Historic Event
1294 Temür Khan declared Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
- 1427 Jews are expelled from Bern, Switzerland
Voyage of Discovery
1497 Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci leaves for his first voyage to the New World (disputed)
Historic Discovery
1503 Christopher Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands
- 1525 Church reformer John Pistorius caught in the Hague
Historic Discovery
1534 French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland
- 1559 Scottish Protestants under John Knox uprise against queen mother Mary
- 1643 Essex County, Massachusetts is founded, which contains the town of Salem in which the notorious witch-trials will occur in 1692
- 1652 John Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550 acres in Northampton, Virginia
- 1655 Jamaica captured by the English
- 1676 Bacon's Rebellion begins, frontiersmen vs Virginia government
Historic Invention
1765 British Longitude Act awards clockmaker John Harrison £10,000 for the invention of a naval longitude clock [1]
Historic Event
1768 John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for "The North Briton" severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
- 1775 American Revolution: Green Mountain Boys capture Fort Ticonderoga, New York
- 1775 Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and issues paper currency for 1st time
Appointment of Interest
1775 Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia names George Washington Supreme Commander
Appointment of Interest
1804 British Prime Minister Henry Addington resigns, replaced by William Pitt the Younger
- 1816 British steamship "Defiance" arrives at Rotterdam harbor
- 1823 1st steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River arrives at Fort Snelling
- 1824 The National Gallery in London opens to the public in its temporary home in a townhouse on Pall Mall
- 1837 Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
- 1849 Astor Place Riot: Backers of American actor and working class hero Edwin Forrest attempt to disrupt British actor William McReady's performance at Astor Place Opera House in NYC; Military troops supporting police shoot at the crowd, killing between 22 and 31 [1]
The Indian Mutiny
1857 Indian Mutiny against rule by the British East India Company begins with the revolt of the Sepoy soldiers in Meerut
Historic Event
1865 Confederate President Jefferson Davis captured by Union troops at Irwinsville Georgia (US Civil War)
- 1865 Major General Sam Jones, the Confederate military leader in Florida, South Carolina and South Georgia, surrenders to Union forces
The Golden Spike
1869 Golden Spike driven, completing the 1st US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific
Presidential Convention
1872 Victoria Woodhull becomes 1st woman nominated for US presidency by Equal Rights Party at Apollo Hall, NYC
- 1876 Centennial Fair opens in Philadelphia
Historic Event
1877 US President Rutherford B. Hayes has 1st White House telephone installed, in the telegraph room
- 1879 Meteor falls near Estherville, Iowa
- 1881 Lighthouse on Ameland begins operation
- 1883 First appendectomy performed in North America by Abraham Groves in Canada
- 1889 17th Preakness: W Anderson aboard Buddhist wins in 2:17.5
- 1893 19th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Kunze aboard Lookout wins in 2:39.25
- 1893 Imperial Institute in London opens
- 1894 Hong Kong government declares port is infected with the plague. The outbreak will go on to kill 20,489 over 29 years.
- 1902 Dutch soccer club FC Blauw-Wit (Blue-White) is formed in the Kinkerbuurt area of Amsterdam; merge with VV De Beursbengels in 2015
- 1902 Portugal goes bankrupt, but its parliament passes a bill converting its external debt. Contributing to Portugal's troubles is recent revolt in its colony of Angola, put down 6 September
- 1905 31st Kentucky Derby: Jack Martin aboard Agile wins in 2:100.75
- 1906 Italian King Victor Emmanuel & Swiss President Ludwig Forrer open Simplon tunnel
- 1906 Russian Duma (Parliament) meets for 1st time
- 1907 Paul Dukas' opera "Ariane et Barbe Bleue" premieres in Paris
- 1908 1st Mother's Day observed (Philadelphia)
- 1909 Winchester's Fred Toney no-hits Lexington for 17 inning
- 1910 1st aircraft air display held (Hendon, England)
- 1910 36th Kentucky Derby: Fred Herbert aboard Donau wins in 2:06.4
- 1910 Halley's Comet closest approach to Earth in 1910 pass
- 1910 The British House of Commons pass three major resolutions on political reform
- 1913 39th Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Goose aboard Donerail wins in 2:04.8
- 1913 Yanks commit 8 errors & still beat Tigers 10-9 in 10 innings
Historic Invention
1915 Canadian physician Cluny MacPherson first presents his gas mask invention to the British War Office
- 1915 Zeppelin drops hundred of bombs on Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
- 1916 Historic Shipport Museum opens in Amsterdam
- 1917 Atlantic ships get destroyer escorts to stop German attacks
- 1918 HMS Vindictive sunk to block entrance of Ostend Harbor
- 1919 45th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Loftus aboard Sir Barton wins in 2:09.8 on way to first Triple Crown
- 1919 Race riot in Charleston, South Carolina, 2 blacks killed
- 1921 Luigi Pirandello's "Sei Personaggi in Cerca d'Autore" premieres
- 1922 Dr Ivy Williams is 1st woman to be called to the English Bar
- 1922 The United States annexes the Kingman Reef in n the North Pacific Ocean
- 1922 WHB-AM in Kansas City MO begins radio transmissions
Appointment of Interest
1924 J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI
British Golf Open
1929 British Open Men's Golf, Muirfield: Walter Hagen wins 4th Open title, by 6 strokes from fellow American Johnny Farrell
- 1930 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
- 1930 Clarrie Grimmett takes 10 for 37 v Yorkshire at Sheffield
- 1931 Golf ball size hail falls in Burlington, New Jersey
- 1932 Government declares "Wilhelmus" as the Netherlands' national anthem
- 1932 Senate chairman Albert Lebrun becomes President of France
- 1933 Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF) forms
- 1933 Nazis stage public book burnings in Germany
- 1933 Paraguay declares war on Bolivia
- 1933 Suriname worker's union leader A de Come banished to Netherlands
Election of Interest
1936 Manuel Azaña elected the second President of the Spanish Republic
Historic Event
1940 Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister
- 1940 World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France
- 1940 World War II: The first German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent
Sports History
1941 66th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Whirlaway, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
Historic Event
1941 Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess escapes to Britain to open secret negotiations with the Allies, parachuting into Scotland
- 1941 British House of Commons & Holborn Theatre damaged in an air raid
Radio History
1941 Queen Wilhelmina on Radio Orange warns against treason
- 1942 World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign
- 1944 Chinese offensive in West-Yunnan
- 1944 Smith v Allwright (excluding Blacks from primary voting) is illegal
- 1945 Allies capture Rangoon from the Japanese
- 1945 Soviet troops occupied Prague
- 1946 Red Sox win 15th straight beat Yanks 5-4, DiMaggio hits Grand Slam
- 1947 "Chocolate Soldier" closes at Century Theater NYC after 69 performances
- 1947 72nd Preakness: Doug Dodson aboard Faultless wins in 1:59
- 1948 1st attack by Egyptian irregular forces at Kfar Darom Israel
- 1948 Winston Churchill visits The Hague
- 1950 1st Netherlands-US telex sent
- 1951 Z Alexander Looby elected to Nashville City Council
Cannes Film Festival
1952 5th Cannes Film Festival: "The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice" directed by Orson Welles and "Two Cents Worth of Hope" directed by Renato Castellani jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- 1952 Revival of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical "Shuffle Along" closes at Broadway Theater, NYC, after 4 performances
- 1953 KCBD TV channel 11 in Lubbock, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1954 Bolshoi Ballet does not appear in Paris
- 1955 8th Cannes Film Festival: "Marty" directed by Delbert Mann wins Palme d'Or
Cannes Film Festival
1956 9th Cannes Film Festival: "The Silent World" directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle wins the Palme d'Or
- 1956 French government sends 50,000 reservists to Algeria
- 1956 KFSN TV channel 30 in Fresno, CA (ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1957 1st meeting of legislative of Cameroon
Music Premiere
1957 Dmitri Shostakovich's 2nd Piano concerto premieres, played by his son Maxim at his graduation concert at Moscow's conservatory
- 1959 Giants Jim Hearn allows 2 runs against Pirates, game is suspended, Hearn is released & charged with loss 2 months after his retirement
- 1959 Soviet forces arrive in Afghanistan
Historic Event
1960 John F. Kennedy wins presidential primary in West Virginia
- 1960 US atomic submarine USS Triton completes 1st submerged circumnavigation of the globe
- 1961 "Beyond the Fringe" premieres in London
Music History
1963 Decca Records sign The Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison [1]
Sports History
1967 Hank Aaron hits his only inside the park HR off of Phillies' Jim Bunning, in Philadelphia
Music History
1967 Rolling Stones Keith Richards, Brian Jones & Mick Jagger arrested on drug charges
- 1967 Stockholm Vietnam Tribunal declares US aggression in Vietnam and Cambodia
- 1967 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1968 Vietnam peace talks began in Paris between the US and North Vietnam
Historic Event
1969 In an interview with the 'Belfast Telegraph' former Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill states: "if you give Roman Catholics a good job and a good house, they will live like Protestants, ... They will refuse to have 18 children"
- 1969 Turtles play White House, Mark Volman falls off stage 5 times
- 1969 US troops begin attack on Hill 937 ("Hamburger Hill"), Vietnam
- 1970 Atlanta Braves' Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in his 1,000th game, loses to Cards 6-5
- 1971 US special delivery rates go from 45 cents to 60 cents
- 1972 An Irish Republican Army bomb starts a fire that destroys the Belfast Co-operative store
- 1972 Overloaded South Korean bus plunges into reservoir, killing 77
- 1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1973 27th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 1
- 1973 Establishment of Frente Polisario in Mauritania
- 1973 Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2
- 1974 7th ABA championship: NY Nets beats Utah Stars, 4 games to 1
- 1975 Brian Oldfield of US put shot 75', an unofficial record
- 1978 "Angel" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 5 performances
- 1978 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London
- 1979 Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing
- 1979 John McMullen becomes CEO of Houston Astros
- 1979 Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) completes nonstop cycle ride of 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka [From May 2]
- 1980 "Happy New Year" closes at Morosco Theater NYC after 17 performances
Historic Event
1981 François Mitterrand defeats Valery Giscard d'Estang for Presidency of France
- 1981 Montreal Expo Charlie Lee no-hits SF Giants, 4-0
- 1982 WABC joins ABC's All Talk radio network
Radio History
1982 WABC radio (NYC) plays its last record - John Lennon's "Imagine" - and switches to all-talk format
- 1983 Lee Chin Yong performs 170 continuous chin-ups in Seoul
Television Finale
1983 TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley" last airs on ABC-TV
Historic Event
1988 Edgar Degas' "Danseresje of 14" sold for $10,120,000
- 1989 FC Barcelona of Spain win 29th European Cup Winner's Cup against Sampdoria of Italy 1-0 in Bern
Election of Interest
1989 General Manuel Noriega's Panama government nullifies country's elections, which the opposition had won by a 3-1 margin
- 1989 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Calgary Flames beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 1
- 1990 "Zoya's Apartment" opens at Circle in Square Theater NYC for 45 performances
- 1990 French TGV-train hits record speed of 510.6 kph
Film & TV History
1990 Howard Stern holds a mock funeral for rival John DeBella
- 1991 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Minnesota North Stars beat Edmonton Oilers, 4 games to 1
- 1992 "Hamlet" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 45 performances
- 1992 Bible Lands Museum opens in Jerusalem Israel
Hall of Fame
1993 Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- 1993 Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers opens Terminal West at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
- 1993 Fire in clothing factory at Bangkok kills 145
- 1993 Last TV appearance of Dutch television presenter Mies Bouwman
Historic Event
1993 Paul Cézanne's painting "Still Life With Apples" sells for US$28,600,000 in NYC
Music Concert
1994 Barbra Streisand's begins 1st concert tour in 30 years, at the Capitol Centre in Landover, Maryland (after "warm-up" shows in Las Vegas and London)
- 1994 DGC Records releases "Weezer" (known as The Blue Album), the debut album of rock band Weezer
- 1994 Musical sequel "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 16 performances
Historic Event
1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president
Historic Event
1994 Silvio Berlusconi forms Italian government with 5 neo-fascists
Academy of Country Music Awards
1995 30th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire win
- 1995 Britain lifts a 23-year ban on ministerial talks with Sinn Féin
- 1995 In South Africa, 104 miners killed in an elevator accident
- 1995 Real Zaragoza of Spain win 35th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 2-1 in Paris
Film & TV History
1996 "Twister" disaster film written by Michael Crichton starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton premieres
- 1996 2 US Marine helicopters collided during joint US & British war games
- 1996 Excel Communications, Inc. becomes the youngest company ever to join the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trading under the symbol (ECI)
- 1997 Chicago Cubs turn baseballs 68th triple play (vs SF Giants)
Election of Interest
1998 Viktor Orbán elected Prime Minister of Hungary after his Fidesz party forms a centre-right coalition the Independent Smallholders Party and Hungarian Democratic Forum
- 2000 India's population reaches 1 billion, baby girl Aastha born at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital chosen as symbolic billionth
