- 1085 Alfonso VI of León and Castile captures Toledo
- 1241 1st attack on Jewish community of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- 1420 Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ
The Protestant Reformation
1521 Edict of Worms outlaws Martin Luther and his followers
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Event of Interest
1660 King Charles II of England lands in Dover
Charles II
- 1720 The Ship "Le Grand St Antoine" reaches Marseille, bringing Europe's last major plague outbreak. Kills around 100,000
- 1721 John Copson becomes America's 1st insurance agent
- 1738 A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
- 1784 Jews are expelled from Warsaw by Marshall Mniszek
Event of Interest
1787 Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia, George Washington presiding
George Washington
Historic Publication
1816 Collection of poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge published by John Murray in London, including "Kubla Khan" and "Christabel"
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Event of Interest
1842 Christian Doppler presents his idea, now known as the Doppler Effect, to the Royal Bohemian Society, Prague
Christian Doppler
- 1844 1st telegraphed news dispatch is published in Baltimore Patriot
- 1861 John Merryman is arrested under suspension of writ of habeas corpus it later sparks a supreme court decision protecting writ
- 1862 First Battle of Winchester, Virginia
- 1864 Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia
- 1868 Australian Aboriginal Cricket tour of England begins v Surrey Gentlemen
- 1870 Irish Fenians raid Eccles Hill, Quebec
- 1876 1st tie in NL history (Athletics & Louisville, 2-2 in 14)
- 1876 4th Preakness: G Barbee aboard Shirley wins in 2:44.75
Music Premiere
1878 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "H.M.S. Pinafore" premieres in London, their first international success
William Schwenck Gilbert
Event of Interest
1895 Oscar Wilde sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for gross indecency
Oscar Wilde
- 1895 The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as the president.
- 1899 33rd Belmont: R Clawson aboard Jean Beraud wins in 2:23
- 1900 Retired London fire master Eyre Massey Shaw aged 70 reputedly becomes oldest gold medalist in Olympics for sailing (disputed)
- 1904 38th Belmont: George Odom aboard Delhi wins in 2:06.6
- 1906 After 20 straight wins, Boston Pilgrims lose to Chicago White Sox 3-0
- 1911 Revolution in Mexico overthrows President Jose Porfirio Diaz
- 1914 British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill
- 1915 Second Battle of Ypres ends with 105,000 casualties
- 1915 Chicago Claude Hendrix no-hits Pitts (Federal League), 10-0
- 1919 Casey Stengel releases a sparrow from under his baseball cap
Model T
1927 Henry Ford announces that he is ending production of the Model T Ford
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World Record
1935 Track and field athlete Jesse Owens equals or breaks 4 world records in 45 minutes at a Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Remembered as "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport".
Jesse Owens
- 1935 Babe Ruth hits his last 3 home runs in Pittsburgh, Boston Braves still lose the game 11–7 to the Pirates
- 1936 The Remington Rand strike, led by the American Federation of Labor, begins
- 1937 1st airmail letter to circle globe returns to NY
- 1938 Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante takes place, with 313 deaths.
- 1939 Carl Storck becomes 2nd NFL president
- 1940 German troops conquer Boulogne
- 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition reopens
- 1941 5,000 drown in a storm at Ganges Delta region in India
Event of Interest
1941 Ted Williams raises his batting average over .400 for 1st time in 1941
Ted Williams
Event of Interest
1943 Agnes Moorehead appears in "Sorry, Wrong Number" on the radio program "Suspense", her most successful appearance
Agnes Moorehead
Josip Broz Tito
PGA Championship
1948 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Norwood Hills CC: Ben Hogan scores a convincing 7 & 6 win over Mike Turnesa in the Tuesday final for his 2nd PGA crown
Ben Hogan
- 1948 San Francisco receives its 1st telecast
Execution
1948 Polish war hero Witold Pilecki is executed by communist police after a show trial in Warsaw
Witold Pilecki
Event of Interest
1951 NY Giant Willie Mays 1st major league game (goes 0 for 5)
Willie Mays
- 1953 1st atomic cannon electronically fired at Frenchman Flat, Nevada
- 1953 1st non-commercial educational television station-Houston, Texas
- 1953 Braves Max Surkont strikes out record 8 Reds in a row
- 1955 Series of 19 twisters destroy Udall Kansas & most of Blackwell Okla
- 1956 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Haurietis aquas
- 1957 "Shinbone Alley" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 49 performances
Event of Interest
1959 Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev visits Angola
Nikita Khrushchev
John F. Kennedy
- 1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,770 m
- 1962 Isley Brothers release "Twist & Shout"
- 1962 US performs nuclear test at Christmas Island (atmospheric)
- 1962 US unions AFL-CIO starts campaign for 35-hour work week
- 1963 "Hot Spot" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 43 performances
- 1963 Great Britain ends its amateur-professional classes in cricket
- 1963 Organization for African Unity formed by Chad, Mauritania and Zambia
Emmy Awards
1964 16th Emmy Awards: "The Dick Van Dyke Show", Dick Van Dyke & Mary Tyler Moore win
Mary Tyler Moore
Carl Reiner
- 1964 Frank Gilroy's "Subject is Roses" premieres in NYC
- 1964 Ground is broken for a new stadium in St Louis
- 1964 US Supreme Court rules closing schools to avoid desegregation is unconstitutional
- 1965 Dave Davies of The Kinks stumbles and is knocked unconscious on stage
- 1965 India and Pakistan border fights
Boxing Title Fight
1965 Muhammad Ali KOs Sonny Liston in 1 for heavyweight boxing title rematch
Muhammad Ali
Sonny Liston
Event of Interest
1967 John Lennon takes delivery of his psychedelically painted Rolls Royce
John Lennon
- 1967 European Cup Final, Estádio Nacional, Lisbon: Glasgow Celtic beats Internazionale, 2-1; first British team to win the Cup
- 1968 BPAA All-Star Bowling Tournament won by Jim Stefanich
- 1968 BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Dotty Fothergill
- 1968 Gateway Arch in St Louis dedicated
- 1968 Rolling Stones release "Jumping Jack Flash"
- 1968 Unicorn by The Irish Rovers hits #7
Film Release
1969 "Midnight Cowboy" directed by John Schlesinger and starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1970)
Jon Voight
Dustin Hoffman
- 1969 Sudanese government is overthrown in a military coup
- 1970 3rd ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat LA Stars, 4 games to 2
- 1971 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1971 The Provisional Irish Republican Army throw a time bomb into Springfield Road British Army base in Belfast, killing British Army Sergeant Michael Willetts and wounding seven officers
Boxing Title Fight
1972 Heavyweight Joe Frazier KOs Ron Stander
Joe Frazier
Event of Interest
1973 George Harrison releases "Give Me Love" in UK
George Harrison
- 1973 US launches 1st Skylab crew Kerwin, Conrad, Weitz
- 1973 26th Cannes Film Festival: "The Hireling" directed by Alan Bridges and "Scarecrow" directed by Jerry Schatzberg jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- 1975 29th NBA Championship: Golden Warriors sweep Wash Bullets in 4 games
- 1975 Cleve's Dennis Eckersley, debuts shuting out the A's 6-0
- 1975 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser wins in 2:54:55.064 (240.135 km/h)
- 1977 "Beatles Live! At Star-Club in Hamburg Germany" released
Event of Interest
1977 "Brady Bunch Hour" last airs on ABC-TV
Maureen McCormick
Film Release
1977 Original "Star Wars" movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford first released
- 1977 21st European Cup: Liverpool beats Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 at Rome
- 1978 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: 3-peat for Montreal Canadiens; beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 as Mario Tremblay scores twice; 4-2 series victory
- 1979 American Airlines DC-10 crashes on takeoff from Chicago killing 273 including 2 on the ground
- 1979 Israel begins to return Sinai to Egypt
- 1979 Raul Gonzales of Mexico completes 50,000 m walk in record 3:41:38.4
Film Release
1979 "Alien", directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver is released
Sigourney Weaver
Baseball Record
1981 Carl Yastrzemski is 4th to play 3,000 baseball games (Cobb, Musial & Aaron)
Carl Yastrzemski
- 1981 Daniel Goodwin scales outside of Chicago's Sears Tower in 7 hours
- 1981 Rangers' Bill Stein sets AL record with 7 consecutive pinch hits
- 1982 Ferguson Jenkins becomes 7th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters
- 1982 Iranian troops reconquer Khorramshar
- 1982 STS-4 vehicle moves to launch pad
- 1983 "Return of the Jedi" (Star Wars part VI), produced by George Lucas first released
- 1983 1st US National Missing Children's Day is proclaimed
- 1983 Fire in Nassermeer, Egypt, kills 357
- 1983 France performs nuclear test
- 1983 Kirk Gibson (Tigers) & Jorge Orta (Blue Jays) hit inside park HRs
- 1983 27th European Cup: Hamburg beats Juventus 1-0 at Athens
- 1984 Det Tigers lose to Seattle 7-3 ends record tying 17 consecutive wins
- 1984 Red Sox trade pitcher Dennis Eckersley to Cubs for Bill Buckner
- 1985 Allan Border scores 4th successive 1st class 100 (v Derbyshire)
- 1985 Cyclone ravages Bangladesh; 11,000 killed
- 1986 95-year-old woman scores a hole-in-one in Florida
- 1986 Ferry boat Shamia sinks on Maghna River Bangladesh, 600 killed
- 1986 Hands Across America - 6.5 million people hold hands from California to NY
Baseball Record
1986 KC Royal George Brett gets his 2,000th hit
George Brett
Election of Interest
1989 Mikhail Gorbachev elected Executive President in the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1989 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Calgary Flames beat Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 to win series 4 games to 2; Flames' first SC title
Music Recording
1989 Weird Al Yankovic records "She Drives Like Crazy"
Weird Al Yankovic
Event of Interest
1994 Mark Messier scores a natural hat trick for the New York Rangers in game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals
Mark Messier
- 1995 The Bosnian Serb Army kills 72 youngsters in the Bosnian city of Tuzla.
- 1996 Jennifer Maria Holsten, 18, crowned Miss Filipino-American
- 1996 1st Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: Blues win inaugural title with a 45-21 victory over the Natal Sharks; fullback Adrian Cashmore lands 3 penalties & 3 conversions for the home team
Event of Interest
1997 Minnesota Twins retire Kirby Puckett's uniform #
Kirby Puckett
- 1997 Todd and Mel Stottlemyre become 1st father and son to win 100 games
- 1997 A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.
- 1997 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Rangers, 4 games to 1
- 1999 The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report detailing People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over prior two decades
- 2000 Liberation Day of Lebanon. Israel withdraws its army from most of the Lebanese territory after 22 years of its first invasion in 1978.
- 2001 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- 2001 54th Cannes Film Festival: "The Son's Room" directed by Nanni Moretti wins the Palme d'Or
- 2002 A train crash in Tenga, Mozambique kills 197 people.
- 2002 China Airlines Flight 611: A Boeing 747-200 breaks apart in mid-air and plunges into the Taiwan Strait killing 225 people
- 2002 47th Eurovision Song Contest: Marie N for Latvia wins singing "I Wanna" in Tallinn
- 2002 Super Rugby Final, Jade Stadium, Christchurch: Crusaders win 4th title with a 31-13 thumping of the ACT Brumbies; flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens boots 3 penalties, 2 conversions and a dropped goal for the winners
- 2003 Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem. He is the first elected President since the economic crisis.
- 2003 Indianapolis 500: Gil de Ferran wins in 3:11:56.989 (251.526 km/h)
- 2003 56th Cannes Film Festival: "Elephant" directed by Gus Van Sant wins the Palme d'Or
- 2005 13th UEFA Champions League Final: Liverpool beats Milan (3-3, 3-2 on penalties)
Ostankino Tower
2007 The Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire for the second time
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- 2008 Indianapolis 500: Scott Dixon wins in 3:28:57.6792 (231.049 km/h)
- 2008 61st Cannes Film Festival: "The Class" directed by Laurent Cantet wins the Palme d'Or
- 2009 North Korea conducts its second nuclear test while also conducting several missile tests
- 2009 Thailand’s economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter of 2009, contracting the most in a decade and plunging the nation into recession
Event of Interest
2011 Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty five year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show
Oprah Winfrey
Music Awards
2011 46th Academy of Country Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert & Brad Paisley win
Taylor Swift
- 2012 Up to 116 people are massacred, including women and children, by the Syrian army in Houla, in the Homs province
