- 1079 Persian polymath Omar Khayyam completes the Jalali calendar, a solar calendar with a precise 33-year intercalation cycle and the basis for the Persian calendar still in use today
- 1323 Treaty of Paris - Flemish relinquish claims over the County of Zeeland
- 1447 Tommaso Parentucelli succeeds Eugene IV as Pope Nicholas V
- 1454 Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, Casimir IV, who agrees to help in their struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights
- 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas: Portugal cedes the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa
Magellan Discovers Guam
1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan is the first European to sight Guam in the western Pacific
- 1579 Veluwe joins the Union of Utrecht
- 1590 Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Nassau captures heavily protected city of Breda using a small assault force hidden in a peat barge
- 1646 Joseph Jenkes receives the 1st patent in North America for making scythes from the General Court of Massachusetts
- 1661 In his will French Cardinal Mazarin bequeaths his famous library to the Collège des Quatre-Nations, part of the University of Paris (opens 1689) - now the oldest public library in France [1]
- 1665 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication
- 1714 Treaty of Rastatt signed by Austria and France ending hostilities between them during the War of the Spanish Succession
- 1728 Spain & Britain sign (1st) Convention of Pardo
- 1775 First African American Mason in North America initiated in Boston
- 1788 The British First Fleet arrives at Australian territory of Norfolk Island to found a convict settlement
- 1808 First college orchestra in the US is founded at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 1810 Illinois passes the first state vaccination legislation in the US
- 1816 Jews are expelled from the Free Imperial City of Lübeck
Jackson Nominates McLean
1829 President Andrew Jackson nominates John McLean to become an associate justice of the US Supreme Court
Edgar Allan Poe Court-Martialed
1831 Edgar Allan Poe court-martialed and dismissed from West Point military academy for gross neglect of duty and disobedience of orders [1]
- 1831 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "La Sonnambula" premieres at Teatro Carcano in Milan, Italy
- 1834 Toronto incorporated with William Lyon Mackenzie as its 1st mayor
Historical Epic Burnt
1835 Volume One of Thomas Carlyle's famous work "The French Revolution: A History" is accidentally burned by a maid using it as a fire starter before its publication; Carlyle rewrites it
1836 Battle of the Alamo: After 13 days of fighting, 1,500 to 3,000 Mexican soldiers overwhelm the Texan defenders, killing 182 to 257 Texans, including William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett
- 1838 Franz Grillparzer's "Weh dem, der Lugt" premieres in Vienna
La Traviata
1853 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premieres at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy
1857 Dred Scott Decision: US Supreme Court rules African Americans cannot be US citizens
- 1861 Provisionary Confederate Congress establishes Confederate Army
- 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas (Elkhorn Tavern)
- 1865 Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida
Periodic Table
1869 Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table of the elements to the Russian Chemical Society
- 1882 Monarch Milan Obrenovic of Serbia crowns himself king
- 1886 1st US alternating current power plant starts, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
- 1886 1st US nurses' magazine, The Nightingale, 1st appears, NYC
- 1895 England beat Australia to win one of the best cricket series ever, 3-2; Jack Brown hits the fastest 50 in test cricket in 28 mins
- 1896 1st auto in Detroit, Charles B King rides his "Horseless Carriage"
Historic Invention
1899 Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is patented by Felix Hoffmann at the German company Bayer
- 1900 After a meeting in Indianapolis, USA, a group forms the Social Democratic Party and nominates Eugene Debs as its candidate for President in the forthcoming election (becomes the Socialist Party in 1901)
Wilhelm II
1901 In Bremen an assassin attempts to kill Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
- 1902 Permanent US Census office created by legislation passed by Congress
- 1904 The Japanese fleet bombards Vladivostok, the major Russian port on the Pacific
- 1906 Cubs sign third baseman Harry Steinfeldt to complete Tinker-Evers-Chance
- 1906 Heavy storm bursts dike, flooding Vlissingen, Netherlands
- 1906 Nora Blatch is 1st woman elected to American Society of Civil Engineers
- 1909 Dutch film distributor Jean Desmet opens his first permanent cinema, the Cinema Parisien in Rotterdam
- 1918 US naval boat "Cyclops" disappears in Bermuda Triangle
- 1921 Police in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, issue an edict requiring women to wear skirts at least four inches below the knee
- 1921 The Natal Indian Congress is resuscitated and reorganised at a meeting in Durban, with Ismail Gora as President
Babe Ruth's Yankee Contract
1922 Babe Ruth signs 3 year contract with NY Yankees at $52,000 a year
- 1922 George Bernard Shaw's largest-scale play "Back to Methusaleh (Part 2)" opens at the Garrick Theatre, NYC; runs for 25 performances
- 1923 MLB St. Louis Cardinals announce their players will wear numbers on their uniforms
- 1924 British Labour government cuts military budget
- 1925 Belgium annexes Eupen, Malmö dy & Sankt Vith
- 1926 China asks for a seat on the Security council
- 1929 Turkey & Bulgaria sign friendship treaty
1st Press Conference by a First Lady
1933 Eleanor Roosevelt is the first First Lady to hold an official press conference at the White House [1]
FDR’s Bank Holiday begins
1933 FDR declares a nationwide bank holiday, to shut down the banking system, pass the Emergency Banking Act and restore public confidence
- 1933 Poland occupies the free city of Danzig (Gdańsk)
- 1934 Sidney Howard & Paul de Kruif's "Yellowjacket" premieres in NYC
- 1935 Frank Bartell (Czech), cycles record 80.584 mph in LA
- 1936 Belgium ends Locarno pact
- 1940 1st US telecast from an airplane, NYC
- 1940 Robin (Dick Grayson) debuts as Batman's sidekick in issue 38 of Detective Comics by DC Comics
Battle of Medenine
1943 Battle of Medenine: Erwin Rommel's Axis forces counterattack in North Africa to delay an attack by the British on the Mareth Line in Tunisia
Sukarno Cooperates with Japanese
1943 Sukarno cooperates with Indonesia's Japanese occupiers, forming the Poesat Tenaga Rakjat (Center of People's Power)
- 1944 USAAF begins daylight bombing of Berlin
- 1944 WWII: British and Canadian sailors boards abandoned German U-boat U-774 seeking Enigma code machine, but are forced to scuttle the sub when efforts to tow it fail
- 1945 Chinese 38th division occupies Lashio
- 1945 Dutch resistance fighters kill two, and injure one Nazi officer in an attempt to hijack food supplies at de Woeste Hoeve, Netherlands
- 1945 Erich Honnecker & Erich Hanke flee Nazis
- 1945 Federico Garcia Lorca's "La Casa" premieres in Buenos Aires
Trampoline Patented
1945 George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, receives a patent for the first modern trampoline
- 1946 France recognizes Vietnam statehood within Indo-Chinese federation
- 1947 XB-45, 1st US 4-engine jet bomber, makes 1st test flight, Muroc, CA
- 1950 Silly Putty goes on sale in the US
- 1951 Belgium extends conscription to 24 months
Trial of Interest
1957 Centenary of Dred Scott slavery court decision marked by rediscovery of Scott's grave
- 1957 Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) declares independence from the United Kingdom
1959 11th Emmy Awards: Playhouse 90, Jack Benny Show, Raymond Burr win
- 1959 Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles)
- 1960 President Sukarno of Indonesia disbands existing parliament and replaces it with a new grouping, half appointed by himself
- 1961 1st London minicabs introduced
- 1961 Dutch guilder revalued 4.74%
- 1962 St Louis vote to build a new downtown stadium for the Cardinals
- 1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1962 US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression
Muhammad Ali
1964 Boxing legend Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam and changes his name to "Muhammad Ali," calling his former title a "slave name"
- 1964 Constantine succeeds Paul I as king of Greece
- 1964 Tom O'Hara runs world record mile (3:56.4)
- 1965 1st nonstop helicopter crossing of North America, JR Willford
- 1965 Bruce Taylor hits 105 for NZ v India in 1st Test Cricket innings
My Girl Hits #1
1965 The Temptations' single "My Girl" reaches #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart; written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White
- 1966 Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets" becomes #1 (13 weeks)
- 1967 Former union leader Jimmy Hoffa enters Lewisburg Federal Prison
- 1967 Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Allilujeva approaches the US Embassy in New Delhi, India, and asks for political asylum
- 1967 Muhammad Ali is ordered by selective service to be inducted
- 1967 WACS TV channel 25 in Dawson, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1970 A Catholic man is shot dead by British soldiers in Belfast, North Ireland
- 1970 Explosion at makeshift bomb factory of left-wing Weather Underground terrorist group kills three members in a townhouse at 18 West 11th St in Greenwich Village, NYC
- 1970 The Beatles release single "Let it Be" in UK
Cricket Debut
1971 Test Cricket debut of Indian cricket great Sunil Gavaskar versus West Indies at Port-of-Spain; 125 Tests, 10,122 runs @ 51.12; 34 Test centuries
- 1972 Keswick to Penrith railway officially closes
Closing Time
1973 Asylum Records releases "Closing Time," the debut album by singer-songwriter Tom Waits
- 1973 In an exhibition game with the Pirates, Twins Larry Hisle becomes the 1st designated hitter (he hits 2 HRs & knocks in 7 RBIs)
- 1974 An unnamed Italian industrialist loses a record $1,920,000 at roulette over 5 hours in Monte Carlo Casino
- 1975 Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute
- 1976 Ice Dance Championship at Gothenburg won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)
- 1976 Ice Pairs Championship at Gothenburg won by Rodnina & Zaitsev (Soviet Union)
Sports History
1976 In his 10th title defense, WBA light welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia is beaten by 17-year-old Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benítez in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Benitez youngest ever world champion
- 1978 Brian Clark's stage drama "Whose Life is it Anyway?" starring Tom Conti and Jane Asher, and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, opens at the Mermaid Theatre, London
Event of Interest
1978 Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and his lawyer shot by a militant white supremacist sniper in Georgia, leaving Flynt crippled and wheelchair bound
- 1980 French Academy, founded in 1635, elects it 1st woman novelist (Marguerita Youcenar)
- 1980 Princess Theater (Latin Quarter, Cotton Club) opens at 200 W 48th NYC
- 1981 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa Atoll
- 1981 Soyuz 39 returns to Earth
- 1981 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Hartford won by Denise Biellmann
- 1982 NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT)
- 1982 Susan Birmingham makes then world's loudest recorded human shout (120 dB)
Election of Interest
1983 Helmut Kohl's CDU/CSU wins West German parliament elections
- 1983 In New Bedford, Massachusetts, woman charges she was gang-raped atop a pool table
- 1983 US Football League begins its 1st season
- 1984 Twelve-month-long strike in the British coal industry begins
- 1985 Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale
Boxing Title Fight
1985 Future undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson KOs Hector Mercedes at 1:47 in round 1 of 4 in Albany, NY in his first professional fight
Film & TV History
1985 Yul Brynner appears in his 4,500th performance of "The King & I"
- 1986 After losing all appeals, American rock singer David Crosby begins serving 5 year sentence for drug and weapons convictions in Texas state prison
- 1986 Ken Ludwig's "Lend me a Tenor" premieres in London
- 1986 USSR's Vega 1 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,889 km
- 1987 6.8 earthquake hits Ecuador, kills 100
- 1987 Belgian ferry "Herald of Free Enterprise" sinks; 192 die
- 1988 18th Easter Seal Telethon raises $35,200,000
- 1988 3 IRA suspects shot dead in Gibraltar by SAS officers
- 1988 Julie Krone becomes winningest female jockey (1205 victories)
- 1990 SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17
Event of Interest
1991 Following Iraq's capitulation in the Persian Gulf conflict, US President George H. W. Bush told Congress that "aggression is defeated. The war is over"
- 1992 Council of the Baltic Sea States is founded
- 1992 The Michelangelo computer virus begins to take affect
- 1992 Yankee pitcher Pascual Perez suspended for 1 year due to cocaine
- 1994 Colin Jackson runs world record 60m hurdles indoor (7.30 sec)
- 1994 Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against potential reunification with Romania
- 1995 American Express Travel begins charging for domestic air tickets
- 1995 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Phoenix, Arizona on KEDJ 106.3/100.3 FM
Event of Interest
1997 Picasso's painting Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery, it is recovered a week later
Event of Interest
1998 British Union Flag begins to be flown full-mast over Buckingham Palace whenever British monarch not in residence, following change of protocol after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
- 1998 Matt Beck, an angry lottery accountant kills 4 at Connecticut state lottery
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2000 15th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Eric Clapton; Earth, Wind, and Fire; Lovin' Spoonful; The Moonglows; Bonnie Raitt; James Taylor; Nat King Cole; Billie Holiday; Hal Blaine; "King" Curtis; James Jamerson; Scotty Moore; Earl Palmer; and Clive Davis
Sports History
2000 Long-time Boston Bruin defenseman Ray Bourque is traded to the Colorado Avalanche
- 2001 US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham establishes the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to be used in emergency circumstances
- 2006 South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill into law banning most types of abortion in the state
- 2007 Former White House aide I. Lewis Libby Jr. is found guilty on four of five counts in a perjury and obstruction of justice trial
- 2012 9,000 residents are evacuated from Wagga Wagga, Australia, as the Murrimbidgee River threatens to overflow
- 2013 9 people die after a plane crashes after being ensnared in power lines in Peru
- 2013 Microsoft is fined €561M ($731M USD) by the Euro Commission for failing to respect an antitrust settlement to provide options to chose an alternative web browser
- 2013 Syrian rebels capture Ar-Raqqah, their first major city
- 2014 Crimean parliament votes unanimously to make the Crimea part of Russia
- 2015 NASA's Dawn space probe enters orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres
- 2015 US State Department charges 2 Vietnamese and a Canadian citizen with cyberfraud, for stealing 1 billion email addresses for spam
- 2016 Seventh Democratic presidential candidates debate hosted by CNN and held in Flint, Michigan
Event of Interest
2017 US President Donald Trump signs his second executive order barring travelers from 6 mostly-Muslim countries for 90 days but leaves out Iraq
Vault 7
2017 Wikileaks publishes "Vault 7" CIA documents detailing its hacking and surveillance techniques
- 2018 "Highest overdose death rates ever recorded in the US", 142,000 overdoses in 2016-17 period according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- 2018 American WWII aircraft carrier USS Lexington rediscovered in Australia's Coral Sea, lost during 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea
- 2018 British health officials tells the country it's time "to get on a diet" and urging manufacturers to reduce calories in foods
Event of Interest
2018 Forbes names Amazon founder Jeff Bezos the world's richest person for the first time at $112 billion, Bill Gates no. 2
- 2018 Nashville mayor Megan Barry resigns a month after admitting to an extramarital affair with her bodyguard
Canonization
2018 Pope Francis announces that murdered Salvadorean Archbishop Óscar Romero will be made a saint
- 2018 South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk is accused of rape and sexual assault in an investigative documentary [1]
- 2018 Sri Lanka imposes first nationwide state of emergency since civil war after unrest between Sinhalese and Muslim areas in Kandy District
- 2018 World's oldest message in a bottle is found in Western Australia, thrown from the German ship Paula 132 years ago on June 12, 1886
Event of Interest
2019 Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg reveals plans to turn the social media platform into a more "privacy-focused platform"
Sports History
2019 LeBron James scores his 32,293rd point in the 2nd quarter of a Lakers' 115-99 loss to Denver in LA to pass Michael Jordan into 4th place on the NBA all-time point scoring list
- 2019 US trade deficit rises to 10-year high of $621 billion
- 2020 American rapper Lil Uzi Vert second album, "Eternal Atake", tops the Billboard charts upon its release
- 2020 Russia refuses to reduce oil production over COVID-19 fears, breaking with Saudi Arabia and OPEC and prompting a price war
- 2021 On his first visit to Iraq, Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the Shiite cleric's home in Najaf
2021 Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is vaccinated against COVID-19 in Dharamsala, India and urges others to do so
- 2021 US Senate passes $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill the American Rescue Plan
- 2025 Spacecraft Athena, carrying a NASA ice drill, built by Intuitive Machines, Texas, lands on its side on the Moon, ending its mission [1]
