- 310 St Eusebius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
Roman Empire
335 Roman Emperor Constantine the Great rules that Jews are not allowed to purchase and circumcise Christian slaves
The Protestant Reformation
1512 Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
Event of Interest
1520 Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reach Cape Virgenes and become the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific Ocean
Victory in Battle
1639 Sea battle at Dunes, Lt Admiral Maarten Tromp defeats Spanish armada under De Oquendo
- 1652 King Louis XIV returns to Paris
- 1708 Dutch & English troops occupy Lille (Rijsel)
- 1727 Russian & Chinese accord to correct boundaries
- 1774 First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts and which was in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
- 1789 French Revolution: The National Assembly declares martial law in France to prevent uprisings
- 1797 The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is launched in Boston
Event of Interest
1803 English scientist John Dalton reads his paper on the absorption of gases by water to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Soc - 1st outline of his atomic theory
Victory in Battle
1805 Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson shot and killed during battle.
Event of Interest
1854 Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 nurses is sent to the Crimean War
- 1858 Jacques Offenbach's operetta " Orpheus in the Underworld" (Orphée aux Enfers) premieres in Paris, includes "Infernal Galop" (can-can tune)
- 1861 Battle of Balls Bluff, VA (Leesburg, Harrison's Island)
- 1864 Battle of Westport, MO (Kansas City)
- 1868 Severe earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, California
- 1869 1st shipment of fresh oysters comes overland from Baltimore
- 1871 1st US amateur outdoor athletic games (NY)
Event of Interest
1878 German chancellor Otto von Bismarck delegates end of "Socialism"
- 1887 Detroit clinches best-of-15 touring World Championship with its 8th victory in Game 11 this afternoon in Baltimore, 13-3
- 1895 The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
- 1897 Yerkes Observatory of University of Chicago is dedicated
- 1899 Battle at Elandslaagte Natal: (Boers vs British army)
- 1902 In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
- 1905 In early promotion of soccer in America, England Pilgrim Association XI beats All New York XI, 7-1 at the Polo Grounds, NY
- 1911 Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Alberta Unions form Western Canada Rugby Football Union
- 1911 RS Hichens & M Hudsons "Garden of Allah" premieres in NYC
- 1913 Transvaal women satyagrahis begin defiance activities, hawking without licenses in Vereeniging; they cross the Natal border and encourage the miners in Newcastle to strike
- 1914 Battle of Warsaw ends with German defeat
- 1915 1st transatlantic radiotelephone message, Arlington, Va to Paris
Event of Interest
1915 William Jennings Bryan's successor as US Secretary of State, Robert Lansing, sends a note to Britain protesting interference with US shipping
Film Premiere
1921 "The Sheik", a silent film starring Rudolph Valentino, premieres in Los Angeles
Event of Interest
1937 Francisco Franco's troops occupy Gijon
Music History
1944 Walter Piston's "Fugue for a Victory Tune" premieres in NYC
- 1944 World War II: US troops capture Aachen, 1st large German city to fall
- 1945 Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time
- 1947 Dutch Dakota explodes near Copenhagen, 16 die
- 1947 J.B Priestley's stage drama "An Inspector Calls" opens at the Booth Theatre, NYC; runs for 95 performances
- 1948 Beersheba liberated by Israeli army
- 1948 Dutch Constellation crashes at Prestwick Scotland (40 murder)
- 1948 Facsimile high-speed radio transmission demonstrated (Washington, D.C.)
- 1948 UN rejects Russian proposal to destroy atomic weapons
Event of Interest
1949 Author of "Brave New World" Aldous Huxley writes to congratulate George Orwell on his new novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"
Theater Premiere
1954 Dorothy Parker and Arnaud d'Usseau's black comedy play "Ladies of the Corridor" premieres
Event of Interest
1959 Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in New York
- 1959 Players Association approves 2 All-Star Games in 1960, to be held in KC & NY
- 1960 1st British nuclear sub HMS Dreadnought launched
Music History
1961 Barbra Streisand opens in "Another Evening with Harry Stones"
- 1961 USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
World Record
1964 Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a world record 2:12:11.2 to beat Briton Basil Heatley by more than 4 minutes and win the men's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics; first athlete to win Olympic marathon twice
- 1964 American men's 4×400m relay team beats Great Britain by 0.9s to set world record 3:00.7 and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee, Ulis Williams & Henry Carr
- 1964 Braves ask NL to allow them to leave Milwaukee for Atlanta
Film Premiere
1964 Film version of "My Fair Lady" directed by George Cukor and starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1965)
- 1964 New Zealand athlete Peter Snell wins the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics; his second gold medal of the Games (800m); 3rd career gold
- 1964 Polish 4×100m women's relay team runs a world record 43.6 to beat the US by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Teresa Ciepły, Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Górecka & Ewa Kłobukowska
Event of Interest
1964 Society Hill Towers, a complex of three 31-story skyscrapers designed by I.M. Pei and Associates, inaugurated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1964 US 4 x 100m men's relay team of Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes run world record 39.0s to beat Poland by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- 1965 Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.
- 1965 KTWU TV channel 11 in Topeka, KS (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1965 Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Robert B Woodward
- 1965 Vivian Beaumont Theater (NYC) opens
The Tragedy of Aberfan
1966 116 children and 28 adults died as a coal waste heap slid and engulfed a school in Aberfan, South Wales
Election of Interest
1969 German statesman Willy Brandt is elected chancellor of West Germany (1969-1974)
- 1969 Leonard Gersh's "Butterflies are Free" premieres in NYC
- 1969 Maj Gen Mohamed Siad Barre becomes President of Somali
- 1970 777 Unification church couples wed in Korea
- 1970 Bernadette Devlin is released from prison having served four months of her six month sentence for riotous behaviour
- 1970 Caledonian Airways takes over British United Airways
- 1970 Nobel prize of peace awarded to Norman E Borlaugh
- 1971 "To Live Another Summer" opens at Helen Hayes NYC for 173 performances
Nobel Prize
1971 Nobel prize for literature awarded to Pablo Neruda
- 1971 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1971 William H Rehnquist & Lewis F Powell nominated to US Supreme Court by Nixon, following resignations of Justices Hugo Black & John Harlan
- 1972 "Dude" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 16 performances
- 1972 "Man of La Mancha" closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 140 performances
- 1972 "Pacific Paradise" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 5 performances
- 1973 23rd NASCAR Sprint Cup: Benny Parsons wins
Sports History
1973 Baseball World Series: defending champion Oakland A's beat NY Mets, 5-2 in Game 7 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum to retain title; A's manager Dick Williams immediately quits; MVP: A's outfielder Reggie Jackson
- 1973 Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
- 1974 NHL New York Islanders and goaltender Billy Smith's 1st shut-out win, 5-0 vs Washington Capitals
- 1975 "Treemonisha" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 64 performances
- 1975 Coast Guard Academy 1st allows women to enroll
Music History
1975 Elton John is given a star in Hollywood
- 1975 Mexico City's 1st major subway accident takes 26 lives
- 1975 Red Sox Carlton Fisk's 12th inning HR beats Reds 7-6 in game 6 of WS
- 1975 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
Sports History
1976 Baseball World Series: defending champions Cincinnati Reds sweep NY Yankees; beat Bombers, 7-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium; MVP: Reds catcher Johnny Bench
Nobel Prize
1976 Nobel prize for literature awarded to American Saul Bellow
Sports History
1976 NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed
Event of Interest
1979 Israeli minister of Foreign affairs Moshe Dayan resigns
New York City Marathon
1979 New York City Marathon: Bill Rodgers wins 4th straight men's title in 2:11:42; defending champion Grete Waitz of Norway takes out women's event in 2:27:33
- 1979 Ozzie Newsome begins NFL streak of 150 consecutive game receptions
- 1980 "Banjo Dancing" opens at Century Theater NYC for 38 performances
Sports History
1980 Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies beat KC Royals, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium to secure series, 4-2; first championship in franchise history; MVP: Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt
Election of Interest
1980 Mikhail Gorbachev elected member of Politburo
- 1980 Phillies win their 1st World Championship in their 98-year history
Event of Interest
1982 Private funeral service held for Bess Truman, former First Lady of the United States
Appointment of Interest
1983 Pope John Paul II names 3 new Dutch bishops
F1 World Champion
1984 Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda becomes a 3-time Formula 1 World Drivers champion when he finishes 2nd in the season ending Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril; wins title by just 0.5 from Alain Prost
- 1984 Cleveland Browns' Steve Cox sets club record with a 60-yd field goal
- 1984 Steve Jones runs Chicago Marathon in world record 2:08:05
- 1985 Qasim Omar (206) & Javed Miandad (203*) make 397 stand v SL
- 1986 1st-class cricket debut of Andy Flower, ZCU Presidents XI v Young WI
- 1986 American writer Edward Tracy kidnapped in Beirut
- 1986 Hugh Whitemore's "Breaking the Code" premieres in London
- 1986 IBM re-forms in South Africa
- 1986 Republic of Marshall Islands signs Compact of Free Association with US
- 1987 7th Belgium government of Martens forms
- 1987 Full US Senate debate begins on Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court
Nobel Prize
1987 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Robert Solow for his theory of economic growth
- 1988 Bat*21, an American war film, is released
- 1988 Boston Celtics beat Yugoslavia 113-85 in Madrid
Event of Interest
1988 Philippine former first couple Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos indicted on racketeering charges
- 1989 "Dangerous Games" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 4 performances
- 1989 Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe purchase the Denver Nuggets for $65m - 1st African American owners of a major sports team,
- 1989 Buck Helm found alive after being buried 4 days, in San Francisco earthquake
- 1989 Houston becomes 1st major college team to gain 1000 yards in a game
F1 World Champion
1990 Ayrton Senna of Brazil crashes his McLaren during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka but clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship
- 1990 The first Apple Day, is held in Covent Garden, London.
- 1991 24 die in a fire in Oakland Calif
Event of Interest
1991 Former California Governor Jerry Brown announces his run for the US Presidency
- 1991 US hostage Jesse Turner released from 5 years in captivity in Beirut
- 1993 "Twilight of the Golds" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 29 performances
- 1993 Failed military coup in Burundi, led by ex-President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, includes assassination President Ndadaye; 525,000 Hutus flee
- 1994 Hana bridge is Seoul Korea crashes, 32+ die
- 1994 North Korea signs pact to end their nuclear projects
- 1995 Addison Vance, 18, of Hickory NC, crowned 7th Ms Venus Swimwear
- 1995 Mario Tremblay, selected 22nd NHL coach of Montreal Canadians
- 1997 Cleveland outfielder Marquis Grissom records a hit in his 15th straight World Series game; second longest 9 inning WS game (4:12) as Florida Marlins beat Indians, 14-11
- 1998 Baseball World Series: New York Yankees beat San Diego, 3-0 in Game 4 at Qualcomm Stadium to sweep Padres and win 2nd title in 3 years; MVP: Yankees 3rd baseman Scott Brosius
Music Concert
2001 "United We Stand" benefit concert for September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks victims, held at RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. organized and headlined by Michael Jackson and featuring Aerosmith, Mariah Carey and The Backstreet Boys
- 2001 MLB National League Championship: Arizona Diamondbacks beat Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 1
- 2003 Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz.
- 2004 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Houston Astros, 4 games to 3
- 2005 52nd National Film Awards (India): "Page 3" wins the Golden Lotus
F1 World Champion
2007 Finnish Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen wins season ending Brazilian F1 Grand Prix to claim his first World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Lewis Hamilton
- 2007 MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 3
- 2007 Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas sets NFL record for most points scored in a game (no touchdowns) with 26 in 38-36 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium, Houston
- 2009 55th National Film Awards (India): "Kanchivaram" wins the Golden Lotus
- 2009 MLB National League Championship: Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1
Canonization
2012 Kateri Tekakwitha canonized as the 1st Native American saint by Pope Benedict XVI
Event of Interest
2013 The Parliament of Canada confers Honorary Canadian citizenship on women's rights and education activist Malala Yousafzai
- 2014 Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Event of Interest
2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel says German view of Holocaust will not change, after Benjamin Netanyahu says idea came from Mufti of Jerusalem
Film & TV History
2018 Julia Louis-Dreyfus is presented with the Mark Twain Prize, comedy's top honor, at a ceremony in New York
- 2018 Sectarian fighting between Muslim and Christian youths kill 55 at Kasuwan Magani, Nigeria
- 2018 Train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 and injuring 178
- 2019 Australia's biggest newspapers all blank out their front pages in protest against press restrictions
Election of Interest
2019 Canadian Federal Election: Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party loses its majority but wins the most seats (157) to form a minority government
- 2019 Facebook says it has taken down four state-backed disinformation campaigns, three from Iran, one from Russia in addition to dozens earlier this year
- 2019 Lebanon government approves economic reforms after 5 days of protests, largest in a decade
- 2019 Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn strips his royal consort Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi of her titles for "misbehaviour and disloyalty against the monarch" two months after she was appointed to them
- 2019 World's oldest natural pearl, 8,000 years old, announced discovered during excavations at Marawah Island, near Abu Dhabi, UAE
CMT Music Awards
2020 54th CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan win
- 2020 FBI says Iran and Russia have US voter information and are trying to influence outcome of US election
- 2020 Nasa Osiris-Rex spacecraft lands briefly on asteroid Bennu on mission to collect dust, largest sample from space since Apollo
- 2020 Parents of 545 children cannot be found that were separated at the US-Mexico border according to American Civil Liberties Union
Film & TV History
2020 Pope Francis backs same-sex civil unions in interview in documentary film "Francesco"
- 2020 Spain becomes the first European country to record more than 1 million COVID-19 cases with the death toll at 34,366
