- 1279 Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon
- 1285 180 Jews burn to death as synagogue in which they are hiding set ablaze by mob of Christians in retribution for alleged crime of "blood libel", ritualistic bloodletting from a kidnapped child, in Munich, Duchy of Upper Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire
- 1366 King Frederick III of Siciliy forbids decorations on synagogues
- 1398 The Treaty of Salynas is signed between Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Teutonic Knights, who received Samogitia.
- 1459 Battle at Ludford Bridge: Richard of York defeated
Columbus Lands in the Caribbean
1492 Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall on a Caribbean island he names San Salvador (likely Watling Island, Bahamas). The explorer believes he has reached East Asia (OS 21 Oct)
- 1492 Flemish rebel leader Philip van Kleef surrenders
Last Will of Isabella I
1504 Queen Isabella I of Spain signs her last will and testament, instructing her descendants to treat indigenous Americans well and fairly
- 1509 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I leaves Italy
Martin Luther's Interrogation
1518 Papal envoy Cardinal Thomas Cajetan interrogates Martin Luther in Augsburg in a failed attempt to persuade Luther to revoke his theses
- 1549 John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, forces the Duke of Somerset out of his office as Lord Protector.
Emperor Rudolf II
1576 Rudolf II succeeds Maximilian II as Holy Roman Emperor
- 1609 Children's rhyme "Three Blind Mice" is published in London in a book edited by and possibly written by Thomas Ravenscroft
- 1654 The Delft Explosion (gunpowder) devastates the city of Delft in the Netherlands, killing more than 100 people
- 1659 English "Rump" Parliament dismisses John Lambert and other Parliamentary generals
Emperor Charles VI
1711 Charles VI is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Frankfurt
Great Awakening
1740 English evangelist George Whitefield preaches to 30,000 people in Boston in the US during the 'Great Awakening'
- 1792 First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York
- 1798 Flemish uprising against French occupied Boerenkrijg
- 1798 Friedrich von Schiller's "Wallensteins Lager" premieres in Weimar
- 1815 Ex-king Joachim Murat of Naples sentenced to death
- 1822 Second eruption of Galunggung in Java destroys summit of mountain
- 1823 Charles Macintosh of Scotland begins selling raincoats (Macs)
- 1836 18" of snow falls in Bridgewater, NY
- 1853 John Morrissey wins boxing title, when Yankee Sullivan leaves ring after 36th round to slug Morrissey's fans
- 1854 Ashmun Institute (later Lincoln University) opens near Oxford, Pennsylvania
Emperor Norton Abolishes Congress
1859 Self-proclaimed Emperor of the USA, Emperor Norton issues edict abolishing the US Congress
Second Ride Around McClellan
1862 Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart completes his "second ride around McClellan" during the Raid on Chambersburg
- 1862 Major General Earl Van Dorn assumes command of Confederate troops in Mississippi
- 1862 Skirmish at Monocacy, Maryland
Brazil Invades Uruguay
1864 Brazilian troops under the command of Gen. João Propício Mena Barreto invade Uruguay in a prelude to the War of the Triple Alliance
- 1871 US President Grant condemns Ku Klux Klan
- 1872 Montreal Foot Ball Club 1st game playing Quebec City to 0-0 tie
- 1879 British troops occupy Kabul, Afghanistan
- 1881 Henry M Stanley signs contract with Congo monarch
- 1886 Hurricane & sea surge kills 250 at Indianola Texas
- 1891 Astronomical Society of France is inaugurated
- 1892 US Pledge of Allegiance first recited in public schools during Columbus Day
- 1898 Establishment of the first town council in Mateur.
- 1899 South Africa Boer Republic declares war on Britain
USS Holland (SS-1)
1900 The first modern submarine is commissioned by the U.S. Navy as the USS Holland, named for its designer John Philip Holland
The White House
1901 Theodore Roosevelt renames the "Executive Mansion" as "The White House"
Execution of Edith Cavell
1915 Despite international protest, Edith Cavell an English nurse in Belgium, is executed by the Germans for aiding the escape of Allied prisoners
Ford's Millionth Car
1915 Ford Motor Company under Henry Ford manufactures its 1 millionth automobile at the River Rouge plant in Detroit
- 1915 Theodore Roosevelt criticizes US citizens who identify themselves with dual nationalities
- 1918 Cloquet fire kills 453 and injures or displaces 52,000 people
- 1920 Construction begins on Holland Tunnel connecting NJ & NYC
- 1920 Man O'War's last race & win
Symphony No. 0
1924 Franz Moissl conducts 1st performance of Anton Bruckner's "Symphony No. 0" in Klosterneuburg, Austria
- 1924 Sokolnicheskaya Radio begins broadcasting from Moscow
- 1925 Albert Michelsen runs world record marathon (2:19:01.8)
- 1925 German-Russian trade agreement signed
- 1927 Hermann Goerner of Germany raises 24 men weighing 4,123 lbs on a plank with soles of his feet
- 1928 1st use of iron lung (Boston's Children Hospital)
- 1931 1st International Conference on Calendar Reform
Christ the Redeemer
1931 Christ the Redeemer statue opens standing 30 meters high (98 ft) on top of Mount Corcovado overlooking Rio de Janeiro, built by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa
- 1933 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison (unofficially)
Machine Gun Kelly Sentenced
1933 Gangster George Francis Barnes, aka Machine Gun Kelly, is sentenced to life imprisonment
Escape of John Dillinger
1933 John Dillinger escapes from jail in Allen County, Ohio
- 1941 Soviet government moves from Moscow to Volga as Nazis forces close in on Moscow
- 1942 Successful Soviet counterattack through 37th Guard division
- 1942 WWII: US Navy defeats Japanese in Battle of Cape Esperance between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in theSouth Pacific's Solomon Islands
- 1943 US bombs Rabaul, New Britain
Columbus Day Riot
1944 "Columbus Day Riot": 30,000 fans descend on NYC's Times Square for singer Frank Sinatra's performance at Paramount Theatre (capacity 3,500)
- 1944 German army retreats from Athens
Stengel Manages Yankees
1948 Casey Stengel takes over as Yankee manager
- 1950 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show debuts on CBS television, airs until 1958
Cricket History
1952 Hanif Mohammad completes twin cricket centuries for Pakistan v North Zone (India) in Amritsar; 121 & 109 no
- 1952 KBTV (now KUSA) TV channel 9 in Denver, CO (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1953 US & Greece sign peace treaty (US bases)
- 1956 Marga Klompé becomes first Dutch women elected minister
- 1957 First commercial flight between California & Antarctica
- 1958 CVP wins municipal elections in Belgium
- 1958 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1958 WJRT TV channel 12 in Flint, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1959 At the national congress of APRA in Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form APRA Rebelde.
- 1960 Japanese politician Inejiro Asanuma is assassinated with a sword during a televised debate live on TV by 17-year old nationalist Otoya Yamaguchi
Event of Interest
1960 JFK and Richard Nixon's third presidential debate
United Nations Speech
1960 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe on his desk at UN General Assembly session
- 1961 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1962 Infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities; 46 dead and at least U.S. $230 million in damages
- 1962 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1962 US/USSR sign joint space effort in telecommunications & meteorology
- 1963 Archaeological digs begin at Masada, Israel
- 1963 Final event at Polo Grounds, New York City; 14,235 attend 1st (and only) "Latino All-Star Game" - National League wins 5-2 over American League; festivities include a concert by Tito Puente [1]
- 1963 San Francisco's Oakland Bay Bridge converted to 1-way on each deck
- 1964 American Don Schollander swims an Olympic record 53.4s to beat Briton Robert McGregor by 0.1s and win the 100m freestyle gold medal in Tokyo; first of Schollander's 4 gold medals at the Games
- 1964 KCSM TV channel 60 in San Mateo-SF, CA (PBS) begins
- 1964 Launch of Voskhod 1, first time 3 people in space (Komarov, Feokistov, Yegorov)
- 1964 WSBK TV channel 38 in Boston, MA (IND/ABC/CBS/NBC) begin
- 1964 WUCM TV channel 19 in University Center, MI (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1968 Enriqueta Basilio, Mexican track and field athlete becomes 1st woman to light Olympic flame at 19th Summer Olympics, in Mexico City, Mexico
- 1968 Equatorial Guinea (Spanish Guinea) declares independence from Spain
- 1968 IXX Summer Olympic Games open at Mexico City, Mexico; first Olympics in Latin America
- 1969 1st time 5 people in space simultaneously (Soyez 6 & Soyez 7)
- 1969 KDB-AM in Santa Barbara, California changes call letters to KAPN
- 1969 KHOF (now KAGL) TV channel 30 in San Bernardino/Glenda, California (IND) begins
- 1969 Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 7 is launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan
- 1970 Rock Memorabilia Auction at Filmore East
- 1972 46 sailors injured in race riot on American aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk
- 1972 Mariner 9 takes pictures of Martian north pole
Music History
1972 Paramount Pictures and Motown Productions release film "Lady Sings the Blues", very loosely based on singer Billie Holiday's autobiography, starring Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams
- 1973 Israeli counter offensive in southern Syria
Event of Interest
1973 US President Richard Nixon nominates Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as Vice President
- 1974 1st time Washington Capitals are shutout as they are beat 6-0 by Minnesota
- 1975 American Jacqueline Hansen runs women's world record marathon 2:38:19 in the Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, Oregon
- 1975 Archbishop Oliver Plunkett became 1st Irish-born saint in 7 centuries
- 1975 NASA launches space vehicle S-195
Event of Interest
1976 Hua Guo-feng succeeds Mao Zedong as chairman of Communist Party
- 1977 "Throwaway Game" Catfish Hunter loses WS 6-1 resting Yank pitchers
- 1977 4th test of space shuttle Enterprise
- 1977 Psychic Romark attempts to drive blindfolded, smashed into cop van
- 1977 US Supreme Court heard arguments in "reverse discrimination" case of Allan Bakke, white student denied admission to University of California Med School
- 1978 Representatives of Israel & Egypt open talks in Washington
Murder of Interest
1978 Sid Vicious charged with murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen
NBA Record
1979 Boston Celtics guard Chris Ford scores first 3-point basket in NBA history in 1st quarter of 114-106 win v Houston at Boston Garden; game also marks debut of Boston rookie Larry Bird
Sports History
1979 Future Basketball Hall of Fame forward Magic Johnson makes his debut for Los Angeles Lakers at the San Diego Clippers; Lakers win, 103-102
- 1979 The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in Guam, in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip
- 1979 Typhoon Tip becomes the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded with peak sustained winds of 305km/h (190mph) and a wind diameter of 2,220km (1,380mi)
- 1980 7 stabbed at Blood, Sweat & Tears concert in Los Angeles
- 1982 38.6 cm (15.2") of rainfall, Angoon Alaska (state record)
Event of Interest
1984 IRA bombs the Grand Hotel, Brighton, where British PM Margaret Thatcher is staying, 5 die
- 1985 Challenger moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for maintenance of STS 61A mission
- 1985 Intl Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War receives Nobel Prize
- 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1986 California Angels within 1 pitch of pennant victory lose to Red Sox
Event of Interest
1986 Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visit the People's Republic of China
Got My Mind Set On You
1987 George Harrison releases single "Got My Mind Set On You", it becomes his third solo #1 hit, and the last chart-topper by any of the Beatles
- 1987 Oscar Arias (Costa Rican Pres) wins Nobel Peace Prize
Meeting of Interest
1988 George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis meet in their second presidential debate
- 1988 Israel & China sign trade deal, plan diplomatic relations
Event of Interest
1988 Pope John Paul II is the target of anti-papal heckling by Protestant leader Ian Paisley at a European Parliament meeting in Strasbourgh, France
Sports History
1989 Dallas running back Herschel Walker is traded from Cowboys to Minnesota Vikings for 5 players and 6 future draft picks including future stars Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson
Sports History
1991 Doug Flutie of BC Lions sets CFL passing record of 582 yards despite losing to Edmonton Eskimos, 45-38 in overtime
- 1991 Mike Lerch of Princeton ties NCAA record with 370 receiving yards
- 1991 Professional wrestler Rip is Oliver forced to retire after being injured by Crush
- 1991 Statler Brothers Show premieres on TNN
- 1992 5.8 earthquake at Cairo (at least 510 die)
- 1992 Arecibo radio telescope begins Microwave Observing Project search for occupied planets
- 1992 Expo '92 closes in Seville Spain
- 1992 Howard Stern radio show premieres in Albany NY (WQBK 103.5 & 103.9 FM)
- 1992 Wash Redskin Art Monk sets NFL record with 820th reception
- 1994 Contact with NASA Venus orbitter Magellan broken
- 1994 Iranian Fokker F28 explodes between Isfahan and Tehran, killing 66
- 1997 Sidi Daoud massacre in Algeria; 43 killed at a fake roadblock
Sports History
1999 Pat LaFontaine formally retires from the NHL due to lingering concussion problems
Coup d'état
1999 Pervez Musharraf takes power in Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless coup
- 1999 The Day of Six Billion: the proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born
- 2000 American destroyer USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39
- 2002 Terrorists explode two bombs in Bali's nightclub district killing 202 and injuring 209 mostly foreign tourists
- 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Home Depot Center, Carson, CA: Nia Künzer scores winner in sudden death extra time as Germany beats Sweden, 2-1
F1 World Champion
2003 German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher finishes 8th at the season-ending Japanese F1 Grand Prix at Suzuka; clinches 4th consecutive World Drivers Championship by 2 points from Kimi Räikkönen
Sports History
2008 Anna Kournikova and Andy Roddick defeat Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine in a match for charity, raising over $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund
- 2012 The European Union wins the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, sparking a series of critical commentary
- 2012 The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves of an African-led force to oust Islamist militants in northern Mali
- 2013 15 people are killed by a series of explosions in a fireworks factory in Vietnam
- 2013 50 people are killed after a truck veers off of a cliff in La Convencion Province, Peru
- 2013 Timothy Bradley defeats Juan Manuel Márquez to win the WBA Welterweight boxing title
Election of Interest
2014 Evo Morales is re-elected President of Bolivia
- 2016 Auston Matthews becomes 1st player to score 4 goals in his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa
- 2016 James Charles (17) becomes the 1st male face of make-up label CoverGirl
Event of Interest
2017 Long-lost bust of Napoleon by Auguste Rodin confirmed found in Madison borough hall, New Jersey, worth at least $4m
Sports History
2019 Centre-back Sergio Ramos becomes Europe's most capped male outfield soccer player (168 caps) as Spain draws 1-1 with Norway in Euro 2020 qualification in Oslo
Sports History
2019 Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya becomes first to run a marathon in under 2 hours (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria; not a race by strict definition using pacesetters and pace laser markings on a doctored course
- 2019 Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall on the Izu Peninsula near Tokyo, Japan, bringing record rainfall and killing at least 56 people
- 2020 China announces it will test entire city of Qingdao, 9 million people, for COVID-19 within five days after a dozen cases discovered
- 2020 Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for their contributions to auction theory
COVID-19 Pandemic
2020 UK PM Boris Johnson announces a new three-tier system for COVID-19 restrictions as cases surge
Film & TV History
2022 American conspiracy theorist, radio host, and provocateur Alex Jones ordered by a Connecticut defamation trial jury to pay $965 million to families of those killed in 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School for falsely and repeatedly claiming on his broadcasts that none of the 20 children and six adults killed had actually died and that their relatives were crisis actors [1]
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
2023 Concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” premieres at the Grove Shopping Complex in Los Angeles [1]
- 2023 Israel says it will not stop the bombardment of Gaza until hostages released, amid growing Gaza humanitarian crisis with 338,000 displaced and population without electricity or water [1]
- 2023 Roman scrolls burnt in Mt Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum read for the first time, after computer-science student develops machine-learning algorithm - first word deciphered is purple [1]
