Roman Empire
176 Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of Imperator
- 1382 Battle of Westrozebeke/Roosebeke. French army defeats the Flemish army. Flemish leader Philip Van Artevelde killed and corpse displayed
Historic Event
1493 Christopher Columbus returns to La Navidad colony, finding it destroyed by the 1st native American uprising against Spanish rule. Taíno cacique Caonabo led his people to attack the settlement after the brutal treatment they received from the garrison who disobeyed Columbus's orders.
Historic Event
1807 Portuguese Royal Family and its court of nearly 15,000 people leave Lisbon for their colony of Brazil to escape invading Napoleonic troops
- 1809 Berners Street hoax: Theodore Hook bets he can make any address the most talked-about in London, proceeds to win by bringing London to a standstill
- 1815 City of Kraków (Poland) declared a free republic state by the Congress of Vienna
- 1815 Adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland
- 1826 John Walker invents friction match in England
- 1839 American Statistical Association organizes in Boston
- 1843 Opera "Bohemian Girl" by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn first produced in London
- 1863 -29] Battle at Fort Esperanza, Texas
- 1863 Battle of Payne's Farm, Virginia
- 1864 2nd day of Battles at Waynesboro, Georgia
Battle of Interest
1868 Battle at Washita River, Oklahoma. General George A. Custer attacks group of Native American Indians, their chief Black Kettle dies in the attack
- 1870 The New York Times dubs baseball "The National Game"
- 1885 1st photograph of a meteor taken by Austro-Hungarian photographer Ladislaus Weinek in Prague
- 1889 1st permit issued to drive a car through Central Park (Curtis P Brady)
- 1889 Hermann Sudermann's "Ehre" premieres in Berlin
- 1890 1st signal box for SF Police Department goes into operation
Nobel Prize
1895 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel's will establishes the Nobel Prize
Music History
1896 "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Thus Spake Zarathustra) by Richard Strauss, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical novel, debuts in Frankfurt
Theater Premiere
1901 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Der rote Hahn" premieres in Berlin
- 1901 U.S. Army War College is established in Washington, D.C.
- 1901 Prince Ito of Japan comes to St Petersburg hoping to get the Russians to grant Japan concessions in Korea, but later drops this goal and decides to make an alliance with Britain
- 1903 Opera "Die Neugierigen Frauen" by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is produced in Munich
- 1910 NY's Penn Station opens as world's largest railway terminal
- 1911 Audience throws vegetables at actors for 1st recorded time in US
- 1912 Albanian National Flag adopted
- 1912 Spanish protectorate in Morocco forms
- 1914 1st British woman elected political agent (Grantham, Lincolnshire)
- 1919 Peace of Neuilly-sur-Seine: Allies & Bulgaria
Music History
1919 Ignacy Jan Paderewski resigns as Polish Prime Minister
Film & TV History
1920 "The Mask of Zorro" directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks is shown in New York - 1st American superhero film
Music History
1926 Béla Bartok's ballet "Miraculous Mandarin" premieres in Keulen
Historic Event
1934 Bank robber Baby Face Nelson dies in a shoot-out with the FBI
- 1937 Pro-labor musical revue "Pins & Needles" opens, produced by ILGWU
Theater Premiere
1939 Maxwell Anderson's play "Key Largo" premieres in NYC
Sports History
1940 6th Heisman Trophy Award: Tom Harmon, Michigan (HB)
- 1941 British 13th Army Corps reaches Tobruk in Libya
Sports History
1941 New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio is named AL MVP, for the 2nd time
- 1943 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Hamilton Flying Wildcats defeat Winnipeg RCAF Bombers, 23-14
- 1944 4,000 shells detonate in RAF arms depot at Fauld, near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire; village of Hanbury destroyed, at least 70 people killed
- 1944 US 121st Infantry regiment opens assault on Hurtgen in Germany
Historic Event
1945 General George Marshall named special US envoy to China
- 1945 Trial against Dutch Fascist NSB leader Anton Mussert begins (later convicted and executed by firing squad)
Historic Event
1945 Dutch resistance fighter Hannie Schaft re-buried in presence of Queen Wilhelmina
Election of Interest
1946 Peter Fraser's Labour government wins a second term in New Zealand's general elections
- 1946 English soccer team beats Netherlands, 8-2
- 1947 Joe DiMaggio wins his 3rd MVP, beating Ted Williams by 1 vote
- 1948 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Calgary Stampeders win their first Championship; defeat Ottawa Rough Riders, 12-7
- 1948 Honda 1st opens in America
- 1950 Red Sox sign shortstop Lou Boudreau as a player to 2-year contract
- 1950 Trial against RC clergy "imperialistic conspiracy" begins in Prague
- 1951 1st rocket to intercept an airplane at White Sands, New Mexico
- 1951 Cease-fire & demarcation zone accord signed in Panmunjon, Korea
- 1952 KTBC TV channel 7 in Austin, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1953 Indians 3rd baseman Al Rosen is unanimously named AL's MVP
- 1954 "By the Beautiful Sea" closes at Majestic Theater, NYC, after 270 performances
- 1954 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Edmonton Eskimos win first of 3 straight Championships; defeat Montreal Alouettes, 26-25
- 1954 Alger Hiss is released from prison after serving 44 months for perjury
- 1956 F Goodrich and A Hackett's "Diary of Anne Frank" premieres in Netherlands
- 1956 1957 NFL Draft: Paul Hornung from University of Notre Dame first pick by Green Bay Packers
- 1956 Bobby Morrow takes out the Melbourne Olympics sprint double when he wins the 200m gold medal in equal world record 20.75s; beats American teammates Andy Stanfield and Thane Baker
- 1956 Al Oerter wins first of 4 consecutive men's discus gold medals when he throws Olympic record 56.36m to lead an American medal sweep at the Melbourne Games; Fortune Gordien silver, Desmond Koch bronze
- 1956 Elżbieta Krzesińska of Poland equals world record with leap of 6.53m to win the women's long jump gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics
Little Rock Crisis
1957 US Army withdraws from Little Rock, Arkansas after Central High School integration
Sports History
1960 Gordie Howe becomes 1st NHLer to score 1,000 points
- 1960 Patrice Lumumba flees Leopoldville, Congo
- 1960 Trailing 38-7 late in 3rd quarter, Buffalo Bills tie Broncos at 38-38
- 1961 Gordie Howe becomes 1st to play in 1,000 NHL games
- 1961 KHAW TV channel 11 in Hilo, HI (NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1962 1st test flight of the Boeing 727 takes place
- 1962 Sumner Arthur Long's play "Never Too Late" premieres in NYC
- 1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1963 The Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention is signed at Strasbourg
- 1965 15-25,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam in Washington, D.C.
- 1965 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat Winn Blue Bombers, 22-16; strong winds meant all scoring occurred by the team going with the wind
- 1965 1966 NFL Draft: Tommy Nobis from University of Texas first pick by Atlanta Falcons
- 1966 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Kathy Whitworth wins back-to-back titles by 2 shots from Judy Kimball and Mary Mills
- 1966 In highest-scoring NFL game, Washington Redskins defeat NY Giants 72-41
- 1966 Uruguay adopts constitution
- 1967 The Beatles release their album "Magical Mystery Tour" in US; issued as an EP in UK in December
- 1967 Gold pool nations pledge support of $35 per ounce gold price
Historic Event
1967 French President Charles de Gaulle said 'Non!' to British entry to the European Common Market for the second time
Music Concert
1967 Jimi Hendrix headlines bill (including The Move and Pink Floyd) for 2 shows at Whitla Hall, Queens College, in Belfast - his only concerts in Ireland
- 1970 Carl Morton (18-11 for last-place Expos), receives NL Rookie of Year
Album Release
1970 George Harrison releases his triple album set "All Things Must Pass" - it becomes the best selling solo release of any of the Beatles, going 6X Platinum
- 1970 Test Cricket debut of Rodney "Iron Gloves" Marsh v England, Brisbane
- 1971 Soviet Mars 2 becomes 1st spacecraft to crash land on Mars
- 1971 Two Customs officials are shot by an Irish Republican Army sniper firing upon a British Army patrol investigating a bomb attack on a Customs Post near Newry, County Armagh
- 1972 Pierre Trudeau forms Canadian government
- 1972 Yanks trade Ellis, Torres & Spikes to Indians for Nettles & Moses
- 1973 Gary Matthews wins NL Rookie of Year
Theater Premiere
1973 Neil Simon's play "Good Doctor" premieres in NYC
Historic Event
1973 US Senate votes 92-3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President
Historic Event
1973 US President Richard Nixon signs the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, authorizing petroleum price, production, allocation and marketing controls
Theatrical Finale
1977 "Comedy with Music (Victor Borge)" closes at Imperial NY after 66 performances
- 1977 CFL Grey Cup, Olympic Stadium, Montreal: Montreal Alouettes beat Edmonton Eskimos, 41-6; record Grey Cup crowd 68,318; game referred to as the 'Ice Bowl'; Dan Sweet record 23 points
Assassination
1978 San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White at City Hall
Davis Cup
1982 Davis Cup, Grenoble, France: US takes unassailable, 3-0 lead over France as John McEnroe & Peter Flemming take the doubles 6-3, 6-4, 9-7 over Henri Leconte & Yannick Noah; tie ends 4-1
- 1983 CFL Grey Cup, BC Place, Vancouver: Toronto Argonauts defeats BC Lions, 18-17; Argos' first Grey Cup victory in 31 years
- 1983 Colombian jetliner Boeing 747 crashes in Madrid killing 181
- 1983 Desmond Haynes out handled the ball v India
- 1985 Cards Vince Coleman wins NL Rookie of Year
- 1985 Republic of Ireland gains consultative role in Northern Ireland
- 1986 Europa TV, a project of five European public service broadcasters ceases operations after exhausting its budget
- 1987 "Les Miserables" opens at Theatre Royal, Sydney
- 1987 Young man survives 7 attempts at suicide in Somerset, England
- 1988 CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Winnipeg Blue Bombers edge BC Lions, 22-21; first Grey Cup game won by a team with only a .500 season
- 1989 Colombian jetliner bombed killing 107
- 1989 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- 1989 George Harrison releases "Cheer Down" & "Poor Little Girl"
- 1989 Luis Alberto Lacelle elected president of Uruguay
- 1989 US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) returns from space
- 1991 Musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 48 performances
- 1991 Poetess Maria Elene Cruz Varela sentenced to 2 years (Cuba)
Pro Wrestling
1991 Undertaker beats Hulk Hogan to become new WWF champ
Sports History
1993 David Boon completes his 18th Test Cricket century (106 v NZ, Hobart)
- 1993 India defeat West Indies in Bengal Jubilee Cricket Final, Kumble 6-12
- 1993 Lisa Hanna, 18, of Jamaica, crowned 43rd Miss World
- 1994 CFL Grey Cup, BC Place, Vancouver: BC Lions beat Baltimore FC, 26-23; first-ever championship in pro football history featuring a US v Canada matchup; Lions win on last second Lui Passaglia field-goal
- 1994 Fire in disco in Fuxin, North-China, 233 killed
- 1994 Julio Maria Sanguinetti elected president of Uruguay
- 1997 Lions' Barry Sanders becomes NFL's 2nd all-time rusher
- 1997 Twenty-five are killed in the second Souhane massacre in Algeria.
Election of Interest
1999 New Zealand's Labour Party defeats the National-led government after 9 years in power, Helen Clark becomes the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history
Historic Event
2004 Pope John Paul II returns the relics of Saint John Chrysostom to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- 2004 Marco Antonio Barrera beats Erik Morales by majority decision to win WBC super featherweight boxing title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas; final fight of legendary trilogy; The Ring's 'Fight of the Year'
- 2005 First partial human face transplant is completed for Isabelle Dinoire in Amiens, France.
- 2005 President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, in power since 1967 and the longest-serving head of state in the world, is re-elected to his third consecutive seven-year term
- 2005 CFL Grey Cup, BC Place, Vancouver: Edmonton Eskimos beat Montreal Alouettes, 38-35; first time in 44 years Grey Cup goes into overtime
Historic Event
2006 The Canadian House of Commons endorses Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motion to declare Québécois a nation within a unified Canada.
- 2006 Francesco Cossiga, Italian politician and former President of the Italian Republic, resigns from his position as lifetime senator
- 2006 Ballon d'Or: Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus/Real Madrid) is named best football player in Europe ahead of Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Arsenal forward Thierry Henry
- 2011 CFL Grey Cup, BC Place, Vancouver: BC Lions beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 34-23 for their 6th Championship
Sports History
2011 German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel finishes 2nd in season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to retain his F1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 122 points from Jenson Button
Sports History
2011 Roger Federer claims a record 6th ATP World Tour Finals tennis title with a 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final in London, England
Sports History
2013 Tiger Woods is named PGA Tour's Player of the Year for the 11th time
- 2013 Greece becomes the first developed market to be demoted into an emerging market by the MSCI index
Film Release
2013 "Frozen", the highest-grossing animated film of all time, starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, is released
- 2014 Stephanie Gilmore wins her 6th women's world surfing title
- 2014 Cricketer Phillip Hughes dies two days after being struck on the head by a bouncer
- 2015 Robert Lewis Dear (57) shots 3 dead and wounds 9 at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 2015 "Holy grail" of shipwrecks the San Jose, sunk 1708, is confirmed found by an international team off the coast of Colombia
Sports History
2016 German Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg clinches his only F1 World Driver's Championship with victory in season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; wins title by 5 points from teammate Lewis Hamilton
Engagement of Interest
2017 Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement
Historic Event
2017 Pope Francis begins a three-day trip to Myanmar, amid the Rohingya refugee crisis
Historic Event
2018 US accuses Nicaragua's Vice-President Rosario Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega of human rights abuses and imposes sanctions
- 2018 Explosion near chemical company in Hebei Province, Northern China kills at least 23, injuring 22
- 2018 Convicted US murderer Samuel Little confirmed connected to 90 more murders of women after confessing details
- 2019 Ghana celebrates the "year of return" marking 300 years since 1st African slave sold in America, by granting 125 people citizenship in special ceremony
Historic Event
2019 US President Donald Trump signs two bills backing Hong Kong protesters, which check the territories autonomy and ban the sale of munitions to Hong Kong police, angering China
- 2020 Iran's most senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated outside Tehran, escalating tensions in the region
Appointment of Interest
2021 Jack Dorsey announces he is stepping down as CEO of Twitter, to be replaced by Parag Agrawal
