When The Bells Rang Out For Freedom
1284 Charles of Salerno is captured by Roger of Lauria during a naval battle in the Gulf of Naples, part of the Sicilian Vespers uprising
- 1288 Battle of Worringen: Jan I, Duke of Brabant defeats army of Archbishop Siegfried II of Cologne, one of the largest and fiercest battles of the Middle Ages
- 1305 Archbishop Bertrand the Got of Bordeaux elected Pope Clement V
- 1507 England and Netherlands sign trade agreement
- 1625 Spanish troops under Spinola conquer Breda
Victory in Battle
1632 Prince Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange conquers Roermond
Historic Event
1661 Isaac Newton admitted as a student to Trinity College, Cambridge
Historic Expedition
1799 Naturalists Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland set sail in the Pizarro from A Coruña and begin their 5 year Latin American expedition
- 1805 1st recorded tornado in "Tornado Alley" (Southern Illinois)
- 1806 1st trotter to break 3 minute mile (Yankee)
- 1806 Batavian Republic becomes Kingdom of Holland
- 1827 Turks capture the Acropolis and take Athens during the Greek War of Independence
- 1829 HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba
- 1832 Anti-monarchist forces launch an uprising in Paris, starting the unsuccessful June Rebellion
Meeting of Interest
1833 Future 1st computer programmer Ada Lovelace meets mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage
War Breaks Out Behind Uncle Tom's Cabin
1851 Anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe first published in serial form in "The National Era"
- 1855 Anti-foreign anti-Roman Catholic Know-Nothing Party's 1st convention
- 1857 Walter Woodbury and James Page open photo studio in Batavia (Jakarta)
- 1861 Federal marshals seize arms and gunpower at Du Pont works DE
- 1863 Battle of Franklin's Crossing, Virginia (Deep Run)
- 1863 CSS Alabama captures "Talisman" in the Mid Atlantic
- 1864 Battle of Piedmont, Virginia (Augusta City)
- 1866 French colonial expedition to explore Mekong River (world's 12th longest, though Southeast Asia) sets out from Saigon, led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée
- 1869 3rd Belmont: C Miller aboard Fenian wins in 3:04.25
- 1870 Great Fire of Pera in a district of Constantinople, the wealthiest part of the city, kills hundreds
- 1872 Republican National Convention meets in Philadelphia
- 1873 Sultan Bargash bin Said under British pressure closes the infamous slave market of Zanzibar in modern day Tanzania
- 1875 Pacific Stock Exchange formally opens in San Francisco
- 1876 Bananas become popular in US, at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
- 1878 American outlaw John Wesley Hardin convicted of the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb, sentenced to 25 years in prison
- 1879 13th Belmont: George Evans riding Spendthrift wins in 2:42.75
- 1882 Storm & floods hits Bombay; about 100,000 die
- 1884 William Sherman refuses Republican presidential nomination saying "I will not accept if nominated & will not serve if elected"
- 1886 20th Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard Inspector B wins in 2:41
- 1888 Unusual Rio de la Plata Earthquake measures magnitude 5.5
Historic Event
1888 US Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland for president
- 1900 Pretoria, capital of the Boer Republic of South Africa, falls to the British led by General Buller
Sports History
1902 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Liverpool GC: Scotsman Sandy Herd wins by 1 stroke from James Braid and Harry Vardon
Historic Event
1902 Emperor Wilhelm II responds to growing demands from Polish and other Slavic peoples living within German territory by calling for more 'Germanization' of the Slavs
- 1906 Determined to keep pace with Britain as a major naval power, the German Reichstag passes new navy legislation, increasing the total tonnage in Germany's fleet
- 1911 Red Sox Joe Wood strikes out 3 pinch hitters in 9th for 5-4 win
- 1912 US marines invade Caimanera, Cuba
- 1913 Dutch Disability laws go into effect
- 1915 47th Belmont: George Byrne aboard The Finn wins in 2:18.6
- 1915 Denmark amends its constitution to allow women's suffrage
- 1916 The Sherif Hussein proclaims a revolt of the Arabs in the province of Hejaz, an action that undermines the Turkish Empire
- 1917 10 million US men begin registering for draft in WW I
Historic Event
1920 1st rivet driven on Bank of Italy headquarters at 1 Powell in San Francisco (later Bank of America)
- 1920 Philadelphia Athletics's VP Thomas Shibe denies charges that baseballs are livelier
- 1922 The Banker's committee of the Reparations Commission refuses an international loan to Germany
US Golf Open
1925 US Open Men's Golf, Worcester CC: Scotsman Willie Macfarlane beats Bobby Jones by 1 stroke in a second 18-hole playoff for his only major title
French Open Men's Tennis
1927 French Championships Men's Tennis: Hometown favourite Rene Lacoste wins 2nd of 3 French titles; beats Bill Tilden 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 11-9
Sports History
1927 Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard & 200-yard free-style swim record
- 1929 Ramsey MacDonald forms minority Labour government in Britain
- 1931 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: American based Scotsman Tommy Armour outlasts José Jurado of Argentina by 1 stroke to win his only Open title and his 3rd and final major championship
- 1931 Jules Renkin becomes premier of Belgium
- 1933 French Championship Women's Tennis: England's Margaret Scriven is first woman from that country to win the singles title in Paris; beats Simonne Mathieu 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
French Open Men's Tennis
1933 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Jack Crawford wins his first and only French title; beats home favourite Henri Cochet 8-6, 6-1, 6-3
Historic Event
1937 Henry Ford initiates a 32 hour work week
- 1940 A synthetic rubber tire exhibited in Akron, Ohio by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
- 1940 American Negro Theater organizes
- 1940 Battle of France begins in WW II
Historic Event
1940 General Charles de Gaulle becomes French junior minister of Defense
- 1940 General Von Bock starts a German offensive in the Somme
- 1940 Governor of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles refuse entry to Jewish refugees
- 1940 Netherlands rations petroleum
- 1941 German ammunition depot at medieval Smederovo Fortress, near Belgrade, Serbia explodes; kills close to 2,000
Sports History
1941 Sandor Szabo beats B Nagurski in St Louis, to become wrestling champ
- 1941 World War II: At least 4,000 people who hid in a tunnel die after a Japanese air attack on the Chinese city of Chongqing
- 1942 An explosion at the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant kills 48 people
- 1942 British offensive in North Africa under General Ritchie
- 1942 USA declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary & Romania
- 1943 75th Belmont: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 2:28.2
- 1943 German occupiers arrest Louvain University's chancellor
- 1943 Philippine President José P. Laurel survives assassination attempt after being shot 4 times with a 45 caliber pistol while playing golf at Wack Wack Golf Course in Mandaluyong
- 1944 1st B-29 bombing raid; 1 plane lost due to engine failure
D-Day
1944 After receiving favorable weather reports, General Eisenhower decides to proceed with the D-Day invasion on June 6
- 1944 Allied forces march into Rome
- 1944 As part of Operation Tonga, the 1st British gliders touch down on French soil to prepare for the D-Day invasion
Historic Event
1944 German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel goes on leave just before WWII D-Day landings by the Allies
Music Premiere
1945 Benjamin Britten's opera "Peter Grimes" premieres in London
- 1945 USA, UK, USSR, France declare supreme authority over Germany
- 1946 Eric de Noorman, a Dutch comic strip by Hans G. Kresse, is launched
- 1946 Fire at LaSalle Hotel cocktail lounge kills 61 in Chicago, Illinois
Historic Event
1947 US Secretary of State George Marshall outlines the "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Western Europe
- 1948 "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" single released by Stan Jones
Baseball Record
1948 Phillies Richie Ashburn sets NL rookie consecut hitting streak at 23
Historic Event
1949 Enid Blyton's wooden toy character Noddy first appears in the "Sunday Graphic"
- 1950 US Supreme Court undermines legal foundations of segregation
Boxing Title Fight
1952 1st sporting event televised nationally - Jersey Joe Walcott beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Sports History
1955 NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hits 550' HR off Chicago Billy Pierce
Television Finale
1956 "Milton Berle Show" last airs on NBC-TV
Historic Event
1959 The first independent government of the State of Singapore is sworn in with Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister
Historic Siege
1963 State of siege proclaimed in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini arrested
Music Single
1964 Davie Jones & King Bees release debut single "I Can't Help Thinking About Me"; group disbands but Davie Jones goes on to success as David Bowie
- 1964 Rolling Stones 1st US concert tour (with Bobby Goldsboro & Bobby Vee) debuts in San Bernadino, California
- 1965 "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & Pharaohs hits #2
- 1965 97th Belmont: John Sellers aboard Hail to All wins in 2:28.6
- 1965 Lopez Arellano becomes president of Honduras
- 1966 Cincinnati Red Leo Cardenas hits 4 HRs in a doubleheader
French Open Men's Tennis
1966 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Tony Roche wins his first and only Grand Slam title; beats István Gulyás of Hungary 6-1, 6-4, 7-5
French Open Women's Tennis
1966 French Championships Women's Tennis: Ann Haydon-Jones of England beats American Nancy Richey 6-3, 6-1 for her 2nd French singles crown
- 1967 American mass murderer Richard Speck sentenced to death in electric chair (later reversed, dies in prison)
- 1967 Royal Canadian Mint ordered to start converting 10 cent & 25 cent coins to pure nickel as soon as possible
Six-Day War
1967 Six-Day War begins between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria
- 1967 WSBE TV channel 36 in Providence, RI (PBS) begins broadcasting
Bobby Kennedy Gunned Down on Campaign Trail
1968 Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan assassinates Robert F. Kennedy, shooting him 3 times and wounding 5 others at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy dies the next day.
- 1969 Dutch Antilles government of Kroon resigns
- 1969 International communist conference begins in Moscow
- 1969 Race riot in Hartford, Connecticut
- 1970 Chile becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
- 1970 KPAX TV channel 8 in Missoula, Montana (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1970 The Falls Road curfew in North Ireland, imposed by the British Army while searching for IRA weapons, is lifted after a march by women breaches the British Army cordon
- 1971 103rd Belmont: Walter Blum aboard Pass Catcher wins in 2:30.6
- 1971 French Open Women's Tennis: Evonne Goolagong wins her first career Grand Slam singles title; beats fellow Australian Helen Gourlay 6-3, 7-5
- 1972 "If You Had Wings" ride opens at Walt Disney World
- 1972 UN Conference on Human Environment opens in Stockholm
Sports History
1974 As' Reggie Jackson and Bill North engage in clubhouse fight at Detroit
- 1975 48th US National Spelling Bee: Hugh Tosteson wins spelling incisor
Historic Event
1975 Egyptian president Anwar Sadat reopens Suez Canal (closed since 1967)
- 1975 The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (CALRA), which establishes collective bargaining for farmworkers, becomes law
- 1975 United Kingdom electorate votes 67% to 33% in a referendum to remain part of the European Common Market
- 1976 "Bigfoot" by Bro Smith hits #57
Belmont Stakes
1976 108th Belmont: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr., riding Bold Forbes wins his only Belmont classic
- 1976 After a suspected republican bombing kills 2 Protestant civilians in a pub, the Ulster Volunteer Force kill 5 civilians in a gun and bomb attack at the Chlorane Bar, North Ireland
- 1976 Teton Dam in Idaho burst causing $1 billion damage (14 die)
- 1977 31st NBA Championship: Port Trailblazers beat Philadelphia 76er, 4 games to 2
- 1977 31st Tony Awards: Shadow Box & Annie win
- 1977 Coup in Seychelles (National Day)
French Open Men's Tennis
1977 French Open Men's Tennis: Guillermo Vilas of Argentina wins first career Grand Slam event; outclasses American Brian Gottfried 6-0, 6-3, 6-0
- 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers retire Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman and manager Walter Alston's #24
Historic Event
1977 National Council of Women of Kenya led by Wangari Maathai march to Kamukunji Park, Nairobi, and plant seven trees - beginning of the Green Belt Movement
Sports History
1981 Astro's Nolan Ryan passes Early Wynn as all-time walk leader (1,777)
Album Release
1981 George Harrison releases "Somewhere in England", his ninth studio album, includes John Lennon tribute "All Those Years Ago" (Featuring Paul and Ringo)
- 1981 World's first today in history program with editable data "TODAY", invented by Michael Butler runs for the first time on a mainframe computer
- 1982 "Murphy's Law" by Cheri hits #39
Belmont Stakes
1982 114th Belmont: Laffit Pincay Jr.aboard Conquistador Cielo wins in 2:28
French Open Women's Tennis
1982 French Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats American teenager Andrea Jaeger 7-6, 6-1 for her first French singles crown
- 1982 Waterfront streetcar begins operating in Seattle
- 1983 37th Tony Awards: "Torch Song Trilogy" and "Cats" win
French Open Men's Tennis
1983 French Open: Home town favourite Yannick Noah wins his 1st and only career Grand Slam title; beats defending champion Mats Wilander of Sweden 6-2, 7-5, 7-6
Historic Event
1984 Indira Gandhi orders an attack on Sikh's holiest site, the Golden Temple in Amritsar
- 1985 Steve Cauthen wins aboard Slip Anchor at Epsom Downs to become the only jockey to win both the Kentucky Derby (1978) and The Derby
Sports History
1986 SD Padre Steve Garvey ejected for 1st time
- 1987 "Nightline" presents its 1st "Town Meeting" the subject is AIDS and the show runs until 3:47 AM
Sports History
1987 Dwight Gooden returns from drug rehabilitation & allows wins game
Music History
1987 Prince's Trust Rock Gala: Eric Clapton leads an all-star band including George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Phil Collins, and Jeff Lynne at Wembley Stadium, London
- 1988 1st Children's Miracle Network Telethon raises $590,000
French Open Men's Tennis
1988 French Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander of Sweden wins 3rd French title; beats home favourite Henri Leconte 7-5, 6-2, 6-1
- 1988 Kay Cottee sails into Sydney as 1st woman to circle globe alone
- 1988 Longest champagne cork flight is 177'9 in NY
- 1988 Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its 1,000th anniversary
Music City News Awards
1989 23rd Music City News Country Awards: Ricky Van Shelton & Randy Travis win
- 1989 Paul McCartney releases "Flowers in the Dirt", his eighth solo studio album, featuring the Elvis Costello collaboration "My Brave Face"
- 1989 Toronto Blue Jays Skydome stadium opens, Milwaukee Brewers win 5-3
Historic Event
1990 South African troops plunder Nelson Mandela's home
- 1991 Lesbian priest Elizabeth Carl ordained in Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.
Nobel Prize
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev receives his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize
- 1991 Space Shuttle STS 40 (Columbia 12) launched
- 1993 "Livin' On The Edge" by Aerosmith hits #18
- 1993 125th Belmont: Julie Krone aboard Colonial Affair wins in 2:29.8
French Open Women's Tennis
1993 French Open Women's Tennis: Germany's Steffi Graf wins her 3rd of 6 French singles titles; beats Mary Joe Fernández of the US 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
- 1993 Liberian Charles Taylors rebellion kills 550 fugitives
- 1993 Somali warlord Aidids murders 23 Pakistani
- 1994 7th Children's Miracle Network Telethon
French Open Men's Tennis
1994 French Open Men's Tennis: In an all-Spanish final Sergi Bruguera beats Alberto Berasategui 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 for his second French title
Music History
1994 Spalding Gray's one-man show "Gray's Anatomy" opens an encore run at Beaumont Theater, NYC; runs for 8 performances
Music City News Awards
1995 29th Music City News Country Awards: Alan Jackson & Reba McEntire win
- 1995 The Bose-Einstein condensate is first created
- 1996 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Memphis, Tennessee, on WMFS 92.9 FM
Film Release
1998 "The Truman Show", starring Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, and Ed Harris, is released
