- 363 Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign that brings about his own death
- 1046 Persian scholar Naser Khosrow begins the 7 year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama
- 1179 3rd Lateran Council (11th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
Historic Event
1496 English King Henry VII grants John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) a commission to explore for new lands
John Cabot
Historic Event
1616 Astronomical work 'de Revolutionibus' by Nicolaus Copernicus placed on Catholic Forbidden index
Nicolaus Copernicus
- 1623 1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia
- 1645 Battle of Jankau in Bohemia: Sweden defeats Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III
- 1651 South Sea dike in Amsterdam breaks after storm
- 1684 Emperor Leopold I, Poland & Venice sign Heilig Covenant of Linz
- 1743 1st US religious journal, The Christian History, published in Boston
- 1746 Jacobite troops leave Aberdeen
Historic Event
1750 1st American Shakespearean production-"altered" Richard III, NYC
William Shakespeare
- 1766 Don Antonio de Ulloa takes possession of Louisiana Territory from the French
Historic Event
1770 Boston Massacre (Incident on King Street): British soldiers kill 5 men in a crowd throwing snowballs, stones and sticks at them. African American Crispus Attucks 1st to die; later held up as early black martyr. Massacre galvanizes anti-British feelings.
Crispus Attucks
Historic Event
1774 John Hancock delivers the fourth annual Massacre Day oration, a commemoration of the Boston Massacre, and denounces the presence of British troops in Boston, enhancing Hancock's stature as a leading Patriot
John Hancock
- 1783 King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski grants rights to Jews of Kovno
- 1784 Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, is named President of the Board of Trade.
- 1793 French troops are defeated by Austrian forces and Liège is recaptured
- 1795 Amsterdam celebrates Revolution on the Dam; Square of Revolution
- 1795 Treaty of Basel - Prussia ends war with France
- 1803 First newspaper published in Australia the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser by government printer and ex-convict George Howe [1]
Music Premiere
1807 1st performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's 4th Symphony in B
Ludwig van Beethoven
Historic Event
1836 Samuel Colt manufactures first pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model
Samuel Colt
- 1840 2nd Grand National: Bartholomew Bretherton wins aboard 16/1 Jerry; a then smallest field of 13
- 1841 1st continuous filibuster in US Senate began, lasting until March 11
- 1842 Over 500 Mexican troops led by Rafael Vasquez invade Texas, briefly occupy San Antonio and then head back to the Rio Grande.
- 1845 7th Grand National: William Loft aboard outsider Cure-All wins in record time of 10 minutes, 47 seconds
- 1848 Louis Antoine Garnier-Pages is named French minister of Finance
Historic Event
1849 Zachary Taylor sworn in as 12th US President
Zachary Taylor
- 1850 The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the Isle of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened
Steinway & Sons Piano
1853 Piano company Steinway & Sons founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City
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- 1856 Covent Garden Opera House, London, destroyed in a fire
- 1856 Georgia becomes 1st state to regulate railroads
- 1858 Abolitionists establish "Crispus Attucks Day" in Boston
- 1860 Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia
- 1862 Union troops under Brigadier General Wright occupy Fernandina, Florida (US Civil War)
- 1864 1st track meet between Oxford & Cambridge
- 1868 Arrigo Boito's opera "Mefistofele" premieres in Milan
- 1868 Stapler patented in England by C H Gould
- 1868 US Senate organizes to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson
Historic Invention
1872 George Westinghouse Jr patents triple air brake for trains
George Westinghouse
President Inaugurated
1877 Rutherford B. Hayes publicly inaugurated as 19th President of the United States
Rutherford B. Hayes
- 1894 Seattle authorizes 1st municipal employment office in US
Historic Event
1894 Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, becomes First Lord of the Treasury (the official title of the UK Prime Minister)
Archibald Primrose
- 1896 Italian premier Francesco Crispi resigns
- 1896 Italian governor of Eritrea, General Baldissera, reaches Massawa
- 1897 American Negro Academy forms
- 1899 1st performance of Edward MacDowell's 2nd Concerto in D
- 1900 American Hall of Fame founded
- 1903 Definitive treaty for construction of Baghdad railway drawn up
Historic Invention
1904 Nikola Tesla describes the process of the ball lightning formation in Electrical World and Engineer
Nikola Tesla
- 1907 1st radio broadcast of a musical composition aired
- 1907 The second Duma opens in St. Petersburg, Russia and 40,000 demonstrators have to be dispersed by Russian troops
- 1908 1st ascent of Mt Erebus, Antarctica
- 1910 Ramon Inclan's "La Farsa Infantil de la Cabeza del Dragon" premieres
- 1910 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, ON: Montreal Wanderers beat Ottawa Senators, 3-1
- 1912 Spanish steamer "Principe de Asturias" sinks NE of Spain, 500 die
- 1912 Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, using them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
- 1915 World War I: The LZ 33, a zeppelin, is damaged by enemy fire and stranded south of Ostend.
President Inaugurated
1917 US President Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated for a second term
Woodrow Wilson
- 1919 Louis Hirsch & Harold Atteridge's musical premieres in NYC
- 1921 The Durban Land Alienation Ordinance passes, enabling the Durban City Council to exclude Indians from ownership or occupation of property in white areas, South Africa
- 1921 The US warns Costa Rica and Panama to settle disputes peacefully
- 1923 Montana & Nevada become 1st states to enact old age pension laws
- 1924 Computing-Tabulating-Recording Corp becomes IBM
- 1924 Frank Carauna, becomes 1st to bowl 2 successive perfect 300 games
- 1924 King Hussein of Hedzjaz appoints himself kalief
- 1927 1,000 US marines land in China to protect American property
- 1928 Karl Zuckmayer's "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick" premieres in Berlin
Mahatma Gandhi
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Academy Awards
1936 8th Academy Awards: "Mutiny on the Bounty", Victor McLaglen & Bette Davis wins
Bette Davis
Victor McLaglen
Josip Broz Tito
Music Premiere
1942 World première of Dmitri Shostakovich' 7th Symphony in Kuybyshev, Russia
Dmitri Shostakovich
Meeting of Interest
1945 Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton and Alexander Patch meet in Lunéville, France
Dwight D. Eisenhower
George S. Patton
Alexander Patch
Historic Event
1946 Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, Missouri, popularizes the term and draws attention to the division of Europe
Winston Churchill
Donald Bradman
- 1949 The Jharkhand Party is founded in India.
Historic Event
1952 Terence Rattigan's "Deep Blue Sea" premieres in London
Terence Rattigan
- 1953 6th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "The Sound Barrier" Best Film
- 1954 "Girl in Pink Tights" opens at Mark Hellinger NYC for 115 performances
- 1955 WBBJ TV channel 7 in Jackson, TN (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1955 2nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Duke, 87-77
- 1956 "King Kong" 1st televised
Election of Interest
1957 Eamon de Valera's Fianna Fail-party wins election in Ireland
Éamon de Valera
Golden Globes
1959 16th Golden Globes: "The Defiant Ones", David Niven, & Susan Hayward win
Susan Hayward
David Niven
- 1960 Ice Dance Championship at Vancouver won by Denny & Jones (GRB)
- 1960 Ice Pairs Championship at Vancouver won by Wagner & Paul (CAN)
- 1960 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Vancouver won by Alain Giletti (FRA)
- 1960 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champions in Vancouver won by Carol E Heiss (USA)
- 1960 The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis originates when Alister Hardy publicly announces his idea that ape-human divergence may have been due to a coastal phase.
- 1960 7th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats Wake Forest, 63-59
- 1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Golden Globes
1962 19th Golden Globes: "The Guns of Navarone", Maximilian Schell, & Geraldine Page win
Geraldine Page
Maximilian Schell
- 1963 Beatles record "From Me to You" & "Thank You Girl"
Golden Globes
1963 20th Golden Globes: "Lawrence of Arabia", Gregory Peck, & Geraldine Page win
- 1964 Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr, announces a baseball team is moving there
- 1964 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Ceylon due to social unrest
- 1965 1st performance of Walter Piston's 8th Symphony (his last), by the Boston Symphony, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf
- 1965 Ernie Terrell beats Eddie Machen in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1965 March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence
- 1966 75 MPH air currents causes BOAC 707 crash into Mount Fuji, 124 die
- 1966 Bob Seagren pole vaults 5.19m indoor world record
- 1966 Player reps elect Marvin Miller as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association
- 1966 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1966 11th Eurovision Song Contest: Udo Jurgens for Austria wins singing "Merci, Cherie" in Luxembourg
- 1966 13th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats NC State, 71-66
- 1967 WEDN TV channel 53 in Norwich, CT (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1968 US launches Solar Explorer 2 to study the Sun
- 1969 Gold reaches then record high ($47 per ounce) in Paris
- 1969 Gustav Heinemann elected President of West Germany
- 1969 Joe Orton's "What the Butler Saw" premieres in London
- 1970 Edison Theater opens at 240 W 47th St NYC
- 1970 Nuclear non-proliferation treaty goes into effect
- 1970 SDS Weathermen terrorist group bomb 18 West 11th St in NYC
- 1970 Dubnium atoms are first detected conclusively.
Film Release
1970 "Airport" based on the book by Arthur Hailey, directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin is released
Burt Lancaster
Dean Martin
Music Premiere
1971 "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin first played live at Ulster Hall, Belfast by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones
Music Awards
1975 10th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn win
Merle Haggard
Loretta Lynn
- 1976 British pound falls below $2 for 1st time
Film and TV Awards
1977 3rd People's Choice Awards: John Wayne & Barbra Streisand win (Motion Picture) and Telly Savalas & Mary Tyler Moore win (TV)
- 1977 24th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats Virginia, 75-69
- 1978 "Hello, Dolly!" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 152 performances
- 1978 Landsat 3 launched from Vandenberg AFB, California
- 1979 Voyager I's closest approach to Jupiter (172,000 miles)
- 1979 Iran resumes petroleum exports
- 1980 Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49
- 1981 Michael Stewart's musical "Bring Back Birdie" opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC for 4 performances
Sports History
1981 Ice Dance Championship at Hartford won by Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (GRB)
Christopher Dean
Jayne Torvill
- 1981 Ice Pairs Champ at Hartford won by Irina Vorobieva & I Lisovski (URS)
Sports History
1981 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Hartford won by Scott Hamilton (USA)
Scott Hamilton
Election of Interest
1983 Australian Labor leader Bob Hawke defeats sitting Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in a general election
Bob Hawke
Malcolm Fraser
Sports History
1985 NY Islander Mike Bossy is 1st to score 50 goals in 8 straight seasons
Mike Bossy
- 1985 Mexican authorities find the body of US drug agent Enrique "Kike" Camarena Salaazar
- 1985 38th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "The Killing Fields" Best Film, Wim Wenders Best Director
- 1986 "Today" tabloid launched (Britain's 1st national colour newspaper); it folded in 1995
- 1988 Constitution of Turks and Caicos Islands is restored and revised.
- 1989 19th Easter Seal Telethon raises $37,002,000
- 1989 Elly Verhulst runs world record 3000 m indoor (8:33.82)
- 1991 Iraq repealed its annexation of Kuwait
- 1991 Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers) begins NBA free throw streak of 52 games
- 1992 Ethic committee votes to reveal congressmen who bounced checks
Sports History
1993 Boston Celtic Larry Bird undergoes backfusion surgery
Larry Bird
- 1993 Fokker 100 crashes at Skopje Macedonia, 81 die
- 1993 Marlins beat Astros 12-8 in their 1st spring training game
- 1994 Largest milkshake made; 1,955 gallons of chocolate in Nelspruit, South Africa
- 1994 PBA National Championship won by David Traber
- 1994 Singer Grace Slick arrested for pointing a gun at a cop
Film and TV Awards
1995 21st People's Choice Awards: Tom Hanks & Jodie Foster win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Tim Allen & Roseanne Barr win (TV)
- 1995 Estonia Centrumlinkse Coalition party wins parliamentary election
Historic Event
1995 Graves of Tsar Nicholas II and family found in St Petersburg
Nicholas II
- 1995 Marc Velzeboer skates world record 3 km short track (5:00.26)
Hall of Fame
1996 Earl Weaver & Jim Bunning, elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Jim Bunning
Earl Weaver
Hall of Fame
1997 Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox and Willie Wells inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Tommy Lasorda
Television Premiere
2002 American reality TV program The Osbournes" featuring family of Ozzy Osbourne premieres on MTV
Ozzy Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Academy Awards
2006 78th Academy Awards: "Crash", Philip Seymour Hoffman & Reese Witherspoon win
Reese Witherspoon
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Film & TV History
2006 Nature documentary "Planet Earth" narrated by David Attenborough premieres on the BBC
David Attenborough
Sports History
2009 Moises Alou announces he will retire following the World Baseball Classic
Moises Alou
- 2011 David Silva scores 38' winner as Manchester City scores 1-0 win over Wigan at City of Manchester Stadium to start EPL record 20 home game winning streak; streak ends 31/3/12
- 2012 27 members of Iraq's security force are killed by gunmen disguised as police in Haditha
- 2012 Tropical Storm Irina kills 65 in Madagascar
