Assassination of Cicero
43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae by soldiers under the command of Marc Antony
- 185 Emperor Lo-Yang, China sees supernova (MSH15-52)
- 1354 Margaret II Countess of Hainaut and her son William, Duke of Bavaria, sign a peace treaty ending the Cod and Hook wars between them
- 1696 Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the U.S. is completed to Trumbull.
- 1703 Great storm of 1703 hits Southern England - thousands killed, Royal Navy losses 13 ships and around 1,500 seamen
- 1703 The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703
- 1724 Tumult of Thorn - religious unrest was followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
Soane Succeeds Newton
1727 Physician Sir Hans Soane becomes President of the Royal Society, succeeding Sir Isaac Newton [1]
Constitution of the United States
1787 Delaware is the 1st state to ratify the US constitution
Humboldt's Magnetic Field Discovery
1804 Naturalist Alexander von Humboldt reports his discovery of the decrease in intensity of Earth's magnetic field from the poles to the equator in a memoir to the Paris Institute
James Madison Elected
1808 James Madison elected 4th US President, and George Clinton re-elected Vice-President
- 1835 Bavarian Ludwig railway opens - first German steam railway
Van Buren Elected
1836 Martin Van Buren elected the 8th President of the United States
Jesse James's First Bank Robbery
1869 Jesse James first confirmed bank robbery - he and his brother rob a bank in Gallatin, Missouri, shots cashier in a revenge killing
The Gondoliers
1889 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "The Gondoliers" premieres at the Savoy Theatre, London
- 1891 52nd US Congress (1st to appropriate $1 billion) holds 1st session
- 1895 Battle at Amba Alagi: Abyssinians beat Italian armies
- 1900 Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body radiation.
- 1902 Britain and Germany issue an ultimatum to Venezuela demanding that President Cipriano Castro pay claims for damages caused during his takeover of the government in 1899
- 1907 Eugene Corri becomes 1st referee in a boxing ring
- 1907 The First Egyptian Nationalist Congress meets under the leadership of Mustafa Kamil Pasha
Bakelite: the Birth of Plastic
1909 Inventor Leo Baekeland patents the first thermo-setting plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry
Lloyd George Replaces Asquith
1916 David Lloyd George replaces resigning H. H. Asquith as British Prime Minister
US's 42nd Rainbow Division
1917 The USA's 42nd 'Rainbow' Division arrives in France (with Colonel Douglas MacArthur among its ranks)
- 1917 US becomes 13th country to declare war on Austria during World War I
- 1920 NSW make 802 against South Australia, then Mailey takes 8-81
- 1920 USPD-KPD parties merge into Vereinigte Communist Party of Germany
- 1921 KWG-AM in Stockton CA begins radio transmissions
- 1924 German election (Social Democrats win, Nazis & Communists lose)
- 1925 Biltmore Theater opens at 261 W 47th St NYC
Easy Virtue
1925 Noël Coward's play "Easy Virtue" premieres in NYC
- 1926 Gas refrigerator patented
Bradman Scores 219
1931 After scoring 226 in 1st Test in Brisbane, Don Bradman belts 219 for NSW against the visiting South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Williams to the Red Sox
1937 Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams
- 1937 Russian chess player Alexander Alekhine recaptures his final world title from Dutch grand master Max Euwe by a large margin (+10−4=11)
- 1938 Philip Barry's play "Here Come the Clowns" premieres in NYC
- 1938 W9XZY broadcasts facsimile of St Louis Post-Dispatch by radio
Lou Gehrig Elected HOF
1939 New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, only six months after his retirement
- 1939 William Walton's Violin Concerto premieres in Cleveland; Ohio, with Jascha Heifetz as soloist and the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński
- 1940 North Africa: British counter offensive under general O'Connor
- 1940 The first prototype Fairey Barracuda flew
- 1941 1st Japanese midget submarine (No. 20) attacked by a US ship (USS Ward)
Hitler's Night and Fog Directive
1941 Adolf Hitler issues "Nacht und Nebel Erlass" (Night and Fog Directive), against anti-Nazi resistance fighters in occupied territories; targets sent to concentration camps and/or murdered
- 1941 Australian bombers land on Timor and Ambon islands of Indonesia
- 1941 Imperial Japanese Navy attacks US Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; 18 sailors killed, 33 of 36 patrol planes destroyed or damaged, 1st Japanese aircraft shot down in action
Attack on Pearl Harbor
1941 Imperial Japanese Navy with 353 planes attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people
Rommel Ends Tobruk Siege
1941 WWII: German Siege of Tobruk, Libya ends after 8 months, as Erwin Rommel withdraws after losses and supply chain failures
- 1942 USS New Jersey launched, built by Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - US's most decorated warship (decommissioned 1991)
- 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation drawn up in Chicago
- 1944 General Radescu forms Romanian government
- 1946 Fire at Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, kills 119
- 1949 15th Heisman Trophy Award: Leon Hart (end), Notre Dame
Chiang Kai-shek Flees
1949 Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan
- 1952 KKTV TV channel 11 in Colorado Spgs-Pueblo, CO (CBS) 1st broadcast
Ben-Gurion Retires
1953 Israel's PM Ben-Gurion retires
- 1953 WCCB TV channel 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina (IND/ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1954 Japanese government of Joshida resigns
- 1954 KCTS TV channel 9 in Seattle, WA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1956 American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women's double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
- 1956 Australian swimmer Murray Rose claims his 3rd gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics when he wins the 1,500m in 17:58.9; also wins 400m & 4 x 200m relay
- 1956 Helen O'Connell joins Today Show panel (NBC)
Larisa Latynina's Four Golds
1956 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina takes her gold medal tally to 4 at the Melbourne Olympics; wins teams and individual all-round titles having earlier won vault and floor exercise sections
- 1957 Tony Kubek of the Yanks selected as AL Rookie of the Year
- 1958 Romulo Betancourt elected President of Venezuela
- 1960 Ivory Coast claims independence from France
- 1962 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1963 First use of the instant replay machine invented by CBS in a US Army vs Navy football game
- 1963 Ian Meckiff no-balled for throwing against the South Africans
Harrison Changes Company Name
1964 George Harrison changes his company's name from Mornyork to Harrisongs
- 1966 A fire at an army barracks in Erzurum, Turkey kills 68 people.
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
1967 Otis Redding records his song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", co-written and produced by guitarist Steve Cropper at Stax Studios in Memphis Tennessee
- 1967 The Beatles' clothing store "Apple Boutique" opens at 94 Baker Street, London
Beggar's Banquet
1968 London Records releases Rolling Stones album "Beggar's Banquet" in US, the last during Brian Jones' lifetime
- 1968 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit
- 1968 Richard Dodd returns a library book his great grandfather took out in 1823 from the University of Cincinnati
- 1970 Taizan Maezumi Roshi, head of LA Zen Center, receives dharma
- 1970 West Germany & Poland normalize relations
- 1971 An off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment is shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
- 1971 Wings release their 1st album "Wild Life"
The Blue Marble
1972 Apollo 17 launched, the final manned lunar landing mission where the crew takes the famous "blue marble" photo of the entire Earth
Imelda Marcos Stabbed
1972 Philippine's first lady Imelda Marcos stabbed and wounded by an assailant
Band on the Run
1973 Apple Records releases Paul McCartney & Wings album "Band on the Run" in UK; the commercial and critical pinnacle of his post-Beatle work tops the charts in 7 countries
- 1973 Orioles sell pitcher Eddie Watt to the Phillies
- 1975 10th Islander shut-out opponent-Glenn Resch 3-0 vs Sabres
- 1975 Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus
- 1975 Indonesian army occupies East Timor
Năstase's 4th ATP
1975 Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 4th season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout of Björn Borg of Sweden in Stockholm
Security Council Endorses Waldheim
1976 UN Security Council endorses Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General for second 5 year term
- 1977 Islander Billy Smith's 10th shut-out opponent-Black Hawks 4-0
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1979 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
- 1981 Spain becomes a member of the NATO
- 1982 Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala during country's civil war, 171 people killed led by Santos López Alonzo
- 1982 In Texas, Charles Brooks, Jr. becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the US.
- 1982 Suriname army under Desi Bouterse fires on radio station building
- 1983 2 jets collided at Madrid Airport killing 93
- 1983 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
Border Captains Australia
1984 Allan Border's 1st Test Cricket match as captain (v WI Adelaide)
Trophy to Bo Jackson
1985 51st Heisman Trophy Award: Bo Jackson, Auburn (RB)
- 1985 Atlantis (61-B) returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
- 1986 NBC premiere of miniseries "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna" (Part 1)
Duvalier flees Haiti
1986 President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees Haiti
- 1987 43 die in Pacific Southwest Airline crash in California (man shot pilots)
- 1987 Palestinian uprising against Israel in West Bank
Gorbachev in the US
1987 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in the US for a summit meeting with Ronald Reagan
- 1988 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless
- 1988 American visual artist Chuck Close (48) suffers a spinal artery collapse leaving him paralyzed from the neck down
- 1988 Gorbachev announces 10% unilateral Soviet troop reductions at UN
- 1988 Mikhail Gorbachev cheered by Wall St crowds upon arrival in NYC
Texas Rangers Sign Ryan
1988 MLB Texas Rangers sign free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract
Arafat Proclaims State of Palestine
1988 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time
- 1989 C Coleman & D Zippel's musical "City of Angels" premieres in NYC
Parliament Endorses Hussein
1990 Iraqi Parliament endorses Saddam Hussein's decision to free hostages
Turner, Fonda Engaged
1990 Ted Turner & Jane Fonda announce their engagement
Goulet has Surgery
1993 American singer Robert Goulet undergoes prostate cancer surgery
- 1993 Henri Konan Bedie names himself President of Ivory coast
- 1993 The Long Island Rail Road massacre: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
Howard Stern Averts a Suicide
1994 Radio personality Howard Stern talks a man out of attempting suicide
The Grateful Dead Break Up
1995 American rock band The Grateful Dead break up after the death of Jerry Garcia
Seamus Heaney Awarded Nobel
1995 Irish poet Seamus Heaney receives the Novel Prize for Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm [1] [2]
- 1995 NBA settles strike of referees, refs to return on Dec 12
- 1995 US space probe Galileo begins orbiting Jupiter
- 1996 Australian rugby union team ends 12-game European tour unbeaten after 39-19 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham; Wallabies fullback Matt Burke scores 2 tries and lands 4 conversions, 2 penalties
- 1996 Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands
- 1999 The RIAA files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client, on charges of copyright infringement.
- 2003 The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Blue Skies
2004 Diana DeGarmo releases her debut album, "Blue Skies"
- 2005 Rigoberto Alpizar, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 924 who allegedly claimed to have a bomb, is shot and killed by a team of US federal air marshals at Miami International Airport.
Pope John Paul II
2005 U.S. debut of the second part of two-part TV biopic miniseries "Pope John Paul II" on CBS
Music History
2006 A Tornado strikes Kensal Green in northwest London, seriously damaging around 150 properties
- 2007 The Hebei Spirit oil spill began in South Korea after a crane barge being towed by tug collided with the very large crude carrier, Hebei Spirit.
- 2009 "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" becomes "PBS NewsHour", upon Jim Lehrer's stepping down as anchor
- 2010 Iceland officially leaves the recession with growth of 1.2% in the third quarter
- 2014 Human Rights Watch Asia Division call for investigation into Indonesian security forces shooting of peaceful protesters
- 2014 Mayor of Paris calls for diesel cars to be banned from the French Capital by 2020, in order to reduce pollution
- 2014 The Archbishop of Canterbury claims that he is more shocked by the plight of Britain's hunger-stricken poor than suffering in African refugee camps
- 2014 The Syrian military accuse Israel of carrying out two air strikes on Syria
- 2014 Typhoon Hagupit hits central Philippines; millions flee homes for shelter
- 2015 Beijing issues its 1st ever red alert for pollution
Bowie Attends Lazarus Opening
2015 David Bowie’s final public appearance, at the opening of his musical "Lazarus" at New York Theatre Workshop, NYC
Sanders 'Person of the Year'
2015 Time Magazine readers name Bernie Sanders their 'person of the year'
Trump Proposes Ban on Muslims
2015 US Presidential candidate Donald Trump proposes banning all Muslims from entering the US
- 2016 6.5 earthquake in Aceh province, Indonesia kills at least 97 people
- 2016 Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigns 3 days after losing a referendum to reform the constitution
- 2016 Pakistan International Airways plane crashes north of Islamabad, killing all 48 on board, including singer turned preacher Junaid Jamshed
- 2017 Australia's parliament votes to legalize gay marriage
Ronaldo Wins 5th Award
2017 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his 5th award to equal Lionel Messi's record; 2nd consecutive win for Ronaldo
- 2017 Crumbling French château La Mothe-Chandeniers in Les Trois-Moutiers is bought by 9,000 people
- 2017 Former US gymnastics physician Larry Nasser is sentenced to 60 years on child pornography charges
- 2017 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, Las Vegas, Nevada: Europe scores 8th straight title with an 11-4 rout of US; MVP: Joshua Filler (Germany)
- 2017 Naples' pizza spinning given UNESCO intangible heritage status along with Germany's organ music, Kyrgystan's Kok boru, and India's Kumbh festival
- 2017 Pantone's 2018 Colour of the Year is Ultra Violet
- 2017 Unrest in West Bank and Gaza, schools closed and a general strike in response to America's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital
- 2017 Virtual currency Bitcoin rises in value, passing $18,440 on some exchanges
Merkel's Replacement
2018 Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is elected the new leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party, replacing Angela Merkel
- 2018 Brazilian spiritual healer João Teixeira de Faria accused of sexual abuse by four women, over 200 more come forward in next week
Hart Steps Down as Host
2018 Comedian Kevin Hart steps down as 2019 Oscars host after his history of homophobic statements is revealed
- 2018 Court filings by US federal prosecutors and Special Counsel Robert Mueller against Michael Cohen appear to implicate President Donald Trump on campaign fraud and Russian dealings
- 2018 Former Italy national football coach Cesare Prandelli is appointed manager of Serie A club Genoa CFC replacing Ivan Juric; first time in history all 20 Serie A managers are all Italian
- 2018 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, London, England: US ends Europe's 8-year run with an 11-9 win; MVP: Skyler Woodward (USA)
Little Women
2019 Greta Gerwig's film adaption of Louisa May Alcott's novel "Little Women" starring Saoirse Ronan premieres at MoMA in New York City
- 2020 Australian states celebrate "Freedom Day" easing COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria and New South Wales
- 2020 Breaking, the competitive form of breakdancing, confirmed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games
- 2020 Coca-Cola named the world's No. 1 plastic polluter, in Break Free From Plastic's annual brand audit
- 2020 Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo wins a second term in the country's general elections
- 2020 Most of California begins second lockdown as hospitals come under strain and the state records average of 21,000 COVID-19 cases a day
- 2021 3,500 year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet goes on display in Iraq for the first time in 30 years after looted during Gulf War. Part of the Epic Gilgamesh, one of oldest known pieces of literature. [1]
- 2021 Chile becomes the 31st nation to legalize same-sex marriage [1]
- 2021 Mockumentary comedy "Abbott Elementary" premieres in the US, created and starring Quinta Brunson
Biden Warns Putin over Ukraine
2021 US President Joe Biden warns Russian President Vladimir Putin of economic consequences if Russia continues a military build-up in Ukraine, during a virtual meeting
- 2022 After widespread public protests China announces a major loosening of COVID-19 restrictions for the whole country, allowing home quarantine and scrapping QR codes, effectively ending China's zero-COVID policy [1]
- 2022 Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock wins re-election over Republican Herschel Walker in run-off for the Georgia Senate seat, taking the US Senate to a clearer 51-49 Democratic majority [1]
- 2022 Peruvian president Pedro Castillo ousted from office after trying to dissolve Congress, who were about to impeach him on corruption charges. Vice president, Dina Boluarte sworn in as country's first woman president. [1]
- 2022 Twenty-five right-wing extremists arrested in Germany suspected of organizing a coup to overthrow the government and install a monarchy, including prince Heinrich XIII and army officers [1]
- 2023 The China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), the world's deepest and largest underground laboratory at 2,400 meters begins operating below Jinping Mountains [1]
