- 642 Arab forces under Amr ibn al-'As conquer Alexandria
Event of Interest
1156 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa issues the 'Privilegium Minus' decree, which elevated Austria to a duchy.
Frederick Barbarossa
- 1176 At the Battle of Myriokephalon the Byzantines fail to recover Anatolia from Turkish rule.
- 1394 Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI
- 1462 The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec) is fought during Thirteen Years' War.
- 1562 Council of Trente takes ecclesiastical canon
- 1584 Gent surrenders to Duke of Parma
- 1598 Dutch sailors discover island of Mauritius
- 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld: King Gustaaf Adolf of Sweden defeats Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly.
- 1644 French troops occupy Mainz
- 1678 France & Spain sign Treaties of Nijmegen
- 1683 Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria
- 1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony granted new charter
- 1730 Turkish coup under Mahmud I; Sultan Ahmed III flees
- 1737 Georg-August University opens in Göttingen
Event of Interest
1745 Edinburgh occupied by Jacobites under Charles Edward Stuart (aka the Young Pretender or Bonny Prince Charlie)
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Constitution of the United States
1787 The US Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention
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Historic Discovery
1789 William Herschel discovers Mimas, satellite of Saturn
William Herschel
Event of Interest
1835 Charles Darwins lands on Chatham in Galapagos archipelago
Charles Darwin
Event of Interest
1849 Harriet Tubman 1st escapes slavery in Maryland with two of her brothers
Harriet Tubman
- 1850 Fourth great fire in San Francisco
Event of Interest
1859 Joshua Abraham Norton, English-born resident of San Francisco, proclaims himself his Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America
Emperor Norton
Murder of Interest
1859 James Donnelly is sentenced to hang for murdering Patrick Farrell, but a petition for clemency reduces his sentence to 7 years in Kingston Penitentiary
James Donnelly
- 1861 First class for escaped slaves taught by Mary Peake at Fortress Monroe Virginia (now Hampton University).
- 1862 Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg], bloodiest day in the American Civil War: 22,000 dead, wounded or missing in first battle on Union soil
- 1862 Battle of Cumberland Gap, TN-evacuted by Federals
- 1862 Battle of Mumfordville, Kentucky, US Col J Wilder surrenders city
- 1862 American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war; 78 workers killed.
- 1863 Pope Pius IX encyclical On persecution in New Grenada
- 1864 American Civil War: Grant approves Sheridan's plan for Shenandoah Valley Campaign
- 1871 Mont Cenis railway tunnel Switzerland opens
- 1872 Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires
- 1873 19 students attend opening class at Ohio State University
- 1876 Race riots in South Carolina
- 1897 US Open Men's Golf, Chicago GC: Englishman Joe Lloyd wins his only major title by 1 stroke over runner-up Willie Anderson of Scotland; last 36-hole US Open
- 1899 1st British troops leave Bombay for South Africa
- 1900 Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed
- 1900 Philippine–American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mabitac.
- 1900 USA, Anthracite coal miners go out on strike for better wages until the October 25, by which time the owners are persuaded that their stand is harming President McKinley's campaign
- 1901 Battle of Blood River Port: Boer Gen Botha beats Major Gough's cavalry
- 1901 Battle at Elands River Port: Boer Gen Smuts destroys unit 17th Lancers
- 1902 US protests anti-semitism in Romania
- 1903 Boston Pilgrims clinch AL pennant, beating Cleveland, 14-3
Event of Interest
1906 Playing as "Sullivan" Columbia University jr Eddie Collins debuts with A's
Eddie Collins
Event of Interest
1912 Center fielder Casey Stengel breaks in with Brooklyn & hits 4 singles
Casey Stengel
Event of Interest
1916 WWI flying ace The Red Baron of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France
The Red Baron
Event of Interest
1917 Honus Wagner, retires at 43, Pirates retire his #33
Honus Wagner
- 1920 Cards set a record of 12 consecutive hits in 4th (10) & 5th (2) innings
- 1920 National Football League is born in Canton, Ohio; 12 teams pay $100 each to join American Professional Football Association; renamed the NFL in 1922
- 1922 Cyclist Piet Moeskops becomes world sprint champ
- 1922 Radio Moscow begins transmitting (12 KWs-most powerful station)
- 1923 Sutton Vane's "Outward Bound," premieres in London
- 1924 Italy signs treaty of Rapallo
- 1926 Hurricane hits Miami & Palm Beach Florida; about 450 die
Event of Interest
1927 Charles Lindbergh visits San Francisco
Charles Lindbergh
- 1927 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills NY: Frenchman Rene Lacoste successfully defends title; beats Bill Tilden 11-9, 6-3, 11-9
- 1928 Hurricane hits Lake Okeechobee Florida drowning 1,800-2500
- 1928 Pitcher Ray Boggs hits 3 batters in 1 inning
- 1928 US National Championship Men's Tennis: Frenchman Henri Cochet wins his only US title; beats American Frank Hunter 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
- 1929 British troops begin withdrawal from occupied Germany
- 1931 1st LP record demonstrated (RCA Victor, NYC), venture failed
- 1931 Operetta "Viktoria & Her Hussar" by Paul Abraham (adapted for English by Harry Graham) premieres in London at Palace Theatre h
- 1931 Red Sox Earl Webb sets record with 65 en route to 67 doubles
Ludwig van Beethoven
- 1934 USSR joins League of Nations (Netherland, Switzerland & Portugal vote no)
Manuel L. Quezon
- 1937 1st NFL game in Washington, D.C.; Redskins beat NY Giants 13-3
Event of Interest
1938 British premier Neville Chamberlain leaves Munich
Neville Chamberlain
- 1939 German U-29 sinks British aircraft carrier Courageous, 519 die
- 1939 Poland's President Ignacy Mościck and Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski flee to Romania
- 1939 Soviet Union invades Eastern Poland allowing Germans to advance West, taking 217,000 Poles prisoner, without a formal declaration of war
- 1939 Taisto Mäki of Finland becomes first man to run 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, in a time of 29:52.6 in Helsinki
US Men's Tennis Open
1939 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Reigning Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs beats fellow American Welby van Horn 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Bobby Riggs
US Open Women's Tennis
1939 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Dual champion Alice Marble beats Helen Jacobs 6-0, 8-10, 6-4
Alice Marble
- 1940 Nazis deprive Jews of possessions
Event of Interest
1940 Adolf Hitler indefinitely postpones Operation Sealion, the planned German invasion of Great Britain
Adolf Hitler
Event of Interest
1941 Cards' Stan Musial makes his major league debut, going 2-for-4
Stan Musial
- 1941 World War II: A decree issued by the Soviet State Committee of Defense, restoring Vsevobuch "Universal compulsory military training of the citizens of the USSR" in the face of the "Great Patriotic War"
- 1941 The New Zealand Labour Party abolishes the death penalty (It is reintroduced by the National government in 1950 before being finally removed from the statute book in 1961)
Meeting of Interest
1941 Famous meeting between Danish physicist Niels Bohr and German head of nuclear energy project Werner Heisenberg in Copenhagen to discuss nuclear weapons (date approximate)
Niels Bohr
Event of Interest
1944 British Premier Winston Churchill travels to US
Winston Churchill
- 1944 Dutch begin railroad strike against German occupiers
- 1944 Operation Market Garden: In the largest airborne operation of WWII, Allied paratroopers land in the Netherlands in a failed attempt to capture the Arnhem bridge over the Rhine
- 1946 "Gypsy Lady" opens at Century Theater NYC for 79 performances
- 1946 "If the Shoe Fits" opens at Century Theater NYC for 20 performances
Event of Interest
1947 Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of Year by Sporting News
Jackie Robinson
- 1947 James Forrestal sworn in as 1st US Secretary of Defense
- 1948 KCOP TV channel 13 in Los Angeles/Hollywood, CA (IND) begins
- 1948 WLS TV channel 7 in Chicago, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1949 128 die as fire guts Canadian passenger steamer Noronic in Toronto
- 1949 Ryder Cup Golf, Ganton GC: US beats Great Britain, 7-5; Americans win 6 of 8 singles matches to claim victory
- 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Council meets for 1st time
- 1949 WFAA TV channel 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1949 3rd Cannes Film Festival: "The Third Man" directed by Carol Reed wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- 1950 San Francisco 49ers (formerly AAFC) play 1st NFL game, lose 21-17
- 1951 "Borscht Capades" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 90 performances
- 1951 Romanian bishop A Pacha of Timisoara sentenced to 18 years
- 1952 "I am an American Day" & "Constitution Day" renamed "Citizenship Day"
Event of Interest
1953 Ernie Banks becomes Chicago Cubs 1st black player
Ernie Banks
Boxing Title Fight
1954 In a quick re-match at Yankee Stadium, NYC, Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in the 8th round to retain his world heavyweight boxing title
Rocky Marciano
Ezzard Charles
Historic Publication
1954 "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding is published by Faber and Faber in London
William Golding
- 1955 "Ankles Aweigh" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 176 performances
- 1955 Future Hall of Famer Oriole Brooks Robinson goes 2-4 in his 1st game
- 1956 Black students enter Clay Ky elementary school
- 1956 Yanks clinch pennant #22 on Mantle's 50th homer of year
- 1956 Television is first broadcast in Australia.
- 1957 KETV TV channel 7 in Omaha, NB (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1957 Scott Crossfield takes X-15 up for 1st powered flight
- 1957 Thailand military coup under marshal Sarit Thanarat
Event of Interest
1957 Two male attorneys "stand in" as actress Sophia Loren & producer Carlo Ponti wed by proxy in Juarez, Mexico
Sophia Loren
- 1957 The North East Humanists group is founded in Newcastle upon Tyne.
- 1958 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1959 59th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Jack Nicklaus
- 1959 Transit 1A, 1st navigational satellite launched; failed to orbit
- 1959 Typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan & Korea
- 1960 "Vintage '60" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 8 performances
- 1960 Cuba nationalizes US banks
US Men's Tennis Open
1960 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-Australian final Neale Fraser wins 2nd straight US title; beats Rod Laver 6-4, 6-4, 9-7
Rod Laver
US Open Women's Tennis
1960 US National Championship Women's Tennis: American Darlene Hard wins her first US singles title; beats defending champion Maria Bueno of Brazil 6-4, 10-12, 6-4
Darlene Hard
Maria Bueno
Event of Interest
1961 Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days," premieres in NYC
Samuel Beckett
- 1961 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Event of Interest
1961 Fran Tarkenton plays his first NFL Game against the Chicago Bears, coming off the bench to lead the Vikings to a 37-13 victory, also becoming the only QB to throw four touchdown passes in his first career game
Fran Tarkenton
- 1962 Justice Department files 1st suit to end segregation in public schools
- 1962 US space officials announce selection of 9 new astronauts
- 1963 "The Fugitive" starring David Janssen premieres on ABC TV
- 1963 Train struck makeshift bus full of migrant workers, killing 32
- 1964 "Bewitched" premieres on ABC TV
- 1964 Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 for a concert (Kansas)
Event of Interest
1964 Mickey Mantle gets hits #1999, 2000 & 2001 & his 450th HR
Mickey Mantle
Event of Interest
1964 The Supremes release "Baby Love"
Diana Ross
- 1965 WPHL TV channel 17 in Philadelphia, PA (IND) begins broadcasting
- 1965 CBS premiere of WWII sitcom "Hogan's Heroes"
- 1966 Cleve pitchers set AL record striking out 19 batters in 1st 9 innings
- 1966 "Mission Impossible" premieres on CBS-TV
- 1967 Mount Washington cog railway train derails, kills 8 (NH)
- 1967 New Orleans Saints 1st NFL game, they lose to LA Rams 27-13
- 1968 Gaylord Perry (Giants) no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 1-0
- 1968 Zond 5 completes circumnavigation of Moon
- 1970 Jordan launches offensive against guerrilla army
- 1970 WSWP TV channel 9 in Grandview, WV (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1972 BART begins passenger service in San Francisco
- 1972 Tanzania troops march in to Uganda
- 1974 Courageous (US) beats Southern Cross (Aust) in 23rd America's Cup
- 1975 Rollout of 1st space shuttle orbiter Enterprise (OV-101)
- 1976 Amnesty International receives Erasmus-prize
- 1976 NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending
Album Release
1976 Ringo Starr releases "Ringo's Rotogravure" album
Ringo Starr
- 1977 Ryder Cup Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes: US wins 12½-7½; last time a Great Britain & Ireland team competes for Ryder Cup
- 1977 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
- 1977 Dave Kingman hits his 1st Yankee homer, Reggie hits 2 more
- 1977 Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" is #1 for 19th straight week
- 1978 30th Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Ed Asner & Sada Thompson win
Event of Interest
1978 Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David Accords, frameworks for peace in the Middle East and between Egypt and Israel
Menachem Begin
Anwar Sadat
Jimmy Carter
Baseball Record
1979 Royals' George Brett is 6th to have 20 doubles/triples/HRs in a season
George Brett
Film Premier
1980 "Divine Madness" starring Bette Midler, premieres
Bette Midler
- 1980 Iraq under Saddam Hussein signs accord with Algeria
- 1980 South Korea opposition leader Kim Dae Jung sentenced to death
- 1980 Oak A's Rick Langford is removed with 2 outs in 9th inning ending his consecutive complete-game streak at 22
- 1980 Iraq breaks 1975 treaty with Iran and proclaims sovereignty over Shatt al-Arab waterway
Event of Interest
1980 Polish workers under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa found the Solidarity movement at the Gdańsk Shipyard
Lech Wałęsa
Event of Interest
1981 Fernando Valenzuela sets NL rookie record with 8th shutout of season
Fernando Valenzuela
Music Single
1982 "Bad to the Bone" single by George Thorogood and the Destroyers first released
George Thorogood
- 1983 Chicago White Sox clinch their 1st-ever AL West championship
Event of Interest
1983 Vanessa Williams (NY), 20, crowned 56th Miss America 1984, 1st winner of African American descent
Vanessa Williams
Event of Interest
1983 8th Toronto International Film Festival: "The Big Chill" directed by Lawrence Kasdan wins the People's Choice Award
Glenn Close
Event of Interest
1984 Brian Mulroney sworn in as Canada's 18th Prime Minister, succeeding John Turner
Brian Mulroney
John Turner
Baseball Record
1984 Dwight Gooden ties record of 32 strikeouts in consecutive games
Dwight Gooden
Baseball Record
1984 Reggie Jackson is 13th to hit 500 HRs
Reggie Jackson
- 1984 USSR performs underground nuclear test
- 1985 Soyuz T-14 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station
- 1986 Bomb attack in Paris, 6 killed
- 1986 Marina Stepanova of USSR sets 400m hurdle woman's record (52.94)
- 1986 Mets clinch NL East Championship
- 1986 US Senate confirms William Rehnquist as 16th chief justice
- 1987 Philadelphia celebrates 200th anniversary of Constitution
Papal Visit
1987 Pope John Paul II arrives in San Francisco, meets with AIDS patients, and embraces an AIDS infected child
John Paul II
- 1988 24th Olympic games open at Seoul, Korea
- 1988 Jeff Reardon becomes 1st to record 40 or more saves in both AL & NL
- 1988 13th Toronto International Film Festival: "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" directed by Pedro Almodovar wins the People's Choice Award
- 1989 -21] Hurricane Hugo, kills 85 in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1989 41st Emmy Awards: LA Law, "Cheers", Dana Delany & Candice Bergen win
- 1989 Hurricane Hugo begins 4 day sweep through Caribbean, killing 62
