Martin Luther Enters University
1501 Martin Luther enters the University of Erfurt, aged 17
- 1601 Church authorities in Rome burn Hebrew books
- 1639 1st Connecticut constitution (Fundamental Orders) adopted in Hartford, published by Rodger Ludlow
- 1641 Dutch East India Company conquers the city of Malacca, 7,000 killed
- 1659 Battle at Elvas: Portuguese beat Spanish
- 1690 The musical instrument, the clarinet is invented in Nürnberg, Germany
- 1699 Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"
- 1717 German mob leader and thief "Sjako" sentenced to death in Amsterdam
- 1724 Spanish King Philip V abdicates throne, in favor of his son 17 year old son Louis; returns to rule in September when Louis dies of smallbox
- 1739 Britain and Spain sign 2nd Convention of Pardo - seeks to establish boundary between Georgia and Florida
Jacobite Army Leaves Glasgow
1746 "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Jacobite army leaves Glasgow, Scotland [OS=Jan 3]
Third Battle of Panipat
1761 Third Battle of Panipat: In one of the largest battles of the century, the mostly Muslim Afghani Durrani Empire defeats the mostly Hindu Maratha Empire in Northern India. An estimated 60,000–70,000 were killed in the fighting and about 40,000 Maratha prisoners massacred afterwards.
- 1784 US Congress of the Confederation ratifies the Treaty of Paris, signed September 3, 1783, ending the Revolutionary War, and forwards it to Great Britain
Mozart's "Dissonance Quartet"
1785 Mozart completes his String Quartet No. 19 in C ("Dissonance quartet"), the last of six quartet set dedicated to Joseph Haydn (Op. 10/6, K. 465)
- 1794 Dr Jessee Bennet of Edom, Virginia, performs 1st successful Cesarean section operation in the US on his wife
Whitney's Muskets
1799 American inventor Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets
- 1799 King of Naples flees before advancing French armies
- 1813 Gideon Hawley becomes 1st state school superintendent in US (NY)
- 1814 King of Denmark cedes Norway to King of Sweden by treaty of Kiel
- 1822 Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti
Assassination Attempt on Napoleon III
1858 French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who is later executed
Celluloid Trademarked
1873 "Celluloid" registered as a trademark by its inventor John Wesley Hyatt
- 1873 Prominent African American Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback elected to US Senate (though never seated due to state elections controversy)
- 1874 I. D. Shadd elected Speaker of lower house of Mississippi legislature
- 1878 US Supreme court rules race separation on trains unconstitutional [1]
- 1897 6,960 m (22,834 ft) Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina) 1st climbed by European expedition led by British mountaineer Edward FitzGerald
- 1898 Australian cricketer Joe Darling hits the 1st six in Tests (out of the ground)
Tosca
1900 Giacomo Puccini's opera "Tosca" premieres in Rome
Amundsen Ross Ice Shelf
1911 Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition lands on the Ross Ice Shelf
Raymond Poincaré PM
1912 Raymond Poincaré becomes Prime Minister of France for the first time
Gandhi-Smuts Agreement
1914 The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement is reached between General Jan Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi, regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters in South Africa
- 1916 Dutch Zuiderzee dyke cracks
- 1918 Finland and USSR adopt New Style (Gregorian) calendar
- 1919 John McGraw, Charles A. Stoneham and Francis Xavier McQuade buy NY Giants
- 1925 Alban Berg's atonale opera "Wozzeck" premieres in Berlin
- 1927 Toronto Maple Leafs 1st hat trick (Hap Day) vs NY Rangers
- 1929 Afghan King Amanullah forced to resign
- 1932 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in US installed, Hialeah
Jockey Arcaro Wins 1st Race
1932 Racing Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro wins his 1st race at Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico - aged 16 years
- 1935 Iraq-Mediterranean oil pipeline goes into use
Giannini Bank President
1936 L. M. (Mario) Giannini elected President of Bank of America
Free Agency to Tigers Players
1940 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers minor league players
Casablanca Conference
1943 World War II: Casablanca Conference begins between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and other Allied representatives
First President to Fly Overseas
1943 World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt travels from Miami to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill, becoming the first American president to travel overseas by airplane
- 1943 World War II: Japan begins Operation Ke, withdrawal of its troops from Guadalcanal
- 1944 Soviet army begins offensive at Oranienbaum/Wolchow
- 1945 In Greece, Communists and the British agree to a cease-fire in the struggle to control Athens (and with it Greece)
- 1946 1946 NFL Draft: Frank Dancewicz from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
- 1946 2 jetties collapse in Ganges, crushing 160 Hindu pilgrims
- 1949 Black and Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
- 1950 US recalls all consular officials from China
- 1952 "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV
- 1952 Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends
- 1952 Snowstorm in Sierra Nevada kills 26
- 1953 Vaughan William's "Sinfonia Antartica" premieres in Manchester
- 1953 WALA TV channel 10 in Mobile, AL (NBC) begins broadcasting
"Tutti Frutti"
1956 Little Richard releases single "Tutti Frutti"
Army Promotes Elvis
1960 US Army promotes Elvis Presley to Sergeant
- 1961 Chicago Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL
"The Bell Jar"
1963 "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath is published by Heinemann in the UK, the author commits suicide a month later
"Segregation Now"
1963 George Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!"
- 1964 Bapu Nadkarni 32-27-5-0 v England, 21 maiden overs in a row
Jacqueline Kennedy Appearance
1964 Jacqueline Kennedy's 1st public appearance (TV) since US President JFK's assassination
"Can't Help Thinking About Me"
1966 David Bowie releases his 1st single "Can't Help Thinking About Me"
- 1967 20,000 attend Human Be-In, San Francisco
- 1967 Earthquake in Sicily kills 231
- 1967 New York Times reports Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments
Super Bowl II
1968 Super Bowl II, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
- 1969 25 members of US aircraft carrier Enterprise die during maneuvers
- 1969 Matt Busby retires from Manchester United
- 1969 Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later
- 1970 Royal Ulster Constabulary officers patrol the Falls Road area of Belfast for the first time since 1969
- 1971 Cricketer John Snow takes 7-40 for England to beat Australia by 299 runs
- 1972 "Sanford & Son" starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson premieres on NBC TV
Margrethe II of Denmark
1972 Margrethe II of Denmark becomes the first Queen of Denmark since 1412
- 1972 WMAH TV channel 19 in Biloxi, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1972 WMAU TV channel 17 in Bude, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1972 WMAW TV channel 14 in Meridian, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
"Aloha from Hawaii"
1973 "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite", an Elvis Presley concert broadcast live to Asia and Oceana, and on delay to Europe and US, becomes the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer
- 1973 2 Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are killed in Derry, Northern Ireland by a booby-trap bomb attached to their car by the Irish Republican Army
- 1973 Dancer Roy Castle is measured at 1,440 taps/min on BBC TV
- 1973 Grateful Dead bass player, Phil Lesh, busted on drug possession charges at his Marin County, California home
- 1973 Super Bowl VII, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Miami Dolphins beat Washington Redskins, 14-7; MVP: Jake Scott, Miami, S
- 1974 World Football League founded
- 1975 17-year-old Lesley Whittle is kidnapped in Shropshire, England
- 1975 Anita Wold (Norway) sets women's ski jump distance record-98 m
- 1975 USSR breaks trade agreement with US
- 1976 "The Bionic Woman" with Lindsay Wagner debuts on ABC (later NBC)
Turner Braves CEO
1976 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves
- 1977 "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalbán and Hervé Villechaize premieres on ABC TV
- 1977 RCA releases David Bowie's 11th studio album, "Low"; the album is the first collaboration with Brian Eno, in what becomes known as his 'Berlin trilogy'
Sex Pistol's Final Concert
1978 British punk rock band Sex Pistols hold what becomes their final concert at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California
McEnroe's 1st ATP
1979 John McEnroe wins his first of 3 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles 6–7, 6–3, 7–5 against fellow American Arthur Ashe at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Benitez vs. Palomino
1979 Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benitez beats WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino of Mexico in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; becomes two-division champion at the age of 20
Carter Proposes King Holiday
1979 US President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday be a federal holiday
- 1981 US Federal Communications Commission frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish
Mancini vs. Chacon
1984 Ray Mancini scores a 3rd-round TKO of Bobby Chacon to retain his WBA lightweight title in Reno, Nevada; Chacon so severely battered he thanks referee Richard Steele for stopping the fight
- 1985 16 indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees
- 1985 British pound sinks to record low $US1.11
Navratilova Wins 100
1985 Martina Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors & Evert)
"Satanic Verses" Burnt
1989 1,000 muslims burn Salman Rushdies' "Satanic Verses" in Bradford, England
- 1989 29-year-old French woman gives birth to sextuplets in Paris
- 1989 Former Belgian premier Paul Vanden Boeynants kidnapped
No Hope for Gulf Peace
1990 Un Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar says he has lost all hope for peace in Gulf
- 1991 "Barbara DeAngelis Show" premieres on CBS-TV
- 1991 Jorge Serrano Elias sworn in as President of Guatemala
- 1991 Tyne Daly arrested for drunk driving in Van Nuys, California
- 1991 Valentin Pavlov become new premier of USSR
Letterman Moves Show
1993 David Letterman announces his show is moving from NBC to CBS
- 1993 Polish ferry boat capsizes in storm, 50 die
Eaton's Record Career Blocks
1993 Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton blocks 2 shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle SuperSonics; becomes only 2nd player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks
US Aid for Mexico
1995 Mexico pledges profits from state-owned Pemex's $7-billion-per-year oil revenues in an effort to secure US congressional approval of loan guarantees; President Clinton approves a $20-billion U.S. aid package for Mexico
Pazienza vs. Durán
1995 Vinny Pazienza beats Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Durán in a 12-round unanimous decision in a super middleweight bout in Atlantic City; 2nd time in 6 months Pazienza wears down 43-year-old Duran in a high profile pay-pay-view bout
- 1998 100th episode of "Ellen" airs
Barkley Pleads Not Guilty
1998 Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge
- 1998 Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis)
- 1999 Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto, calls in the Army to help with snow removal and emergency medical evacuations after major snowstorm hits the city
- 2000 A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 killing of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.
"Love Don't Cost A Thing"
2001 Jennifer Lopez scored her first UK No.1 single with 'Love Don't Cost A Thing'
Hero of the Nation Marina Popovich
2007 Legendary Russian test pilot Marina Popovich is awarded the honorary title "The Hero of the Nation" by the Russian Federation
- 2008 MESSENGER spacecraft performs a Mercury flyby
- 2010 Yemen declares war on al-Qaeda
- 2011 Stampede near Sabarimala in Kerala, India kills 104 devotees and injures 100 more
- 2011 Tunisian president Ben Ali, flees to Saudi Arabia after popular protests known as the Jasmine Revolution
- 2012 Ma Ying-jeou wins re-election as President of the Republic of China with 51% of the vote
- 2012 Suicide bomber kills 53 and injures 130 in Basra, Iraq
Pence Governor of Indiana
2013 Mike Pence sworn in as 50th governor of Indiana
- 2014 American journalist David Satter is expelled from Russia
"The River & The Thread"
2014 Blue Note Records releases singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash's critically acclaimed thirteenth album "The River & The Thread"; produced by her husband John Leventhal, it wins 3 Grammy Awards
"High Hopes"
2014 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's 18th studio album "High Hopes", produced with members of the E Street Band, including the deceased Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons
- 2015 63 people are killed and 70,000 are left homeless after floods devastate Mozambique and Malawi
- 2016 Sixth republican presidential candidates debate hosted by Fox, held in North Charleston, South Carolina
- 2019 Americans chance of dying from an accidental opioid overdose higher than a car accident for the first time, according to US National Safety Council
- 2019 China posts shock drop in trade figures with a 4.4% fall in exports for December and a 7.6% fall in imports
- 2019 Pawel Adamowicz, Mayor of Gdańsk, Poland, stabbed on stage at charity event. Dies two days later.
- 2019 Spinning disk of ice 300m wide, resembling the moon, forms in the Presumpscot river, Westbrook, Maine
Trumps' Russian Agent Denial
2019 US President Donald Trump denies he is a Russian agent after NY Times article states the FBI started an investigation and the Washington Post raised issues over a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
- 2019 US Republican leaders strip Congressman Steve King from House committees after series of racist comments
- 2020 Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is fired amid Major League Baseball's investigation into sign-stealing by the Houston Astros; Cora was the Astros' bench coach before moving to Boston
Jeopardy's "Greatest of All Time"
2020 US game show Jeopardy "greatest of all time" tournament won by Ken Jennings
- 2021 Brazilian governor of Amazonas state Wilson Lima says their COVID-19 surge is now as bad as April 2020, with hospitals running out of oxygen and patients ventilated manually
- 2021 Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder charged and pleads not guilty to two counts of willful neglect of duty over the Flint water scandal that killed 12 people
Popes Receive Covid Vaccine
2021 Pope Francis, 84, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 2023 Brock Purdy wins his first playoff game as a rookie quarterback against the Seattle Seahawks
- 2024 Brunei's Prince Abdul Mateen (32) marries commoner Anisha Rosnah Isa-Kalebic, (29) at the culmination of a 10-day wedding at the Istana Nurul Iman palace [1]
- 2024 Dan Campbell leads the Detroit Lions to their first playoff win since 1991, defeating the Los Angeles Rams
- 2024 Frederik X becomes King of Denmark at Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen, after the abdication of his mother Margrethe at 83, and the world's last reigning queen [1]
