- 1489 The last Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro is forced to abdicate by Venice
- 1559 Storm floods ravage Gorinchem, Dordrecht & Woudrichem, Netherlands
1590 Battle of Ivry: French King Henry IV defeats the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion
- 1592 "Ultimate Pi day": on this day at 6.53am is the largest correspondence between calendar dates and significant digits of pi, since the introduction of the Julian calendar (3.14159265358)
- 1644 England grants a patent to Providence Plantations for what is now Rhode Island
- 1647 Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm
Convention to Pick Scottish Monarch
1689 Convention of the Estates of Scotland opens to decide on offering Scottish Crown to William III and Mary Stuart or to James II of England
- 1743 First American town meeting is held in Boston's Faneuil Hall
- 1757 On board HMS Monarch (his own flagship), British Admiral John Byng is executed by firing squad for failing to come to aide of besieged British garrison
- 1793 Lieutenant Governor Simcoe of Upper Canada passes legislation for the first time against the importation of slaves, after a black female slave forcibly transported to New York state to be sold [1]
Cotton Gin Machine
1794 Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, revolutionizing the cotton industry in the southern US states [1]
- 1812 US Congress authorizes war bonds to finance War of 1812
- 1821 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is founded in New York
- 1826 General Congress of South American States assembles in Panama
- 1840 José Zorrilla's romantic drama "El Zapatero y el Rey" premieres in Madrid
- 1845 -5.3°F (-20.7°C) in Groningen, Netherlands
Macbeth
1847 Premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Macbeth" at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence
Ellen G. White's Vision
1858 Seventh Day Adventist co-founder Ellen G. White receives a vision while attending a funeral service in Lovett's Grove, near Bowling Green, Ohio
- 1862 Battle of New Bern North Carolina: General Burnside conquers New Bern
Petite Messe Solennelle
1864 Gioachino Rossini's sacred work "Petite Messe Solennelle" premieres at his home in Paris, France
- 1864 Union troops occupy Fort DeRussy, Louisiana
- 1869 Defeat of Maori Ngāti Ruanui leader Riwha Titokowaru in Taranaki, New Zealand by British forces
- 1870 California legislature approves act making Golden Gate Park possible
Vysehrad
1875 Bedřich Smetana's symphonic poem "Vysehrad" / "The High Castle" premieres in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia; it later becomes the first section of the "Má vlast" collection of tone poems
1880 Salvation Army of England starts work in the US at Harry Hill's Variety Theatre in NYC
- 1888 Second largest snowfall in NYC history (21")
- 1889 August Strindberg's play "Froken Julie" premieres in Copenhagen
- 1896 Sutro Baths in San Francisco opens by Cliff House (closed Sept 1, 1952)
- 1899 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Shamrocks beat Queens University, 6-2 to clinch trophy for CAHL
Mendel's Laws Rediscovered
1900 Dutch botanist Hugo de Vries rediscovers Gregor Mendel's laws of heredity and genetics
- 1900 US currency goes on the gold standard after Congress passes the Currency Act
- 1901 Germany's Chancellor von Bulow declares that the agreement Germany signed with Great Britain in October 1900, to restrain foreign aggression and maintain open trade, does not apply to Manchuria
- 1903 1st national bird reservation established in Sebastian, Florida
- 1903 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, Ontario: Ottawa HC beats Rat Portage Thisles, 4-2 for a 2-0 challenge series sweep
- 1903 W.B. Yeats & Lady Gregory's play "Hour-glass" premieres in Dublin
- 1904 In a landmark case, Northern Securities Company v United States, the US Supreme Court finds the company has violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; first case in T. Roosevelt's 'trust-busting' campaign
- 1907 By Presidential order, Japanese laborers are excluded from entering the USA
- 1908 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Wanderers beat Toronto Professionals, 6-4
- 1909 Amsterdam Social-Democratic Party (SDP) forms
- 1910 Lakeview Gusher, the largest U.S. oil well gusher near Bakersfield, California, vented to atmosphere
- 1912 King Vittorio Emanuel III of Italy injured in an assassination attempt
- 1913 South Africa's Supreme Court declares that marriages not celebrated according to Christian rites or not registered by the Registrar of Marriages are invalid; all Muslim and Hindu marriages are therefore declared invalid
- 1914 Serbia & Turkey sign peace treaty
- 1915 German cruiser Dresden scuttled off Más a Tierra, Chile, having been pursued by the Royal Navy after the Battle of the Falkland Islands, with her engines worn out and virtually no coal
- 1916 Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Cumières-le-Mort-Homme and Chattancourt in France
- 1918 1st concrete ship to cross the Atlantic (Faith) is launched in San Francisco
- 1922 KGU-AM in Honolulu HI begins radio transmissions
- 1922 KSD-AM in Saint Louis MO begins radio transmissions
- 1922 WGR-AM in Buffalo NY begins radio transmissions
- 1923 Allies accepts Vilnius taking East-Galicia in Poland
- 1923 German Supreme Court prohibits NSDAP (Nazi party)
- 1926 Train in Costa Rica falls into the Río Virilla, killing 248 and injuring 93
- 1927 Pan American Airlines incorporates as a mail delivery and passenger service
- 1931 First theater built for rear movie projection in NYC
- 1933 US Civilian Conservation Corp begins tree conservation program
- 1935 36-Folsom becomes 1st line to use 1-man streetcars in San Francisco
- 1936 Federal Register, 1st magazine of the US government, publishes 1st issue
Battle of the Century
1937 Battle of the Century: US comedians Fred Allen and Jack Benny meet on radio during their "feud"
Mit Brennender Sorge
1937 Pope Pius XI publishes anti-nazi-encyclical Mit brennender Sorge
- 1939 England draw with South Africa at Durban on the 10th day
- 1939 Nazi Germany dissolves Republic of Czechoslovakia
The Road to Singapore
1940 "The Road to Singapore" directed by Victor Schertzinger starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour, first of seven such films, premieres
- 1940 27 killed, 15 injured when truck full of migrant workers collides with a train outside McAllen, Texas
- 1941 Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies
- 1941 Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra record "Babalu"
- 1945 RAF bomb cuts railway link Hannover-Hamm
Gilda
1946 American film noir classic "Gilda," starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, and directed by Charles Vidor, premieres in New York City
- 1948 Freedom Train arrives in San Francisco
- 1950 FBI starts a public list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
- 1951 Earthquake at Euskirchen, Germany
- 1953 KOLR TV channel 10 in Springfield, MO (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 KDAL (now KDLH) TV channel 3 in Duluth-Superior, MN (CBS) begins
Baseball Record
1954 Milwaukee Braves future home run king Hank Aaron homers in his debut exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox
- 1955 Prince Mahemdra becomes king of Nepal
Contract of Interest
1956 50-year-old baseball pitching star Satchel Paige signs a contract to play for and manage the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League
- 1957 Indonesian government of Sastroamidjojo resigns
- 1958 Recording Industry Association of American created
- 1958 RIAA certifies 1st gold record - Perry Como's single "Catch A Falling Star"
- 1958 South Africa's government prohibits the African National Congress
- 1958 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1958 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
- 1960 14 die in a train crash in Bakersfield, California
NBA Record
1960 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA playoff record of 53 points in Warriors' 132-112 win over Syracuse Nationals at Philadelphia Civic Center
Sports History
1961 Former New York Yankees general manager George Weiss becomes first President of New York Mets after MLB expansion franchise formed
- 1962 Disarmament conference opens in Geneva without France
NHL Record
1962 Red Wings' forward Gordie Howe becomes second player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in Detroit's 3-2 loss to NY Rangers
Music History
1963 Musician Frank Zappa (22) tapes an appearance for syndicated "The Steve Allen Show" - he and the host 'play' bicycles as musical instruments along with the show's orchestra; program airs later in the month
- 1965 Israeli cabinet approves diplomatic relations with West Germany
Born Free
1966 British film "Born Free" based on the book "Born Free" by Joy Adamson released starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers
- 1967 1967 NFL Draft: Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith first pick by Baltimore Colts
Event of Interest
1967 JFK's body moved from temporary grave to a permanent memorial
- 1968 CBS TV suspends Radio Free Europe free advertising because RFE doesn't make it clear it is sponsored by the CIA
- 1969 Barbara Jo Rubin becomes first female jockey to win at Aqueduct Racetrack, NYC aboard 2-year-old bay Bravy Galaxy at 13 to 1
- 1969 CBS-TV renews "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" for a third season
- 1969 West Indies cricket batsman Seymour Nurse scores career high 258 in his last Test innings in 3rd Test win over NZ at Christchurch
Event of Interest
1970 Ursula K. Le Guin is the first woman to win the Nebula Award for Best Novel with her work "The Left Hand of Darkness" [1]
- 1971 South Vietnamese troops flee Laos
1972 Muddy Waters wins his first Grammy Award for his album "They Call Me Muddy Waters"
- 1972 NBA's Cincinnati Royals, plagued by poor home attendance, announce they are moving franchise to Kansas City
- 1972 Two IRA members shot dead by British soldiers in the Bogside area of Derry
Event of Interest
1973 Future US senator John McCain is released after spending over five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp
- 1973 Liam Cosgrave (52) appointed President of Ireland
- 1976 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1978 Marines terminate Moluccan action in Province house (1 dead)
- 1978 NFL permanently adds 7th official (side judge)
- 1979 Hawker Siddeley Trident plane crashes into a factory near Beijing, China, killing at least 200
- 1980 Ice Dance Championship at Dortmund West Germany won by Regoczy & Sallay
- 1980 Ice Pairs Championship at Dortmund won by Cherkasova & Shakhrai (USSR)
- 1980 Polish airliner crash kills all 87 aboard (22 are US amateur boxers)
- 1980 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Dortmund won by Anett Potzsch
- 1981 NCAA St Joseph's upsets top seed DePaul 49-48
- 1983 OPEC cut oil prices for 1st time in 23 years
- 1984 Challenger moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida), for mating of STS 41-C mission
Assassination Attempt
1984 Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Féin, is seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in central Belfast
- 1985 Michael Secrest (US) completes 24-hr ride of 516 miles, 427 yards
- 1986 European Space Agency's Giotto flies by Halley's Comet (605 km)
Sports History
1987 NY Met Darryl Strawberry charges Red Sox pitcher Al Nipper during spring training exhibition game, causes bench clearing brawl
- 1987 Providence, with Billy Donovan's 25 points, beats Austin Peay 90-87
- 1987 Skier Piotr Fijas jumps record 194m
- 1987 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Cincinnati won by Katarina Witt
- 1991 Emir of Kuwait returns to Kuwait City, after the Iraqis leave
- 1991 English Court of Appeal frees "Birmingham 6" who had been unjustly sentenced in August 1975 to life imprisonment
- 1991 Ice Dance Championship at Munich won by Isabel & Phil Duchesnay (FRA)
- 1991 Ice Pairs Championship at Munich won by N Mishkutenok & A Dmitriev
Music Concert
1991 The Dave Matthews Band perform their first show as part of a benefit for the Middle East Children's Alliance, in Charlottesville, Virginia
Sports History
1992 NY Met Daryl Boston, Vince Coleman & Dwight Gooden accused of rape
- 1992 Soviet newspaper "Pravda" suspends publication
- 1993 3,000th performance of "Nunsense"
- 1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5km (6:36.57)
- 1994 Mexican banker and billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu kidnapped
- 1994 Soyuz TM-21 launches with V Dezyurov, G Strekalov & N Thagard
- 1994 Timeline of Linux development: Linux kernel version 1.0.0 is released
- 1995 1st time 13 people in space
- 1996 Crufts show at NEC Birmingham, (1995 winner, Joshua, an Irish setter)
- 1997 68-year-old Gordie Howe signs AHL contract with Syracuse Crunch
- 1997 Iranian military plane crashes, killing 80
- 1997 Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson wins 67th James E Sullivan Award
- 1997 The Chinese city of Chongqing (formerly Chunking) is upgraded to a centrally administered municipality
Event of Interest
1997 US President Bill Clinton trips and injures his knee requiring surgery
- 2003 Start of weekend of protests against war in Iraq that are attended by millions
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2005 20th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Buddy Guy; The O'Jays; The Pretenders; Percy Sledge; U2; Frank Barsalona; and Seymour Stein
- 2005 Cedar Revolution, where over a million Lebanese march in the streets of Beirut to demonstrate against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon, and against the government, following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Film & TV History
2006 Mike Wallace retires from US news program "60 Minutes" after 37 years
- 2009 Canterbury winger Hazem El Masri becomes highest point scorer in Australian Rugby League history; 33rd minute penalty in Bulldogs' 34-12 win over Manly at ANZ Stadium, Sydney takes him to 2,178; Andrew Johns, 2,176
- 2013 25 people are killed and 50 are wounded by a series of car bombings in Baghdad, Iraq
- 2013 7 people are killed after gunmen storm a bar in Cancun, Mexico
President Xi
2013 Xi Jinping is named President of the People's Republic of China
Rubio Drops Out
2016 Marco Rubio announces he is dropping out of the Republican presidential nomination race
- 2016 NASA releases data showing February 2016 warmest month ever recorded globally - 1.35C above the long-term average
- 2017 European Court of Justice rules companies can ban staff from wearing religious symbols, including headscarves
- 2017 World's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years
Election of Interest
2018 Angela Merkel sworn in for fourth term as German Chancellor, head of a coalition government, 171 days after the general election
- 2018 Brazilian human rights politician Marielle Franco is murdered in Rio, prompting mass protests
Event of Interest
2018 NASA twin study finds that Scott Kelly is no longer identical to his twin brother after one year in space, 7% of his genes altered
- 2018 UK announces it will expel 23 Russian diplomats after Russian-made nerve agent used on former spy in UK
- 2018 US students across American commemorate Florida high school shooting with mass walkouts across the country
- 2018 World Happiness Report names Finland as world's happiest country and Burundi the unhappiest
- 2019 California officially free of drought for the first time in more than 7 years (Dec 2011)
- 2019 Former US Democratic representative Beto O'Rourke announces he is running for president
- 2019 Google announces its employee Emma Haruka Iwao has broken the world record for calculating pi, to 31.4 trillion digits, on pi day using Google Cloud
- 2019 Tropical Cyclone Idai comes ashore in Mozambique, killing at least 417 people, and Malawi killing at least 56, after causing widespread flooding
Event of Interest
2019 US Senate passes resolution overturning President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration
- 2020 Longest-ever scheduled passenger flight by distance is flown by Air Tahiti Nui from French Polynesia to mainland France, covering 9,765 miles (15,715 km) as a domestic flight due to COVID-19
- 2021 Myanmar opposition leader Mahn Win Khaing Than calls for a revolution "This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close," as protester death toll over 120
- 2021 UK police officer charged with the death of Sarah Everard, who disappeared walking home in south London, and whose death sparked debate about violence against women
- 2022 Civilians able to leave heavily bombed Ukranian city of Mariupol for the first time, amid dead toll of 2,500 in the city and a humanitarian crisis [1]
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2022 Dolly Parton removes herself from the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame saying "I don’t feel that I have earned that right” (she later reconsiders and gets in) [1]
- 2022 Omicron causes the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in China since Wuhan 2020 with 26 million people under lockdown in Changchun and Shenzhen [1]
- 2023 Argentina's annual inflation rate pasts 100% at 102.5%, for the first time since hyperinflation in 1991, one of the highest in the world, according to its statistics agency [1]
- 2023 Czech free diver David Vencl completes record dive beneath ice to 52.1 meters, without a wetsuit, in Switzerland’s Lake Sils in temperatures between 1C and 4C (34F to 39F) [1]
- 2023 The US, UK and Australia unveil details of their AUKUS deal to create a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to be based in the Indo Pacific region to counter Chinese military build-up [1]
- 2023 US large MQ-9 Reaper drone crashes into the Black Sea after collision with Russian fighter jet, with the US saying the Russia forced it down sparking an international incident [1]
- 2024 A series of storms strike parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas, with tornadoes leaving at least 40 injured and three people dead [1]
- 2024 At least 60 migrants die from dehydration and hunger with 25 rescued after their dinghy engine breaks down off the coast of Libya [1]
- 2024 HMS Tyger, a sunken British warship that ran aground in 1742, is identified lying off Garden Key, Dry Tortugas National Park [1]
- 2024 Philippine police rescue over 500 people from a scam centre north of Manila, forced to pose as lovers online to defraud people [1]
- 2025 A severe storm system begins across the US South and Midwest bringing high winds, dust storms and more than 60 tornadoes over two days, killing at least 42 people [1]
- 2025 Price of gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange hits $3,000.00 an ounce for the first time
