Hadrian Adopts Antoninus Pius
138 The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor
Event of Interest
1502 Austrian emperor Maximilian I reformats government machine
Elizabeth I Excommunicated
1570 Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign. Also absolves her subjects from allegiance to the crown.
- 1601 Robert Devereux, English 2nd Earl of Essex, executed for treason against the Crown of England
- 1605 Portuguese garrison on Ambon surrenders to Admiral Van der Haghen
- 1623 Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts
- 1634 Irish captain Walter Devereaux kills Duke Wallenstein
- 1643 Pavonia Massacre: Dutch US colonists kill 120 Algonquin Native Americans at Communipaw (New Jersey)
- 1667 Abraham Crijnssens fleet reach Fort Willoughby on Suriname River
- 1746 The Duke of Cumberland's troops occupy Aberdeen
- 1751 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent)
- 1791 1st Bank of US chartered
- 1795 French Politician and Educator Joseph Lakanal, defines on behalf of the French Revolution an “educational utopia” aiming to “put an end to inequalities of development that affected a citizen's capacities for judgment."
- 1799 1st federal forestry legislation authorizes purchase of timber land
- 1799 US Congress passes 1st federal quarantine legislation
- 1803 In the last significant act of the Holy Roman Empire, more than 100 German polities are abolished in a major internal reorganization
Presidential Convention
1804 Thomas Jefferson nominated for US President at Democratic-Republican caucus
Hernani
1830 Victor Hugo's play "Hernani" premieres in Paris
Colt Revolver
1836 Samuel Colt patents first multi-shot revolving-cylinder revolver, enabling the firearm to be fired multiple times without reloading
P. T. Barnum's Disgrace
1836 Showman P. T. Barnum exhibits African American slave Joice Heth, claiming she was the 161 year-old nursemaid to George Washington
Bill the Butcher Shot
1855 Bowery Boys gang leader William Poole "Bill the Butcher" shot in the back by gang of archrival John Morrissey in New York (dies 8th March)
United States One Dollar Bill
1862 First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America
- 1863 Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency
1st African American Congressman
1870 Hiram R. Revels is sworn in as 1st African American member of Congress as US Senator from Mississippi (R)
Event of Interest
1895 Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria established by President Paul Kruger as the first game sanctuary in Africa
- 1896 Italian government decides to attack governor Baratieri of Eritrea
The Governor's Son
1901 George M. Cohan's 1st Broadway musical "The Governor's Son"opens at the Savoy Theatre, NYC; runs for 32 performances
Event of Interest
1901 US Steel Corporation organized under J. P. Morgan, Sr. through merger of Carnegie Steel Company, Federal Steel Company, and National Steel Company
The Philanderer
1907 George Bernard Shaw's play "The Philanderer" premieres in London
- 1907 US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic
- 1908 1st tunnel under Hudson River (railway tunnel) opens
- 1910 13th Dalai Lama (Thupten Gyatso) flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops
- 1911 Victor Herbert's opera "Natoma" premieres at Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1912 Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
- 1913 The 16th Amendment to the US Constitution becomes law, providing the legal basis for the institution of a graduated income tax
- 1916 Battle of Verdun: German troops conquer Fort Douaumont without firing a shot, the largest and highest fort defending the city of Verdun during World War I
- 1919 Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1 cent per gallon)
- 1921 Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, occupied by Bolshevist Russia
- 1921 The Living Buddha, Hutuktu, is crowned King of Mongolia as the country declares independence from China
- 1923 Bread in Berlin rises to 2,000 marks
- 1924 Marie Boyd scores 156 points in Maryland HS basketball game (163-3)
- 1925 Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union established
- 1925 Glacier Bay National Monument established in Alaska
Event of Interest
1926 Francisco Franco becomes Spain's youngest general at 33
- 1926 Kwo-Min-Tang (Guomindang) declares war on government and warlords
- 1927 Gdańsk and Polish accord concerning traffic through Polish corridor
Cricket History
1930 Brilliant West Indian cricket batsman George Headley completes twin tons (114 & 112) in 3rd Test win against England at Georgetown, British Guiana
- 1930 Check photographing device patented
Event of Interest
1932 Austrian immigrant Adolf Hitler gets German citizenship
- 1933 1st genuine US aircraft carrier named, USS Ranger
- 1933 Major NFL rule changes (hash mark 10 yds in, posts on goal line)
- 1933 New York industrialist Thomas Yawkey purchases Boston Red Sox for $1.25 million
- 1938 Lord Halifax becomes British Foreign Secretary
- 1939 1st Anderson bomb shelter in Britain erected in an Islington garden
- 1940 1st televised hockey game in US - New York Rangers defeat visiting Montreal Canadians 6-2 at Maison Square Garden; W2XBS broadcasts to up to 300 receivers in NYC
- 1941 Boston Bruins set NHL record of 23-game unbeaten streak (15-0-8)
- 1941 February strike against persecution of Jews, in Amsterdam
- 1943 Vietminh forms Indo Chinese Democratic Front
- 1944 Alexander Gretchaninov's "Missa Oecumenica" (Ecumenical Mass) premieres in Boston with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the composer wrote the work in memory of the conductor's wife Natalie (1880-1942)
- 1944 US 1st Army completes invasion plan
- 1945 WWII: Turkey declares war on Germany
- 1947 Allied Control Council, the governing body of post-World War II occupied Germany and Austria. abolishes the State of Prussia
- 1948 Communists seize control of Czechoslovakian government and Klement Gottwald becomes premier
- 1949 WAC Corporal rocket achieves height of 400k (record)
Your Show of Shows
1950 "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC. Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Woody Allen.
Conference of Interest
1956 Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Cricket Record
1957 Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit "That'll Be the Day" in Clovis, New Mexico
- 1957 US Supreme Court decides 6-3, baseball is only antitrust exempt pro sport
- 1960 John Cage's "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos" premieres
Event of Interest
1960 Lillian Hellman's "Toys in the Attic" premieres in NYC
Sports History
1962 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 67 points against NY Knicks at Philadelphia Civic Center for the second successive year; Warriors lose 149-135
Event of Interest
1962 Robert F. Kennedy visits Netherlands
Ali vs Liston
1964 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach
- 1966 Syrian military coup under General Hafiz al-Assad
Daytona 500
1968 10th Daytona 500: Cale Yarborough driving for Wood Brothers Racing wins by less than a second from LeeRoy Yarbrough; grid set exclusively by qualifying times
- 1968 430 Unification Church couples wed in Korea
- 1968 Archbishop Makarios re-elected president of Cyprus
- 1969 Mariner 6 launched for fly-by of Mars
- 1969 Pension plan for baseball is agreed to
- 1969 West Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet
Oh! Calcutta! - The Bare Facts
1971 "Oh! Calcutta!" moves to Belasco Theater in NYC; runs for 1,316 performances
Meeting of Interest
1971 Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark holds a meeting with Catholic Cardinal of Ireland William Conway, the first such meeting between men holding these offices since 1921
- 1971 P Zindel's "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" premieres in NYC
- 1972 Attempted assassination of Irish Minister of State for Home Affairs John Taylor who is shot a number of times (the Official Irish Republican Army later claimed responsibility)
Baseball Trade
1972 Lopsided MLB trade - St. Louis Cardinals trade pitcher Steve Carlton to Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Rick Wise; both players were involved in salary disputes with their teams
Give Ireland Back to the Irish
1972 Paul McCartney releases "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" single
- 1973 Dutch speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes Women's Allround World Champion at Strömsund, Sweden her second consecutive title and third in 4 years
- 1973 Mexican serial killer Juan Corona sentenced to 25 life sentences for 25 murders in California
A Little Night Music
1973 Stephen Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music" premieres at Shubert Theatre, later transferring to the Majestic, NYC; runs for 601 performances, winning 6 Tony Awards, ( Drama Desk Awards, and a Grammy
NBA Record
1977 New Orleans' Pete Maravich sets NBA record for a guard with 68 points in a game
- 1977 Oil tanker explosion west of Honolulu spills 31 million gallons
- 1977 Soyuz 24 returns to Earth
Cricket History
1978 England cricket all-rounder Ian Botham scores first Test century, 103 v New Zealand in Christchurch
Grammy Awards
1981 23rd Grammy Awards: "Sailing" - Christopher Cross; and Billy Joel win
- 1981 Exec Board of Baseball Players' Association votes unanimously to strike on May 29 if the issue of free-agent compensation remains unresolved
- 1981 Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo elected premier of Spain
- 1981 NHL most penalized game; Bruins vs Northstars, 84 penalties (392 mins)
- 1981 NY Islanders give up their most goals (11) vs Calgary Flames
- 1981 Rita Jenrette, wife of US "Abscam" congressman, appears on "Donahue" TV talk show
- 1981 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1982 Final episode of "The Lawrence Welk Show" airs
- 1982 Record speed for a snowmobile (239 kph)
- 1984 Oil fire in Cubatao Brazil kills 500
Grammy Awards
1986 28th Grammy Awards: "We Are the World", Sade, Phil Collins win
People Power Revolution
1986 Corazon Aquino becomes President of the Philippines; dictator Ferdinand Marcos flees the country
- 1986 Iran conquers Iraqi Fao peninsula
- 1986 Thousands of Egyptian military police riot, destroy 2 luxury hotels
- 1987 Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva discovers royal tombs of Sipan from Moche culture (A.D. 100 to 800) in northern Peru, after a police tip off - richest archaeological find of the New World [1]
- 1987 US Supreme Court upholds (5-4) affirmative action
Tunnel of Love
1988 Bruce Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love" Tour begins in Worcester, Massachusetts
- 1988 South Korea adopts constitution
- 1989 1st independent blue-collar labor union in Communist Hungary forms
- 1989 Javed Miandad scores 271 v NZ at Eden Park
- 1989 Lowest baramotric pressure in Netherlands (956.7 mbar at De Bilt)
Boxing Title Fight
1989 Mike Tyson TKOs Frank Bruno in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1990 Nicaraguans votes out Sandinistas
Music History
1990 On a BBC taped interview, rock star Stevie Nicks breaks down, saying that she will never have children & no man can stand her for long
- 1991 Andrew Jones scores twin Test Cricket tons v Sri Lanka (122 & 100*)
Sports History
1991 Businessman Bruce McNall, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and actor John Candy buy CFL's Toronto Argonauts
- 1991 Gulf War: Iraqi Scud missile hits US barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, kills 28
- 1992 34th Grammy Awards: "Unforgettable";, Marc Cohn win
- 1992 Khojaly massacre: about 613 civilians killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
Grammy Awards
1992 Muddy Waters wins Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards
Baseball Hall of Fame
1994 New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1994 Peruvian Yak-40 crashes into mountain near Tingo Maria, kills 31
- 1995 Bomb attack on train in Assam India (27 soldiers killed)
- 1995 British super middleweight Nigel Benn puts opponent Gerard McClellan in hospital
- 1995 Muslim fundamentalists shoot 20 Shiite mosque goers dead
- 1995 PBA National Championship Won by Scott Alexander
Sinatra's Last Performance
1995 Singer Frank Sinatra performs for final time before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, in Palm Desert, California, on the closing night of his charity golf tournament
- 1998 Switzerland's 1st legal brothel opens in Zurich
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
1999 British chef Gordon Ramsay comes to prominence appearing in the TV documentary "Boiling Point" detailing the opening of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Academy Awards
2007 79th Academy Awards: "The Departed", Forest Whitaker & Helen Mirren win
Academy Awards
2007 An Inconvenient Truth, featuring Al Gore, wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary
Stevie Wonder Receives Gershwin Prize
2009 American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.
- 2009 BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 People are being killed, including more than 50 Army officials, by Bangladeshi Boarder Guards inside its headquarter.
- 2011 French fashion house Christian Dior suspends its chief designer John Galliano after he is arrested for an anti-semitic verbal attack in Paris
- 2011 In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state in 1921
- 2012 Al Qaeda suicide bombing kills at least 26 people in Mukalla, Yemen
- 2012 Syrian Army kills 100 civilians in artillery shelling of Homs and Hama
Cuban History
2013 Cuban President Raúl Castro announces he will not seek another term in 2018
- 2013 Italy Common Good, a centre left alliance, wins the Italian general election
- 2014 50 students are killed in a Boko Harem attack on a college in Buni, Nigeria
- 2014 Hundreds of pro-Russian protesters block the Crimean parliament and demand a referendum on Crimea's independence
Film & TV History
2016 Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller are honoured by unite4:humanity for their work promoting awareness of and fundraising for Alzheimer's research
- 2016 Tenth Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by CNN, held in Houston, Texas
- 2017 Tom Perez is elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee
- 2018 2-man bobsled champions Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis of Germany win their 2nd gold medals of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as part of the German 4-man team
- 2018 China briefly bans the letter 'N' as part of widespread censorship efforts
- 2018 Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen wins gold in women's 30k at Pyeongchang Winter Olympics; brings her total Games medal haul to 15, most won by any athlete in Winter Games history
- 2018 Russian national team, competing under the name of Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR), wins Olympic ice hockey gold medal in Pyeongchang; beat Germany, 4-3 in overtime in the final
- 2018 Winter Olympics: Marit Bjoergen (Norway) becomes the most successful winter athlete of all time (15 medals) with gold in the 30k cross country
- 2018 XXIII Winter Olympic Games close in Pyeongchang, Korea; Norway wins a record 39 medals, 14 gold
Sports History
2019 Caitlin Clark sets the Class 5A state tournament single-game scoring record with 42 points in a game for Dowling Catholic High School against Waukee High School
- 2019 Influential film review site Rotten Tomatoes implements changes to its site after internet trolls target "Captain Marvel" film
- 2019 James Harden's scoring streak of games with at least 30 points ends at 32 as he scores 28 in the Rockets' 119-111 win over Atlanta in Houston; 2nd longest mark in NBA history
- 2020 147 murders occurred during a five day police strike in Ceará, Brazil, despite army patrolling the streets according to authorities
- 2020 Iran emerges as a newCOVID-19 hotspot, recording 95 cases and 11 deaths as a deputy health minister that appeared on TV confirmed as also infected
Chinese History
2021 Chinese President Xi Jinping claims the country has eradicated extreme poverty (earning less than US$620 a year), though many observers remain skeptical about the accuracy of Chinese data due to widespread corruption and lack of transparency [1]
- 2021 More than 200 prisoners escape and 25 people are killed at Croix-des-Bouquets prison near Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Sports History
2021 Thierry Henry steps down as head coach of CF Montreal
EFL Cup final
2024 Lewis Koumas is an unused substitute in the 2024 EFL Cup final where Liverpool beat Chelsea 1–0 after extra time
Ukrainian War Casualties
2024 President Volodymyr Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting in the two years since Russia invaded [1]
- 2024 The Great Mosque of Algiers is opened by Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune - third largest mosque in the world, able to hold 120,000 worshippers [1]
