- 1266 Rebels holed up inside Kenilworth Castle surrender after 172 days to Henry III, ending one of the longest sieges in medieval English history [1]
- 1294 Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
- 1355 The greatest traveller of his age, Ibn Battuta of Tangier completes his work "The Travels" detailing his 29 years spent travelling the Islamic world and beyond, including to India, China and Indonesia
Coronation of Isabella I
1474 Isabella I crowns herself Queen of Castile and León
- 1541 John III succeeds his father as King of Portugal and the Algarves, at age 19; reigns for 36 years, until his death in 1557
Council of Trent Opens
1545 Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council) opened by Pope Paul III
Drake Sets Sail
1577 Francis Drake sets sail from England on an epic three year circumnavigation of the world aboard the 'Pelican' (later renamed the 'Golden Hind')
- 1621 Emperor Ferdinand II delegates 1st anti-Reformation decree
- 1636 The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. Recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.
Tasman Sights New Zealand
1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island of present day New Zealand; initially he calls it Staten Landt and changes it a year later to Nieuw Zeeland [1]
- 1643 English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.
Britannicus
1668 Jean Racine's tragic play "Britannicus" premieres in Paris
- 1732 Prussia joins Austria and Russia in signing the Treaty of Berlin, a secret treaty regarding succession to the Polish throne
- 1734 Britain and Russia sign trade agreement
- 1742 William IV Prince of Orange tests his mothers potatoes
- 1759 First music store in America opens (Philadelphia)
- 1769 Dartmouth College in New Hampshire receives its charter
Revere and Cheswell's Ride
1774 Paul Revere and Wentworth Cheswell ride to warn Portsmouth of the approach of British warships
- 1816 Patent for a dry dock issued to John Adamson, Boston
Rossini Arrives in London
1823 Italian opera composer Gioachino Rossini arrives in London
Paraguay Declares War On Brazil
1864 War of the Triple Alliance: Paraguay officially declares war on Brazil, invades the next day
Mahler's 2nd Symphony
1895 First complete performance of Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony ("Resurrection"), in Berlin, Germany, conducted by the composer
Battle of Nooitgedacht
1900 Battle of Nooitgedacht: Boer Generals Koos de la Rey and Jan Smuts defeat a British brigade under the command of Major General R. Clements
Venezuelan Forts Bombarded
1902 British and German ships bombard Venezuelan forts after President Castro refuses to comply with ultimatum demanding damages caused during his takeover of the government in 1899; Castro asks US President Theodore Roosevelt to arbitrate
Bülow Disbands Government
1906 German chancellor Bernhard von Bülow disbands the Parliament
- 1907 George Gunn scores 119 on Test debut v Australia SCG
German Emperor Visits Amsterdam
1907 German Emperor Wilhelm II visits Amsterdam
Southern Albania Divided
1913 British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey proposes that southern Albania be divided between Greece and Albania with compensation to Greece in the Aegean islands
- 1916 Avalanche kills 10,000 Austrian and Italian troops in 24 hrs in Tyrol
- 1916 Esme Stuart Lennox Robinsons premieres in Dublin
- 1916 French chief of staff Joffre replaced by Nivelle
- 1918 US army of occupation crosses Rhine, enters Germany
- 1919 Ross & Smith land in Australia from a flight from London
- 1920 Francis G. Pease's interferometer at Mount Wilson Observatory is the first to measure the diameter of a star - the Betelgeuse
- 1920 Hans Riegel founds sweet company HARIBO (HAns RIegel BOnn) in Bonn, Germany [1]
- 1920 League of Nations establishes the International Court of Justice in The Hague
- 1920 Netherland breaks contact with Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slavia
- 1922 Charles Ebbets proposes putting numbers on players' sleeves or caps
- 1924 KOA-AM in Denver CO begins radio transmissions
- 1928 Clip-on tie designed
An American In Paris
1928 George Gershwin's "An American In Paris" symphonic poem premieres at Carnegie Hall, NYC, performed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Walter Damrosch
- 1930 French government of André Tardieu falls for the second time
- 1930 George Sisler's career ends when Boston Braves release him
- 1930 Theodore Steeg forms French government
- 1934 Mark Hellinger Theater (Warner Bros) opens at 237 W 51st St NYC
- 1937 Japanese troops conquer and plunder Nanjing (Nanjing Massacre)
- 1938 Los Angeles, California freezes at 28°F
- 1939 Battle of the River Plate - 3 British cruisers vs German pocket battleship Graf Spee
- 1941 German occupiers forbid National Front and Netherland Union
- 1941 Lawine battlers destroy Haaraz, Peru; about 3,000 die
- 1942 Seyss-Inquart allows Dutch Nazi Anton Mussert to call himself Leader
- 1943 150 US Marauders bomb Schiphol
- 1944 Japanese kamikaze crashes into US cruiser Nashville, kills 138
- 1944 Norman Krasna's "Dear Ruth" premieres in NYC
James Dean's Pepsi Commercial
1950 James Dean begins his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial
House of Schiaparelli Closes
1954 Elsa Schiaparelli's House of Schiaparelli at Place Vendôme in Paris closes
Anastasia
1956 "Anastasia" comeback film for Ingrid Bergman is released in the US, role wins Bergman Academy Award for Best Actress.
Dodgers Attempt Robinson Trade
1956 Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield & $35,000. Robinson will retire rather than be traded.
Peyton Place
1957 "Peyton Place" film based on the novel by Grace Metalious, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lana Turner and Hope Lange is released
- 1959 Archbishop Makarios elected 1st president of Cyprus, receiving two thirds of the vote
Ballon d'Or
1960 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona midfielder Luis Suárez is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid's Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás and Hamburg striker Uwe Seeler
- 1960 Laos General Fumi Nosavang occupies Vientiane
The Young Ones
1961 "The Young Ones" directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Cliff Richard, Robert Morley and Carole Gray premieres in London
Death Penalty Demand for Eichmann
1961 Gideon Hausner in Jerusalem demands death penalty for Adolf Eichmann
Beatles Sign with Epstein
1961 The Beatles sign a formal agreement to be managed by Brian Epstein
- 1965 Algerian president Boumedienne visits Moscow
- 1966 1st battle for Bijlmer flats, Amsterdam
- 1966 Test debut of Clive Lloyd, v India Bombay, 82 & 78
- 1966 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1967 San Diego, CA records snow at a zero elevation after temperatures plunge 19 degrees (F) in eight hours.
- 1967 United Soccer Association & National Pro Soccer League merge into NASL
- 1967 Unsuccessful coup against Greek King Constantine II
- 1968 Brazilian President Da Costa e Silva issues Ato Institucional Número Cinco degree
Billy Martin Fired
1969 MLB manager Billy Martin fired by the Minnesota Twins
Chappell's Debut Century
1970 Greg Chappell scores 108 on Test debut v England at the WACA
Gingerbread Lady
1970 Neil Simon's play "Gingerbread Lady" starring Maureen Stapleton (Tony Award Best Actress), premieres on Broadway in NYC
Saturday Night Live Time Delay
1975 1st time "Saturday Night Live" uses a time delay, Richard Pryor hosts
Fraser Coalition Win
1975 Australian Federal Election - Liberals with coalition under Malcolm Fraser win largest ever parliamentary majority
- 1975 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1975 West Indian cricket opener Roy Fredericks smashes 169 in 2nd Test win v Australia in Perth; hundred in 71 balls
- 1976 Golden Gate Bridge District starts ferry service to Larkspur
- 1976 Longest non-stop passenger airflight (Sydney to San Francisco 13h 14m)
- 1977 14 University of Evansville basketball players die in plane crash
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
1977 Asylum Records releases "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 9th studio album;
- 1978 CBS' premiere of "Lovey: A Circle of Children Part II", sequel to "A Circle of Children", which is also based on Mary Mac Cracken
- 1979 Saudi Arabia raises marker crude price to $24 per barrel
- 1979 Strikes against price increases in Gdańsk, Poland
- 1981 Poland's authoritarian communist government declares martial law and arrests Solidarity activists in a failed attempt to crush the opposition
- 1982 Earthquake hits Northern Yemen; 2,000 die
- 1983 9,655 see highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 OT)
- 1983 Islander's Butch Goring scorings 4 goals against Oilers
- 1983 KYA-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KOIT
- 1983 Martha Layne Collins inaugurated as Kentucky's 1st female governor
- 1984 Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers 1st stroke
Boons' 1st Test Century
1985 Australian cricketer David Boon's 1st Test century, 123 v India at Adelaide
- 1985 Test debut of cricketers Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid (v India)
- 1987 Belgium Christian Democrats (CVP) loses parliamentary election
- 1987 Browns set club record for most points scored in a quarter, 28
- 1987 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1988 3 men end 29-hr all-466-station subway ride in NYC
Arafat Address
1988 Yasser Arafat addresses UN in Geneva
Driving Miss Daisy
1989 "Driving Miss Daisy" directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy is released (Best Picture 1990)
- 1989 The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden
- 1989 Walter Davis (Denver) ends NBA free throw streak of 53 games
- 1990 Heavy earthquake strikes Sicily, 18 die
Klerk, Mandela Discuss Apartheid End
1990 South African President F. W. de Klerk meets with Nelson Mandela to discuss the end of apartheid
- 1990 US Secretary of State Baker questions Iraq's seriousness about Middle East peace
- 1991 Both North and South Korea sign an accord calling for reconciliation
- 1991 NY assembly speaker Mel Miller is convicted of federal mail fraud
- 1991 Ricky Pierce (Seattle) ends NBA free throw streak of 75 games
- 1992 FCC fines Infinity Broadcasting $600,000
- 1993 "I Swear" single released by John Michael Montgomery (Billboard Song of the Year 1994)
- 1993 Deadline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, they don't
- 1993 Dow Jones hits record 3764.43
- 1993 Fire in textile factory in Fuzjou China, 60 killed
- 1993 Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5) lands after 10 days and 19 hours in space
The Hits
1994 "The Hits" 2nd compilation album by Garth Brooks is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1995)
- 1994 American Eagle commuter plane crashes in NC, killing 15
Reeve's Rehab Release
1995 Christopher Reeve released from physical rehab center after his fall from his horse in a riding competition
- 1995 US Federal Court votes that Cable companies must carry local stations
Clemens Signs with Blue Jays
1996 Free agent Roger Clemens signs with Toronto Blue Jays
Kofi Annan Secretary-General
1996 Kofi Annan is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations
- 2000 The "Texas 7" escape from the John Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas later going on a crime spree and killing police officer Aubrey Hawkins
A Beautiful Mind
2001 "A Beautiful Mind" based on the bio by Sylvia Nasar, directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 2002)
- 2001 Indian Parliament Sansad attacked by terrorists. 15 people killed, including all terrorists
- 2002 The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004
- 2003 69th Heisman Trophy Award: Jason White, Oklahoma (QB)
Saddam Hussein Captured
2003 Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit, during Operation Red Dawn by US forces
Ballon d'Or
2004 Ballon d'Or: Milan's Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko is named best football player in Europe ahead of Deco (Porto/FC Barcelona) and Barcelona midfielder Ronaldinho
Pinochet House Arrest
2004 Former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet is put under house arrest, after being sued under accusations over 9 kidnapping actions and manslaughter. The house arrest is lifted the same day on appeal.
- 2006 The Baiji, or Chinese River Dolphin, announced as extinct.
- 2007 The Mitchell Report is publicly released listing the names of 89 Major League Baseball players that have presumably used anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. Notable players named include Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada.
- 2010 76th Heisman Trophy Award: Cam Newton, Auburn (QB)
- 2012 A car bombing in Qatana, outside Damascus, kills 16 people and injures 12
- 2012 Japan scrambles fighter jets in response to a Chinese plane in the Senkaku Islands dispute
- 2012 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, London, England: Team Europe win for 3rd consecutive year beating US, 11-9; MVP: Chris Melling (England)
- 2014 80th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Mariota, Oregon (QB)
- 2014 A civil rights protest march in Washington, D.C. takes place, against the police killing of unarmed black men
- 2014 Divisions emerge between rich and poor nations at the UN climate change talks in Peru
- 2014 Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, criticizes UN Security Council for its lack of action over war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan
- 2014 The British Government announces it will send hundreds of troops to Iraq, to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the conflict with Islamic State
- 2014 Two US soldiers killed in a Taliban bombing of a NATO convoy in Kabul
Derrick Henry Wins
2015 81st Heisman Trophy Award: Derrick Henry, Alabama (RB)
McGregor vs. Aldo
2015 Irishman Conor McGregor knocks out Brazilian Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win his 1st featherweight title in Las Vegas
- 2016 UN claims 82 civilians have been summary executed in Aleppo by pro-government forces
- 2017 Democratic Republic of Congo jails for life 11 militiamen for raping 40 children, including a local MP
- 2017 Online dictionary Merriam-Webster's most searched word of the year is Feminism
- 2017 Prehistoric bones of a penguin as tall as a human (1.77m) found on Otago beach, New Zealand, reported in "Nature Communications"
UK Government Loses Key Vote
2017 Prime Minister Theresa May's UK Conservative government loses key vote in Parliament for an amendment to allow MPs to vote on Brexit
Hayek Accuses Weinstein
2017 Salma Hayek accuses Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and threatening to kill her
- 2017 Scientists begin checking interstellar asteroid Oumuamua for signs of alien technology through radio signals (later studies conclude it a piece of sliced off planet)
- 2018 Actress Eliza Dushku revealed received $9.5 million settlement from CBS after sexual harassment on set of "Bull" from actor Michael Weatherley
- 2018 Apple announces new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas and expansion in other US cities
- 2018 Cease-fire in port city of Hudaydah, Yemen, by Houthi rebels and Saudi-led coalition announced by the UN
- 2018 German basketball forward Dirk Nowitzki takes the court for his record 21st NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant's 20 seasons with the LA Lakers
- 2018 Passenger train collides with maintenance locomotive in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 9 and injuring 47
- 2018 US Senate passes non-binding "war powers resolution" against long-term ally Saudi Arabia
Film & TV History
2019 Michael Bay's "6 Underground" is released on Netflix
Hamilton Record 7th Title
2020 British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finishes 3rd in season-ending Abu Dhabi GP to claim record equalling 7th F1 World Drivers C'ship by 124 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas; Mercedes' 7th straight Constructors title
First UK Omicron Death
2021 First COVID-19 Omicron death in the UK reported by PM Boris Johnson
Spider-Man: No Way Home
2021 Marvel superhero film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by Jon Watts, premieres in Los Angeles
- 2022 First nuclear fusion reaction in a laboratory setting, replicating the same energy that powers the sun - announced by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California [1]
- 2022 New Zealand passes world's first tobacco ban, outlawing smoking for those born after 2009 [1]
- 2022 Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is arrested in the Bahamas after US files criminal charges against him, including wire fraud and money laundering [1]
Ovechkin Scores 800
2022 Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin scores a hat trick in 7-3 away win over Chicago Blackhawks to join Wayne Gretzky & Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to score 800 goals
- 2023 COP28 in Dubai ends with agreement from 190 counties to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, a compromise but still the first to directly address an end to fossil fuels [1]
- 2023 Researchers pinpoint possible cause of extreme morning sickness in pregnancy - low levels of the hormone GDF15 [1]
