simon; & Whitney Houston win
Music History
1988 George Harrison releases "When We Was Fab"
- 1988 Longest winless streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (15 games)
- 1988 Ramsewak Shankar sworn in as President of Suriname
Film & TV History
1988 US Vice President George H. W. Bush and Dan Rather famously clash on "CBS Evening News" as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in Iran-Contra affair
- 1989 Augusto Alcalde, 1st South American Zen teacher, receives Dharma Transmission
NHL Record
1989 Mario Lemieux scores a goal and 3 assists in Penguins' 5-4 win over Winnipeg in Pittsburgh; sets NHL record by picking up a point in 14 consecutive games; record stands for 10 years
Sports History
1989 Michael Jordan scores his 10,000th NBA point in his 5th season
Meeting of Interest
1989 NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner meets with Pope John Paul II
- 1990 Avianca Flight 52, runs out of fuel & crashes in Cove Neck NY, 73 die
Historic Event
1990 Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is transferred to a Miami jail
- 1990 Honduras becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
- 1990 The Burns' Day windstorm storm hits northwestern Europe
- 1991 Manuel Noriega is given access to assets frozen by US government
- 1991 Mark Waugh scores ton in 1st Test Cricket innings, v England Adelaide
- 1991 Soap opera "Generation's" last episode after a 2½ year run
Sports History
1991 St. Louis right wing Brett Hull scores twice in Blues' 9-4 win at Detroit, to give him 50 goals in 49 games; becomes 3rd player in NHL history with 50 goals in less than 50 games
Australian Open Women's Tennis
1992 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Monica Seles beats American Mary Joe Fernández 6-2, 6-3 for her 5th career Grand Slam title
World Record
1992 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m in 36.41"
- 1992 Hubble space telescope optics finds NGC3862/3C264
American Music Awards
1993 20th American Music Awards: Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey win
- 1993 Five people were shot outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia resulting in two murders.
- 1993 Puerto Rico adds English as its 2nd official language
- 1993 Sears announces it is closing its catalog sales department after 97 years
- 1994 Accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Michael Jackson settles a civil lawsuit out of court
- 1994 Australia beat South Africa 2-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- 1994 Mine fire at Asansol, India, kills 55
- 1994 US space probe Clementine launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
- 1995 Chicago Blackhawks beat Edmonton Oilers, 5-1 in the first NHL game in their new home, the United Center; defenseman Chris Chelios leads scoring with a goal and 2 assists
- 1995 Jacques Santer succeeds Jacques Delors as chairman of Euro Committee
- 1996 Ottawa Senators set an NHL record with 16th consecutive home game without a win (0-15-1) in a 4-2 loss to Detroit at the Palladium; old record (15) shared by 1928 Black Hawks & 1939 Canadiens
- 1997 In a high profile NHL trade, San Jose obtain future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Ed Belfour from Chicago in exchange for goaltender Chris Terreri, Ulf Dahlen, Michal Sykora and a conditional pick in 1998 Entry Draft
- 1998 "Patti LaBelle On Broadway" closes at St James Theater NYC
- 1998 14th Sundance Film Festival: "Slam" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Historic Event
1998 Britain's Queen Mother, 97, gets an emergency hip replacement
- 1998 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide attack on Sri Lanka's Temple of the Tooth, killing 8 people injuring 25 others.
- 1998 Musical "Grease" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 1,503 performance
- 1998 Pope John Paul II visits Cuba and demands the release of political prisoners; he also condemns US moves to isolate the country
Sports History
1998 Spice Girl Victoria Beckham (Posh) and soccer player David Beckham get engaged
- 1998 Super Bowl XXXII, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA: Denver Broncos beat Green Bay Packers, 31-24; MVP: Terrell Davis, Denver RB
- 1999 After an inquiry into a corruption scandal, 6 International Olympic Committee members are expelled
- 1999 Earthquake hits Colombia, South America, killing around 300 and injuring 1000
- 1999 Supernatural horror film "The Blair Witch Project" premieres at the Sundance Film festival
- 2001 A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24
- 2002 Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software ("Phase II") aka Magnus Manske Day.
Australian Open Women's Tennis
2003 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins 5th Grand Slam singles title and 4th straight; beats older sister Venus Williams 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 for her first Australian title
- 2004 20th Sundance Film Festival: "Primer", directed by Shane Carruth, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Golden Globes
2004 61st Golden Globes: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", Sean Penn, and Charlize Theron win
Spirit Rover Begins Mars Mission
2004 NASA's Opportunity rover (MER-B) lands on the surface of Mars
- 2005 A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258
- 2006 Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star.
- 2009 25th Sundance Film Festival: "Precious" based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- 2009 57th NHL All-Star Game, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec: East beats West, 12-11, SO; MVP: Alexei Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens, RW
- 2010 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on-board.
