- 461 St Hilary begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 578 Butz' Chan [Smoke Snake] aged 15 becomes the 11th ruler of the Maya city of Copán, will go on to rule for 49 years
- 1274 Mongol army lands at Hakata Bay in Japan during their first invasion attempt and are defeated; a typhoon destroys most of their fleet as they withdraw
- 1367 League of Cologne goes against Danish king Waldemar IV
Columbus Reaches Puerto Rico
1493 Christopher Columbus first reaches Puerto Rico, inhabited by the Taíno on his 2nd voyage to the Caribbean
Clement VII
1523 Florentine Giulio de' Medici chosen as Pope Clement VII - rules until 1534
- 1530 "The Recess", the final decree of the Diet of Augsburg signed by Charles V and Catholic princes reaffirming Catholic rites and principles (after departure of Protestant Princes)
- 1567 Spanish Mendaña Expedition departs Callao, Peru, led by Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira and his uncle Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa to explore the Pacific (1st Europeans to discover Solomon Islands) [1]
Ivan the Terrible Murders Son
1581 Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich dies after being attacked by his father Ivan the Terrible three days earlier
The Mayflower
1620 The Mayflower reaches Cape Cod and explores the coast
- 1621 Rabbi Isaiah ben Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Israel
- 1644 First protestant ministry society in New England
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: US forces abandon Fort Lee, New Jersey and retreat to Pennsylvania after British and Hessian troops take Fort Washington, New York
- 1794 Jakobin Club forms in Paris
- 1794 Jay Treaty, first US extradition treaty, signed with Great Britain
- 1798 Dutch Rijksmuseum founded in the Hague (moved to Amsterdam 1808)
Lewis and Clark Reach the Pacific
1805 Lewis and Clark expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, first European Americans to cross the west
- 1816 Warsaw University is established
- 1824 Storm causes flooding in St Petersburg, killing 10,000
- 1835 A ship carrying 500 armed Maori from Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutunga arrives on the Chatham Islands; those Moriori (indigenous people of the Chatham Islands) that are not killed are enslaved
- 1837 Floridsdorf-Deutsch Wagram railway in Austria opens
Schubert's Symphony No. 4
1849 Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 4, "The Tragic", premieres in Leipzig, more than 20 years after the composer's death
Tennyson Poet Laureate
1850 Alfred Tennyson becomes British Poet Laureate, succeeding William Wordsworth
- 1861 American poet and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe commits lyrics of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to paper
- 1861 The first petroleum shipment (1,329 barrels) from the U.S. to Europe leaves Philadelphia, USA, for London, England on the Elizabeth Watts
Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address
1863 US President Abraham Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg address beginning; "Four score and seven years ago..."
- 1869 Hudson Bay Company signs deed of transfer of Prince Rupert's Land (3.9 million sq. km) to the British Crown, who then cedes it to Canada for £300,000, or $1.5 million (effective 1870) [1]
- 1872 E.D. Barbour of Boston is awarded the first U.S. patent for the first 'calculator', an adding machine capable of printing totals and subtotals
- 1873 James Reed and two accomplices rob the Watt Grayson family of $30,000 in the Choctaw Nation
Boss Tweed Convicted
1873 William Magear Tweed "Boss Tweed", of Tammany Hall (NYC) convicted of defrauding city of $6M, sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment
- 1879 National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders determines what "is" a trotter
- 1881 A meteorite lands near the village of Großliebenthal, southwest of Odessa, Ukraine
- 1885 Bulgarians, led by Stefan Stambolov, repulse a larger Serbian invasion force at Slivinitza
- 1894 1st mushroom on a stamp (China 1 & 5 Ap)
- 1894 Dutch troops occupy & plunders palace of Tjakra Negara, Lombok
- 1895 American inventor Frederick E. Blaisdell of Philadelphia patents the "self-sharpening" paper sheathed pencil, commonly known as a china marker
- 1903 Temperance activist Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate
- 1905 The steamer "Hilda" sinks in the English Channel (100 people drown)
- 1906 London selected to host 1908 Olympics
Kuyper Denies Corruption
1909 Former Dutch premier Abraham Kuyper denies corruption
- 1910 Ferenc Molnàr's play "Tester" premieres in Budapest
Goldwyn Pictures
1916 Samuel Goldfish, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn establish Hollywood's Goldwyn Pictures; Goldfish later changes his name to Goldwyn
Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
1919 US Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 55 to 39; Congress two years later approves resolution ending hostilities with Germany and Austria-Hungary
- 1922 Demonstration for a French Language University in Ghent
Bartòk's Dance Suite
1923 Hungarian composer Béla Bartòk's orchestral work "Dance Suite" premieres, celebrating 50th anniversary of cities of Buda and Pest uniting
- 1923 The Oklahoma State Senate ousts Governor Walton for anti-Ku Klux Klan measures
- 1926 British miners' strike ends after 28 weeks
Trotsky Expelled
1926 Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Politburo in the Soviet Union
- 1932 Joe Kershalla scores 71 points in a college football game
Demands Hitler Made Chancellor
1932 Shaft & Thyssen demand Adolf Hitler become German chancellor
- 1933 Women allowed to vote in Spain (helps right wing)
- 1939 Comic superheroes Flash (as Jay Garrick) and Hawkman (Carter Hall) first appear in "Flash Comics No. 1" published by DC
- 1939 Don Lash wins 6th straight AAU cross-country 10K championship
- 1940 Belgian King Leopold III visits Adolf Hitler
- 1940 First major German air raid on Birmingham - about 440 bombers kill 450
Goebbels Visits Netherlands
1942 Joseph Goebbels visits "German Theatre in the Netherlands"
- 1942 Operation Uranus: Soviet offensive begins during Battle of Stalingrad, 1 million Soviet soldiers encircle the German Sixth Army
- 1942 Russia launches winter offensive against Germans along Don front
6th War Loan Drive
1944 World War II: U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announces the 6th War Loan Drive, aimed at selling $14 billion USD in war bonds to help pay for the war effort.
- 1947 200" mirror arrives at Mt Palomar Observatory, California
Prince Rainier III
1949 Prince Rainier III coronation as 30th ruling Prince of Monaco
Eisenhower Supreme Commander
1950 US General Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of NATO-Europe
Campanella NL MVP
1951 Roy Campanella named NL MVP on his 30th birthday
Nixon Visits Hanoi
1953 US VP Richard Nixon visits Hanoi
- 1955 KXMB TV channel 12 in Bismarck, North Dakota (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1955 National Review publishes its first issue
- 1957 Antonin Novotny appointed president of Czechoslovakia
- 1958 First 2 F-27 Fokker's Friendships delivered on Aer Lingus
- 1959 "Rocky & His Friends" debuts on ABC
- 1959 Ford Motors cancels its poorly received Edsel model
- 1960 Mickey Vernon is hired as 1st manager of new Washington team
Banda's 7 touchdowns
1961 Houston Oilers quarterback George Blanda passes for 7 touchdowns in a 49-13 rout of NY Titans at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston
Soviet Weapons
1962 Fidel Castro accepts removal of Soviet weapons
- 1962 KOET (now KULC) TV channel 9 in Ogden, UT (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1962 SN Behrman's "Lord Pengo" premieres in NYC
- 1962 Todor Zhivkov (51) becomes Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1965 ABC radio begins weekly "Vietnam Update" report
- 1965 Kellogg's Pop Tarts pastries created
- 1966 Mad Dog Vachon beats Dick The Bruiser in Omaha, to become NWA champ
- 1967 The establishment of TVB, the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong
- 1968 Military coup in Mali, president Modibo Keita flees
- 1968 New York Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen wins AL Rookie of the Year
- 1969 Apollo 12's Charles Conrad and Alan Bean become the 3rd and 4th humans on the Moon
- 1969 WENY TV channel 36 in Elmira, NY (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1970 Golden Gate Park Conservatory becomes a Californian state historical landmark
- 1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1971 Disney World's Fort Wilderness opens
- 1972 Gershwin Theater (Uris) opens at 1633 Broadway NYC
- 1972 KFIZ TV channel 34 in Fond du Lac, WI suspends broadcasting
- 1972 Leader of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) Seán MacStiofáin is arrested in Dublin
Willy Brandt
1972 Willy Brandt's SPD wins West German election
- 1973 Elections in Suriname, premier Sedney's PNP doesn't win a chair
- 1973 New York stock market takes sharpest drop in 19 years
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975 Film adaptation of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" based stage adaptation of novel by Ken Kesey, directed by Miloš Forman and starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1976)
Morgan NL MVP
1975 Reds 2nd baseman Joe Morgan is named NL MVP
Patty Hearst
1976 American publishing heiress Patty Hearst is freed on $15 million bail, pending appeal of bank robbery conviction
This Song
1976 George Harrison releases single "This Song", an expression of his frustration at being sued for copyright infringement
- 1976 Jaime Ornelas Camacho takes office as the first President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Portugal
- 1977 Canuck's Ron Sedlbauer fails on 3rd penalty shot against Islanders
Sadat Visits Israel
1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat arrives in Israel
- 1977 Libya drops diplomatic relations with Egypt
- 1978 "The Miracle at the Meadowlands", Eagles Herman Edwards returns a fumble for a touchdown with 31 seconds left to give Philadelphia a 19-17 victory over the rival New York Giants
Astros Record Sign
1979 Astros sign Nolan Ryan, to record 4 year, $4.5 million contract
Chuck Berry Released
1979 Chuck Berry released from prison for income tax evasion conviction
Brooke Shields Ad Banned
1980 CBS TV bans Calvin Klein jean ad featuring Brooke Shields
- 1981 U.S. Steel agrees to pay $6.3 billion for Marathon Oil
"A Mickey Mouse Organization"
1983 Edmonton Oilers beat NJ Devils, 13-4, Wayne Gretzky calls the Devils "a Mickey Mouse organization"
Jan Kurri
1983 Jari Kurri becomes the first (and only) Finnish player to score five goals in a game
- 1983 Robert Whitney (79) conducts his final concert, leading the Louisville Orchestra at the opening of the Whitney Concert Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1984 Liquid gas tank in Mexico City explodes; 334 die
Gooden Youngest Rookie
1984 NY Met Dwight Gooden, 20, is youngest to be named NL Rookie of Year
- 1985 In the largest civil verdict in US history, Pennzoil wins $10.53 billion judgement against Texaco
Reagan and Gorbachev Meet
1985 US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time
Schmidt NL MVP
1986 Phillies 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt wins NL MVP
- 1986 Tina Howe's "Coastal Disturbances" premieres in NYC
- 1987 France performs nuclear test
Graf Regains WTA
1989 German tennis No. 1 Steffi Graf regains the WTA Tour Championship in NYC; beats Martina Navratilova 6–4, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2
- 1989 US beats Trinidad, 1-0 qualifing for 1990 world soccer cup finals it was US' 1st qualification since 1950
- 1990 Greyhound files reoganization plan so they can be traded publicly
Bonds NL MVP
1990 Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Barry Bonds wins NL MVP
- 1990 Pop duo Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is learned they did not sing on their award-winning "Girl You Know Its True" album
Ripken 2nd MVP
1991 Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken wins his 2nd AL MVP
- 1993 Algerian Muslim fundamentalists uprising, 27 killed
- 1993 Curacaose vote to remain part of Dutch Antilles
- 1995 "The Beatles Anthology" documentary series premieres in US on ABC-TV; the 6-hour program airs over three nights that week
- 1995 German tennis No. 1 Steffi Graf outlasts No. 2 Anke Huber 6–1, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 to win the WTA Tour Championship at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Becker's Third ATP
1995 Home crowd favorite Boris Becker wins his 3rd and final ATP Tour World Championship tennis title with a 7–6, 6–0, 7–6 win over American Michael Chang in Frankfurt, Germany
- 1995 Keelin Curnuck, 23, Ms Venus Swimwear 1994, crowned Miss NY USA
- 1995 Suicide bomber blasts into Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, kills 16
- 1996 "Sex & Longing" closes at Cort Theater NYC
- 1996 Albert Belle, signs record five-year, $55 million with White Sox
- 1996 Lieutenant General Maurice Baril of Canada arrives in Africa to lead a multi-national policing force in Zaire
- 1996 Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), launches into space
- 1996 The 12.9 km Confederation Bridge, joining Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island and Cape Jourimain, New-Brunswick is completed and becomes the longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world
- 1996 The case of the Port Arthur massacre comes to trial.
- 1997 "Eugene Onegin" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
- 1997 "Old Neighborhood" opens at Booth Theater NYC
- 1997 McCaughey septuplets (all 7 of them!) born to Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa. First set of septuplets to survive infancy.
- 1997 STS 87 (Columbia 24) launches into orbit
Van Gogh Sale
1998 Vincent van Gogh's "Portrait of the Artist Without Beard" sells at auction for $71.5 million
- 1999 In Istanbul, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ends a two-day summit by calling for a political settlement in Chechnya and adopting a Charter for European Security.
- 1999 Shenzhou 1: The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft.
Hingis Wins WTA
2000 Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis wins WTA Tour Championship at Madison Square Garden, NYC; beats Monica Seles, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Travelogue
2002 Nonesuch Records releases "Travelogue", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 18th studio album, a collection of re-worked versions her own songs, backed by an orchestra
Nintendo Wii
2006 Innovative video game console the Nintendo Wii is released in North America by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
Federer Wins Masters Cup
2006 Roger Federer captures his 3rd Tennis Masters Cup title with a comfortable 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 win over American James Blake in the final in Shanghai, China
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
2010 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1" the 7th film based on the books by J. K. Rowling is released worldwide
- 2010 New Zealand suffers its worst mining disaster since 1914 when the first of four explosions occurs at the Pike River Mine; 29 people are killed
- 2012 Plymouth Crown Court clears two farmers of health and safety offenses related to giant hay bale death of ELO cellist Mike Edwards [1]
- 2013 23 people are killed by a suicide bombing attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon
David Blaine: Real or Magic
2013 David Blaine performs in the TV special "David Blaine: Real or Magic" on ABC
Bill Joel
2014 American singer-songwriter and piano man Billy Joel receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.
- 2017 Bulgarian tennis star Gregor Dimitrov breaks through for a first season-ending ATP World Tour Finals title with a 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 win in London over David Goffin of Belgium
Truex NASCAR Cup
2017 Martin Truex Jr., driving for Furniture Row Racing, wins Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Florida to claim Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series by 5 points from Kyle Busch
- 2017 Oumuamua first detected by scientists, 400 meters long and reddish, first known interstellar object in our solar system, thought to be of possible alien origin (since thought to be slice of small planet)
Mugabe TV Speech
2017 Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe refuses to resign in a TV speech after being ousted as leader of ruling ZANU-PF party
Ivanka's Emails
2018 Ivanka Trump sent "hundreds" of emails from her personal account about government business, according to Washington Post report
- 2018 Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested in Japan for financial misconduct
Record Rams Kansas City Game
2018 Rams beat Kansas City Chiefs, 54-51 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; 3rd-highest scoring game in NFL history; first time 2 teams score 50 points in same game; Patrick Mahomes' 6 TD passes for KC most in "Monday Night Football" history
- 2019 As many as 106 have died over five days in protests across 21 Iranian cities according to Amnesty International, just 12 deaths reported by the government
- 2019 EPL club Tottenham sacks high profile manager Mauricio Pochettino after disappointing start to season; replacement is higher profile ex-Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho
LeBron's Triple-Double
2019 LeBron James hits 25 points, 11 rebounds & 10 assists as LA Lakers' beat Oklahoma City Thunder, 112-107 to become first player in NBA history to record a triple-double against all 30 franchises
- 2019 More than 1,000 protesters detained by police after 3-day battle at Hong King Polytechnic University
Blinding Lights
2019 The Weeknd releases his single "Blinding Lights" - goes on to become the longest charting song on Billboards Top 100 at 90 weeks
- 2020 Inquiry find "credible evidence" elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians
- 2020 Scottish American Douglas Stuart wins the Booker Literary prize for his first novel "Shuggie Bain"
- 2021 Austria becomes the first country to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory (from 1 Feb) as it announces its fourth lockdown [1]
- 2021 Longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440, lasting 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds
- 2021 MLB Cleveland Indians name change to Guardians becomes official
- 2021 Rare original copy of the U.S. Constitution sold to Ken Griffin, head of hedge fund Citadel, for $43.2 million - world record price for a book, historical document or manuscript [1]
Raise The Roof
2021 Rounder Records releases "Raise The Roof", the 2nd collaborative album by American bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and British rock vocalist Robert Plant
- 2021 US jury clears Kyle Rittenhouse (18) of murder for fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during racial justice protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin
- 2022 General elections in Malaysia produce the country's first ever hung parliament with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim securing the most seats [1]
- 2022 Gunman opens fire at LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring 19 in an apparent hate crime [1]
- 2023 Brazil records its highest-ever temperature - 44.8C (112.6F) in Araçuaí, Minas Gerais state [1]
- 2023 Far-right politician Javier Milei elected President of Argentina [1]
- 2023 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India: Australia beats India by 6 wickets (with 42 balls remaining) for 6th ODI triumph; Player of the Match: Travis Head (AUS) 137 (120)
Sports History
2023 Novak Đoković of Serbia wins a record seventh ATP World Tour Finals beating Italian Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in Turin, Italy
