What can we learn from History
On this Day in History...
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FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
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DEC
JAN
January 1, 1863 – The Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in Confederate-held territory to be free, took effect.
January 2, 1492 – The last Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell to the forces of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.
January 3, 1959 – Alaska became the 49th state of the United States.
January 4, 1960 – The groundbreaking for the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt took place.
January 5, 1066 – Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England, beginning his short reign.
January 6, 1838 – Samuel Morse demonstrated the telegraph for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey.
January 7, 1610 – Galileo Galilei discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons.
January 8, 1815 – The Battle of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812, was fought.
January 9, 1493 – Christopher Columbus set sail from the New World to return to Spain.
January 10, 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles went into effect, officially ending World War I.
January 11, 1964 – U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report linking smoking to lung cancer and other diseases.
January 12, 1945 – The Soviet Red Army launched a massive offensive against German forces on the Eastern Front during World War II.
January 13, 1968 – Johnny Cash performed at Folsom State Prison, recording his famous album “At Folsom Prison.”
January 14, 1639 – The first constitution in the world, the Fundamental Orders, was adopted in Connecticut.
January 15, 1929 – Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
January 16, 1920 – Prohibition went into effect in the United States, making it illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcohol.
January 17, 1991 – The Gulf War began, as a U.S.-led coalition launched air strikes against Iraq in response to its invasion of Kuwait.
January 18, 1871 – The German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France.
January 19, 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D’Aquino, a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose,” for her wartime broadcasts in Japan during World War II.
January 20, 1981 – Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States.
January 21, 1793 – King Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution.
January 22, 1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion nationwide.
January 23, 1571 – The Royal Exchange, a center of commerce and trade, was opened in London.
January 24, 1848 – James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, sparking the California Gold Rush.
January 25, 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated the first transcontinental telephone service in the United States.
January 26th, 1788: The British colony of New South Wales, Australia, is founded.
January 27th, 1945: The Soviet Red Army liberates the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
January 28th, 1915: The United States Coast Guard is created.
January 29th, 1845: Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven” is published for the first time in the Evening Mirror newspaper in New York City.
January 30th, 1948: Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu nationalist.
January 31st, 1865: The United States Congress passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude.
FEB
February 1, 1790: The United States Supreme Court holds its first session.
February 2, 1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the Mexican-American War and ceding California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of four other modern-day states to the United States.
February 3, 1959: Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed in a plane crash in Iowa, an event known as “The Day the Music Died.”
February 4, 1789: George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the Electoral College.
February 5, 1917: The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917, which imposes literacy tests on immigrants and establishes the Asiatic Barred Zone.
February 6, 1952: King George VI of Great Britain dies and is succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
February 7, 1964: The Beatles arrive in the United States for the first time, sparking a phenomenon known as “Beatlemania.”
February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her involvement in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I.
February 9, 1964: The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, drawing a record audience of 73 million viewers.
February 10, 1763: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Seven Years’ War and granting Great Britain control of Canada and much of the territory east of the Mississippi River.
February 11, 1990: Nelson Mandela is released from prison in South Africa after 27 years of incarceration.
February 12, 1809: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is born in a log cabin in Kentucky.
February 13, 1633: Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for trial before the Inquisition for holding the belief that the Earth revolves around the sun.
February 14, 278 AD: Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr, is executed in Rome on this day, which later becomes associated with the celebration of Valentine’s Day.
February 15, 1898: The USS Maine explodes in Havana harbor, precipitating the Spanish-American War.
February 16, 1923: The burial chamber of Tutankhamun, an Egyptian pharaoh who died more than 3,000 years ago, is opened by archaeologist Howard Carter and his team.
February 17, 1865: The American Civil War’s Battle of Columbia, South Carolina, ends, marking the first significant Confederate defeat in the war’s western theater.
February 18, 1930: Pluto, the ninth planet in our solar system at the time, is discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.
February 19, 1942: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
February 20, 1962: John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, completing three orbits aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft.
February 21, 1965: Civil rights activist Malcolm X is assassinated in New York City.
February 22, 1732: George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
February 23, 1455: The Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed with movable type, was published in Mainz, Germany.
February 24, 1868: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson, making him the first president to be impeached.
February 25, 1836: Samuel Colt received a patent for the Colt revolver, which became one of the most famous handguns in history.
February 26, 1848: The Second French Republic was proclaimed following the overthrow of King Louis Philippe.
February 27, 1951: The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, limiting presidents to two terms in office.
February 28, 1953: James Watson and Francis Crick announced their discovery of the structure of DNA, the genetic material that carries the instructions for the development and function of all living organisms.
February 29, 2004: The city of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, making it the first city in the United States to do so.
MAR
March 1 –
- 1562: French Huguenots were massacred in Wassy, France, starting the French Wars of Religion.
- 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established as the world’s first national park.
- 1954: Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, injuring five members of Congress.
March 2 –
- 1807: Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, which banned the importation of slaves into the United States.
- 1933: The film King Kong premiered in New York City.
- 1962: Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game, a record that still stands today.
March 3 –
- 1845: Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
- 1931: “The Star-Spangled Banner” was adopted as the U.S. national anthem.
- 1991: A car bomb exploded in New York City’s financial district, killing six people and injuring over a thousand.
March 4 –
- 1789: The U.S. Constitution went into effect as the first Congress met in New York City.
- 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States.
- 1966: The Beatles’ album “Rubber Soul” was released in the United States.
March 5 –
- 1770: The Boston Massacre occurred when British soldiers killed five colonists.
- 1953: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died, leading to a power struggle within the Soviet Union.
- 1984: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recording television shows for personal use did not violate copyright law.
March 6 –
- 1836: The Battle of the Alamo ended with the defeat of the Texans by Mexican forces.
- 1967: The Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional.
- 1992: The Michelangelo computer virus began to infect computers worldwide.
March 7 –
- 1876: Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the telephone.
- 1965: The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam.
- 2010: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing over 50 people.
March 8 –
- 1702: Queen Anne of England ascended to the throne.
- 1917: The Russian Revolution began with the February Revolution in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).
- 1971: Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden.
March 9 –
- 1841: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. The Amistad that the slaves who had revolted on the Amistad were free individuals.
- 1959: The Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.
- 1997: The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.
March 10 –
- 1864: The Red River Campaign began during the American Civil War.
- 1876: The first successful telephone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson.
- 1977: Astronomers discovered rings around the planet Uranus.
March 11th:
- 537 – The construction of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey is completed.
- 1811 – A new census in the United States shows the population to be 7,239,881 – an increase of 36% since the previous census in 1800.
- 2011 – A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami strike Japan, causing widespread damage and killing over 15,000 people.
March 12th:
- 1664 – New Jersey becomes a British colony, after being founded by the Dutch in 1620.
- 1912 – China becomes a republic after the abdication of Emperor Puyi.
- 1938 – The “Anschluss” takes place, as Nazi Germany annexes Austria.
March 13th:
- 1781 – William Herschel discovers Uranus, the first planet to be discovered since ancient times.
- 1925 – The Tennessee General Assembly passes a bill prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools.
- 1996 – The Dunblane massacre takes place in Scotland, where 16 children and their teacher are killed in a school shooting.
March 14th:
- 1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin, which revolutionizes the cotton industry in the southern United States.
- 1885 – The Mikado, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, premieres in London.
- 2018 – Students across the United States participate in a nationwide walkout to protest gun violence and call for stricter gun control laws.
March 15th:
- 44 BC – Julius Caesar is assassinated by a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius.
- 1917 – Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates his throne, ending centuries of Romanov rule.
- 1965 – The first successful spacewalk takes place, as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov spends 12 minutes outside his spacecraft.
March 16th:
- 597 BC – Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captures Jerusalem, leading to the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people.
- 1521 – Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines, where he is killed in a battle with local tribes.
- 1968 – The My Lai Massacre takes place in Vietnam, as US soldiers kill over 500 unarmed civilians.
March 17th:
- 1762 – The first St. Patrick’s Day parade is held in New York City.
- 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed, with Victor Emmanuel II as its king.
- 2011 – The Syrian Civil War begins, as protesters clash with government forces in the city of Daraa.
March 18th:
- 978 – King Edward the Martyr of England is assassinated, leading to the rise of the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard.
- 1922 – Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience in India.
- 1965 – The first spacewalk by an American astronaut takes place, as Ed White spends 23 minutes outside his spacecraft.
March 19th:
- 1687 – French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, better known as La Salle, is murdered by his own men while on an expedition to the Mississippi River.
- 1863 – The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks the Union ship USS Housatonic, becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel in combat.
- 2003 – The United States launches the Iraq War, invading Iraq with the goal of removing Saddam Hussein from power.
March 21st:
- 1804: The French civil code, known as the “Napoleonic Code,” is adopted.
March 22nd:
- 1622: The Powhatan Confederacy launches a surprise attack on Jamestown, Virginia, killing over 300 colonists.
- 1894: The first Stanley Cup championship game takes place in Montreal, Canada.
March 23rd:
- 1775: Patrick Henry delivers his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1983: President Ronald Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative, which becomes known as “Star Wars.”
March 24th:
- 1603: Queen Elizabeth I of England dies, and James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.
- 1989: The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
March 25th:
- 421: Venice is founded.
- 1807: The British Parliament abolishes the slave trade.
March 26th:
- 1979: The Camp David Accords are signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, with U.S. President Jimmy Carter mediating.
March 27th:
- 1964: The strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America, measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale, strikes Alaska.
March 28th:
- 1930: Constantinople is officially renamed Istanbul.
- 1979: A partial meltdown occurs at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.
March 29th:
- 1461: The Battle of Towton, the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil, takes place during the Wars of the Roses.
- 1973: The last U.S. troops leave Vietnam, ending America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
March 30th:
- 1856: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
- 1981: President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C.
March 31st:
- 1889: The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated in Paris.
- 1995: Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez is murdered by her fan club president.
APR
April 1st:
- 1945: The Battle of Okinawa began, marking the last major battle of World War II.
April 2nd:
- 1917: President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, officially entering the United States into World War I.
April 3rd:
- 1973: The first mobile phone call was made by Motorola researcher Martin Cooper in New York City.
April 4th:
- 1968: Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
April 5th:
- 1614: Pocahontas, daughter of Native American Chief Powhatan, married Englishman John Rolfe in Virginia, marking an important alliance between the Native Americans and the English colonizers.
April 6th:
- 1896: The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece.
April 7th:
- 1948: The World Health Organization (WHO) was established by the United Nations to promote global public health.
April 8th:
- 1974: Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with his 715th career home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
April 9th:
- 1865: Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War.
April 10th:
- 1912: The RMS Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, before sinking on April 15th after colliding with an iceberg.
April 11th:
- 1970: Apollo 13, the third manned mission to land on the moon, experienced an explosion that put the crew in danger but ultimately resulted in their safe return to Earth.
April 12th:
- 1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into space, completing a single orbit of Earth in the Vostok 1 spacecraft.
April 13th:
- 1743: Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was born in Shadwell, Virginia.
April 14th:
- 1865: President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C.
April 15th:
- 1947: Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, becoming the first African American player to play in the major leagues.
April 16th:
- 2007: The Virginia Tech shooting occurred, resulting in the deaths of 32 people and injuring 17 others, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history at the time.
April 17th:
- 1961: A group of Cuban exiles, backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), launched an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
April 18th:
- 1906: The San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires destroyed much of the city, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 3,000 people.
April 19th:
- 1775: The American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.
April 20th:
- 2010: The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
April 21st:
- 753 BC: According to legend, Rome was founded on this day by twin brothers Romulus and Remus.
April 22nd:
- 1500: Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to sight Brazil.
- 1970: The first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States to raise awareness about environmental issues.
April 23rd:
- 1564: William Shakespeare, widely considered the greatest playwright in the English language, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
- 1985: Coca-Cola announced that it was changing its formula, resulting in widespread public backlash.
April 24th:
- 1800: The United States Library of Congress was established in Washington, D.C.
- 1916: The Easter Rising began in Dublin, Ireland, as Irish nationalists launched a rebellion against British rule.
April 25th:
- 1859: Construction of the Suez Canal was completed, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
- 1986: The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine suffered a catastrophic explosion and fire, resulting in the worst nuclear accident in history.
April 26th:
- 1986: A major nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, resulting in widespread radiation contamination.
- 1994: South Africa held its first multiracial elections, ending apartheid and electing Nelson Mandela as the country’s first black president.
April 27th:
- 1521: Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines during a battle with local tribes.
- 1994: The first democratic elections were held in post-apartheid South Africa, with Nelson Mandela elected as president.
April 28th:
- 1789: The mutiny on the Bounty occurred, as crew members of the HMS Bounty overthrew their captain, William Bligh.
- 1967: Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the United States Army, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War.
April 29th:
- 1945: Adolf Hitler married his longtime partner, Eva Braun, in a ceremony in his bunker in Berlin.
- 1975: The Vietnam War ended as North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.
April 30th:
- 1789: George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.
- 1975: The Vietnam War officially ended as North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, ending the conflict.
MAY
1st May:
- 1707: The Act of Union joins England and Scotland to form Great Britain.
- 1931: The Empire State Building in New York City is officially dedicated.
2nd May:
- 1519: Leonardo da Vinci dies in France at the age of 67.
- 1945: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin and the end of the Second World War in Europe.
3rd May:
- 1802: Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city.
- 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
4th May:
- 1626: Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (now New York) to serve as the new governor.
- 1970: The Ohio National Guard shoots and kills four students during a protest at Kent State University.
5th May:
- 1494: Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica.
- 1862: The Mexican Army defeats French forces in the Battle of Puebla, which is commemorated as Cinco de Mayo.
6th May:
- 1840: The world’s first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, is issued in Great Britain.
- 1937: The Hindenburg disaster occurs when the German airship catches fire and crashes in New Jersey, killing 36 people.
7th May:
- 1718: The city of New Orleans is founded by French explorers.
- 1945: Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe.
8th May:
- 1541: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River.
- 1886: Coca-Cola is first sold to the public at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
9th May:
- 1502: Christopher Columbus sets sail on his fourth and final voyage to the Americas.
- 1945: Soviet forces capture Berlin, effectively ending the war in Europe.
10th May:
- 1774: Louis XVI becomes King of France.
- 1869: The First Transcontinental Railroad is completed, connecting the eastern and western coasts of the United States.
11th May:
- 868: The Diamond Sutra, the world’s oldest dated printed book, is produced in China.
- 1997: IBM’s Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov for the first time.
12th May:
- 1780: The city of Charleston, South Carolina falls to British forces during the American Revolution.
- 1926: The airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
13th May:
- 1607: English colonists establish the Jamestown settlement in Virginia.
- 1981: Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square.
14th May:
- 1607: Jamestown’s first settlers arrive in Virginia.
- 1948: The State of Israel is established as a sovereign state.
15th May:
- 1252: Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda, authorizing the use of torture during the Inquisition.
- 1930: Ellen Church becomes the world’s first airline stewardess, working for United Airlines.
16th May:
- 1866: The U.S. Congress authorizes the first five-cent piece, the “Shield nickel”.
- 1960: Theodore Maiman operates the first successful laser at Hughes Research Laboratories.
May 17th:
- 1527: The Sack of Rome occurs, where troops of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain sack the city of Rome during the Italian Wars.
- 1792: The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
- 1954: The US Supreme Court hands down its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, ruling that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
May 18th:
- 1642: The city of Montreal is founded in Canada by French colonists.
- 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte is declared Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
- 1980: Mount St. Helens, a volcano in Washington state, erupts, causing significant damage and loss of life.
May 19th:
- 1536: Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, is beheaded for treason and other charges.
- 1845: Captain Sir John Franklin and his crew set sail from England on their ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
- 1962: Marilyn Monroe performs a sultry rendition of “Happy Birthday” for President John F. Kennedy at a fundraising event in New York City.
May 20th:
- 325: The First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church, begins in Nicaea (present-day Iznik, Turkey).
- 1873: Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a patent for blue jeans.
- 1927: Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
May 21st:
- 1881: Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross.
- 1927: Aviator Charles Lindbergh lands his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, in Paris, completing the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
- 1991: Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a suicide bomber.
May 22nd:
- 1849: Abraham Lincoln is granted a patent for a device to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in a river.
- 1939: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel, forming a military alliance.
- 1992: Johnny Carson hosts his last episode of The Tonight Show after 30 years as its host.
May 23rd:
- 1430: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve the siege of Compiegne.
- 1934: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, infamous bank robbers and criminals, are killed in a police ambush in Louisiana.
- 2018: The Republic of Ireland votes overwhelmingly to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion.
May 24th:
- 1607: English colonists establish the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown, Virginia.
- 1883: The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the US, is opened to traffic.
- 1941: The German battleship Bismarck sinks the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing over 1,400 crew members.
May 25th:
- 1787: The Constitutional Convention, which would eventually write the US Constitution, convenes in Philadelphia.
- 1961: US President John F. Kennedy announces his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
- 1977: The original Star Wars movie is released in theaters, becoming a huge commercial success and cultural phenomenon
May 26th:
- 1897: Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” was first published in London, England.
May 27th:
- 1937: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA, was opened to pedestrian traffic.
May 28th:
- 585 BCE: According to legend, a solar eclipse occurred during the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce between the Lydians and the Medes.
- 1961: Amnesty International, a human rights organization, was founded in London, England.
May 29th:
- 1919: The Republic of Armenia declared independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.
- 1953: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.
May 30th:
- 1431: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, after being convicted of heresy.
- 1922: The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA, was dedicated.
May 31st:
- 1669: Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that he had witnessed a Punch and Judy puppet show in Covent Garden, London, England.
- 1911: The RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1962: Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal, was hanged in Israel after being convicted of crimes against humanity.
JUN
June 1, 1967: The Beatles released their iconic album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in the UK.
June 2, 1953: Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
June 3, 1965: Astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to “walk” in space during the Gemini 4 mission.
June 4, 1989: The Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, China were violently suppressed by the government, resulting in an unknown number of deaths and injuries.
June 5, 1967: The Six-Day War began between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
June 6, 1944: Allied forces invaded Normandy, France, in what became known as the D-Day landings of World War II.
June 7, 1893: Mohandas Gandhi, later known as Mahatma Gandhi, was thrown off a train in South Africa, prompting him to begin his fight against discrimination and colonialism.
June 8, 1783: The volcano Laki in Iceland began a series of eruptions that lasted for eight months and had a significant impact on the global climate.
June 9, 1934: Donald Duck made his debut in the animated short “The Wise Little Hen.”
June 10, 323 BC: Alexander the Great died in Babylon at the age of 32.
June 11, 1963: Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block the admission of two African American students, but was eventually forced to step aside by federal officials.
June 12, 1967: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Loving v. Virginia that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional.
June 13, 1983: Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space.
June 14, 1777: The Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States.
June 15, 1215: King John of England signed the Magna Carta, which established the principle that everyone, including the king, was subject to the law.
June 16, 1963: The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union, completed three orbits of Earth aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft.
June 17, 1972: Five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., eventually leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
June 18, 1815: The Battle of Waterloo was fought between the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington, resulting in a decisive victory for the coalition forces.
June 19, 1865: The last slaves in the United States were informed of their emancipation in Galveston, Texas, in what is now known as Juneteenth.
June 20, 1837: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom ascended to the throne at the age of 18.
June 21, 1948: The Berlin Blockade began as Soviet forces closed all road, rail, and water access to the Allied-controlled sectors of Berlin.
June 22:
- 1633: The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the universe.
- 1941: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union, starting Operation Barbarossa.
- 1987: Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer, dies at the age of 88.
June 23:
- 1314: Scottish forces under Robert the Bruce defeat the army of Edward II of England at the Battle of Bannockburn.
- 1757: British forces under Robert Clive defeat the army of Siraj ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey, establishing British control over Bengal.
- 2016: The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union in a referendum, triggering the Brexit process.
June 24:
- 1314: The coronation of King Edward II of England takes place at Westminster Abbey.
- 1812: Napoleon’s Grande Armée crosses the Neman River, beginning the invasion of Russia.
- 1948: The Berlin Blockade begins as the Soviet Union blocks access to the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin.
June 25:
- 1876: Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his troops are killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
- 1950: The Korean War begins as North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
- 2009: Pop icon Michael Jackson dies at the age of 50.
June 26:
- 1284: The Pied Piper of Hamelin lures 130 children away from the town and they are never seen again.
- 1945: The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco, creating the United Nations.
- 2015: The Supreme Court of the United States legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges.
June 27:
- 1743: War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Dettingen: In Bavaria, King George II of Britain leads an army against French forces.
- 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
- 1950: The U.S. decides to intervene in the Korean War by sending troops to aid South Korea.
June 28:
- 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey.
- 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering the start of World War I.
- 1969: Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
June 29:
- 1613: The Globe Theatre in London, England, burns down during a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.
- 1945: The United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and China sign the United Nations Charter in San Francisco.
- 2007: Apple releases the first iPhone, revolutionizing the smartphone industry.
June 30:
- 1520: The Battle of Anghiari takes place between the Republic of Florence and the Duchy of Milan, with Leonardo da Vinci among the combatants.
- 1864: President Abraham Lincoln signs the Yosemite Grant Act, establishing Yosemite National Park in California.
- 1971: The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
JUL
1st July:
- 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War began.
- 1960: Somalia gained its independence from Italy.
2nd July:
- 1776: The Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution, declaring the colonies independent from Great Britain.
- 1937: Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during their attempt to fly around the world.
3rd July:
- 1608: Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec in Canada.
- 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg ended, resulting in a Union victory over Confederate forces.
4th July:
- 1776: The United States of America declared its independence from Great Britain.
- 1826: Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two of the Founding Fathers of the US, died on this day.
5th July:
- 1687: Isaac Newton published his groundbreaking book “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica”.
- 1946: The bikini swimsuit was introduced during a fashion show in Paris.
6th July:
- 1885: French chemist Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against rabies.
- 1957: Althea Gibson became the first African American woman to win the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
7th July:
- 1456: The printing of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed with a movable type, was completed in Germany.
- 1981: President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female Supreme Court justice in the US.
8th July:
- 1663: King Charles II of England granted a charter to establish the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in North America.
- 1994: Kim Il-sung, the first and longest-serving leader of North Korea, died and was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-il.
9th July:
- 1850: The 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died suddenly after only 16 months in office.
- 1962: The US launched the Telstar 1 communications satellite, which relayed the first live television broadcasts across the Atlantic Ocean.
10th July:
- 1890: Wyoming became the 44th state of the United States.
- 1962: The first live television transmission from a different continent took place, with the transmission of the Mona Lisa from Paris to New York City.
11th July:
- 1798: The US Marine Corps was established by an act of Congress.
- 1979: The first Sony Walkman portable music player went on sale in Japan.
12th July:
- 1862: The Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the US government, was authorized by Congress.
- 1962: Rolling Stones gave their first public performance at the Marquee Club in London.
13th July:
- 1787: The Continental Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which established the rules for governing the Northwest Territory and provided a pathway for statehood.
- 1960: John F. Kennedy won the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States.
14th July:
- 1789: The storming of the Bastille prison in Paris marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
- 1965: The spacecraft Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of Mars and transmitted back the first close-up photos of the planet.
July 15th:
- 1099: The Crusaders of the First Crusade capture Jerusalem.
- 1799: The Rosetta Stone is discovered in Egypt by French Captain Pierre-Francois Bouchard.
- 1979: President Jimmy Carter delivers his “Crisis of Confidence” speech, also known as the “Malaise” speech.
July 16th:
- 622: The Islamic prophet Muhammad begins his journey from Mecca to Medina, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
- 1945: The first atomic bomb is successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project.
- 1999: John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed in a plane crash.
July 17th:
- 1918: The Russian Imperial family, including Tsar Nicholas II, are executed by the Bolsheviks.
- 1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California.
- 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
July 18th:
- 64: The Great Fire of Rome breaks out, which some historians believe was set by Emperor Nero himself.
- 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes his autobiography, Mein Kampf.
- 1984: James Oliver Huberty kills 21 people and injures 19 others in a shooting rampage at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, California.
July 19th:
- 1553: Lady Jane Grey is deposed as Queen of England after just nine days on the throne.
- 1848: The first women’s rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York.
- 1961: TWA Flight 841 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 78 people on board.
July 20th:
- 356 BC: The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is destroyed by arson.
- 1969: Apollo 11 lands on the moon, making Neil Armstrong the first human to set foot on its surface.
- 2012: A mass shooting takes place at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.
July 21st:
- 1861: The Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the American Civil War, takes place in Manassas, Virginia.
- 1925: The Scopes Trial, also known as the “Monkey Trial,” begins in Dayton, Tennessee.
- 1969: Sen. Edward Kennedy drives off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
July 22nd:
- 1099: The First Crusade concludes with the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders.
- 1934: Public Enemy No. 1 John Dillinger is shot and killed by FBI agents outside a theater in Chicago, Illinois.
- 2011: A right-wing extremist named Anders Behring Breivik carries out a terrorist attack in Norway, killing 77 people and injuring 319 others.
July 23rd:
- 1829: William Austin Burt receives a patent for the typographer, the first practical typewriter.
- 1903: The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
- 1982: Vic Morrow and two child actors are killed when a helicopter crashes on the set of the film “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”
July 24th:
- 1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI.
- 1911: American explorer Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Picchu in Peru.
- 1969: The Apollo 11 mission returns to Earth, successfully completing the first manned mission to the Moon.
July 25th:
- 306: Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
- 1943: Benito Mussolini is dismissed as Prime Minister of Italy and placed under arrest.
- 1978: The world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in England.
July 26th:
- 657: The first Muslim civil war, the Battle of Siffin, begins in Mesopotamia.
- 1775: The United States Postal Service is established.
- 1945: Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his party’s defeat in the general election.
July 27th:
- 1663: The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act, requiring all goods imported to England to be carried on English ships.
- 1921: Researchers at the University of Toronto discover insulin.
- 2003: Bob Hope, American comedian and actor, dies at the age of 100.
July 28th:
- 1540: Thomas Cromwell is executed for treason in England.
- 1750: Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue is published posthumously.
- 1914: World War I begins with Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia.
July 29th:
- 1030: The Battle of Stiklestad takes place in Norway, resulting in the death of King Olaf II.
- 1958: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is created in the United States.
- 1981: Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles, becoming Princess of Wales.
July 30th:
- 1502: Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage to the Americas.
- 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act Amendments, creating Medicare and Medicaid in the United States.
- 1971: Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin become the first humans to drive a vehicle on the Moon.
July 31st:
- 1498: Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Trinidad during his third voyage to the Americas.
- 1790: The first United States patent is granted to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a process for making potash.
- 1971: Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin complete their third and final moonwalk, ending the fourth manned mission to the Moon.
AUG
August 1st, 1914: Germany declares war on Russia, marking the beginning of World War I.
August 2nd, 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War.
August 3rd, 1492: Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain on his first voyage to the Americas.
August 4th, 1964: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed by the U.S. Congress, authorizing military intervention in Vietnam.
August 5th, 1962: Nelson Mandela is arrested and imprisoned in South Africa for his activism against apartheid.
August 6th, 1945: The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, leading to the end of World War II.
August 7th, 1964: The U.S. Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
August 8th, 1974: Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States due to the Watergate scandal.
August 9th, 1945: The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, leading to the end of World War II.
August 10th, 1792: The French monarchy is abolished and the First French Republic is declared.
August 11th, 3114 BC: The Mayan Long Count calendar begins, marking the start of a new era.
August 12th, 1961: The construction of the Berlin Wall begins, separating East and West Germany.
August 13th, 1961: Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov becomes the second human to orbit the Earth.
August 14th, 1947: Pakistan gains independence from British India.
August 15th, 1947: India gains independence from British rule.
August 16th, 1977: Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” dies at the age of 42.
August 17th, 1807: The British Royal Navy begins a blockade of the port of Copenhagen, leading to the Battle of Copenhagen.
August 18th, 1920: The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote.
August 19th, 1942: The Dieppe Raid takes place, with Canadian and British forces attempting a landing in German-occupied France during World War II.
August 20th, 1991: Estonia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
August 21st, 1959: Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States.
August 22nd, 1485: The Battle of Bosworth Field takes place, ending the Wars of the Roses and leading to the rise of the Tudor dynasty in England.
August 23rd, 1305: Scottish rebel William Wallace is executed by the English.
August 24th, 79 AD: Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
August 25th, 1944: Paris is liberated from Nazi occupation by Allied forces during World War II.
August 26th, 1920: The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution takes effect, granting women the right to vote.
August 27th, 1883: The eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia causes one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic disasters in history.
August 28th, 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom takes place, culminating in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
August 29th, 2005: Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Louisiana, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.
August 30th, 1967: Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court justice.
August 31st, 1997: Princess Diana dies in a car accident in Paris, leading to widespread mourning and global attention.
SEPT
September 1st:
- 1939: Germany invades Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.
- 1985: A joint US-French expedition locates the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
September 2nd:
- 1666: The Great Fire of London begins, destroying much of the city.
- 1945: Japan signs the instrument of surrender, officially ending World War II.
September 3rd:
- 1189: Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England.
- 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany, also marking the beginning of World War II.
September 4th:
- 476: The Western Roman Empire officially ends, as Emperor Romulus Augustus is deposed by the Germanic king Odoacer.
- 1957: The Little Rock Nine, a group of African American students, are escorted to school by the US Army in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the face of violent opposition from segregationists.
September 5th:
- 1698: Tsar Peter the Great imposes a tax on beards in Russia, as part of his efforts to modernize the country.
- 1972: The Palestinian terrorist group Black September carries out an attack on the Israeli Olympic team in Munich, killing 11 athletes and coaches.
September 6th:
- 1901: President William McKinley is shot by an assassin at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
- 1968: Swaziland gains independence from Britain.
September 7th:
- 1812: The Battle of Borodino takes place during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
- 1979: The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the first ever photos of Jupiter’s rings.
September 8th:
- 1504: Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in Florence, Italy.
- 1974: President Gerald Ford grants a full pardon to former President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal.
September 9th:
- 1776: The Continental Congress officially adopts the name “United States” for the newly formed country.
- 2001: The September 11 terrorist attacks take place, with hijacked planes crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
September 10th:
- 1608: John Smith is elected president of the Jamestown colony in Virginia.
- 2008: The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is inaugurated near Geneva, Switzerland.
September 11th:
- 1297: Scottish rebel William Wallace defeats English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
- 2001: The September 11 terrorist attacks take place, with hijacked planes crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
September 12th:
- 1940: A group of German planes bombs Buckingham Palace in London during the Blitz.
- 1959: The Soviet Union’s Luna 2 spacecraft becomes the first man-made object to reach the moon.
September 13th:
- 1759: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Quebec, a turning point in the Seven Years’ War.
- 1993: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shake hands at the White House after signing the Oslo Accords.
September 14th:
- 1814: Francis Scott Key writes “The Star-Spangled Banner” while witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.
- 1901: President William McKinley dies after being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, and is succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
September 15th:
- 1835: The HMS Beagle, carrying a young Charles Darwin, arrives at the Galapagos Islands.
- 1963: Four children are killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement.
September 16th:
- 1620: The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, England, carrying the Pilgrims to North America.
- 1982: The massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Lebanon by Christian Phalangist militiamen begins, resulting in the deaths of hundreds or possibly thousands of people.
September 17th:
- 1787: The United States Constitution is signed by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
- 1862: The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American history, takes place during the American Civil War.
September 18th:
- 1793: George Washington lays the cornerstone of the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
- 1931: The Mukden Incident, a staged explosion on a Japanese-owned railway in Manchuria, China, provides a pretext for Japan’s invasion and occupation of Manchuria.
September 19th:
- 1870: The Prussian Army defeats the French Army at the Battle of Sedan, leading to the fall of the French Empire and the establishment of the Third French Republic.
- 1985: An 8.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Mexico City, killing over 10,000 people and injuring thousands more.
September 20th:
- 1519: Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Spain on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
- 1973: Chilean President Salvador Allende is overthrown in a coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who establishes a military dictatorship that lasts for 17 years.
September 21st:
- 1937: The “Nanking Massacre” begins as Japanese troops capture the Chinese city of Nanking and engage in a campaign of rape, murder, and looting that results in the deaths of an estimated 200,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war.
- 1976: Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean ambassador to the United States, is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by a car bomb planted by agents of the Pinochet regime.
September 22nd:
- 1862: President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all slaves in Confederate-held territory are to be freed.
- 1980: Iraq invades Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War that lasts for eight years and results in the deaths of an estimated 1 million people.
September 23rd:
- 1806: The Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches St. Louis, Missouri, after exploring the western United States for over two years.
- 1952: Vice Presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivers the “Checkers speech,” defending himself against allegations of financial impropriety and saving his place on the Republican ticket.
September 24th:
- 622: The Islamic prophet Muhammad completes his Hijra from Mecca to Medina.
- 1869: Black Friday: The U.S. gold market crashes, leading to the Panic of 1869.
- 1932: The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
September 25th:
- 1066: The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Viking invasions of England.
- 1513: Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.
- 1957: Nine black students are escorted by federal troops to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, United States.
September 26th:
- 1580: Sir Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1934: RMS Queen Mary is launched on the River Clyde.
- 1983: Soviet Union leader Yuri Andropov initiates Operation RYAN, a secret plan to prepare for a possible nuclear war with the United States and NATO.
September 27th:
- 1066: William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman Conquest of England.
- 1905: The physics journal Annalen der Physik publishes Albert Einstein’s paper “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?”
- 1959: Nearly 5,000 people die in an earthquake in the southwestern region of China.
September 28th:
- 48 BC: Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy XIII of Egypt.
- 1928: Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin in a Petri dish.
- 1995: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
September 29th:
- 1789: The United States War Department is established.
- 1911: Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- 2008: The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history.
September 30th:
- 1399: Henry IV is proclaimed King of England.
- 1938: British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signs the Munich Agreement, conceding Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany.
- 2005: Controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad are published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, leading to protests and violence in the Muslim world.
OCT
October 1, 1949: People’s Republic of China was proclaimed by Mao Zedong
October 2, 1869: Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India
October 3, 1990: Germany was reunified after 45 years of separation
October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1
October 5, 1962: The first James Bond film, “Dr. No,” premiered in London
October 6, 1973: The Yom Kippur War began with an attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria
October 7, 1985: Palestinian terrorists hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro
October 8, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire began, eventually destroying over 17,000 buildings
October 9, 1967: Che Guevara, Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, was executed in Bolivia
October 10, 732: Battle of Tours – Charles Martel and his Frankish army defeated an Islamic invasion of Western Europe
October 11, 1986: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland, for talks on nuclear disarmament
October 12, 1492: Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, specifically on an island in the Bahamas
October 13, 1972: A plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and their friends and family crashed in the Andes mountains; the survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive
October 14, 1066: The Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror defeated Harold II of England and became King of England
October 15, 1966: The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California
October 16, 1854: Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and author, was born in Dublin
October 17, 1933: Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany
October 18, 1867: The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia
October 19, 1987: “Black Monday” stock market crash, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by over 22%
October 20, 1973: The “Saturday Night Massacre,” in which President Richard Nixon fired Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus in order to avoid complying with a subpoena
October 21, 1805: The Battle of Trafalgar, in which the British Navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets
October 22, 1962: President John F. Kennedy announced the discovery of Soviet missile bases in Cuba and imposed a naval quarantine on the island
October 23, 1941: The German army began its siege of Moscow during World War II
October 24, 1929: “Black Thursday” stock market crash, which preceded the Great Depression
October 25, 1415: The Battle of Agincourt, in which King Henry V of England defeated the French
October 26, 1979: Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea, was assassinated by his own intelligence chief
October 27th:
- 312: Constantine the Great is said to have had a vision of a cross before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, leading him to convert to Christianity.
- 1795: The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish and American territories.
- 1904: The first New York City Subway line opens, running from City Hall to 145th Street in Manhattan.
October 28th:
- 312: Constantine the Great defeats Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, leading to his rise as emperor of the Roman Empire.
- 1886: The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York Harbor.
October 29th:
- 1618: Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer and writer, is executed in London for his alleged involvement in a plot against King James I.
- 1929: The New York Stock Exchange crashes, leading to the Great Depression.
October 30th:
- 1485: King Henry VII of England defeats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses.
- 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play “The War of the Worlds,” causing panic and hysteria among listeners who believed that a Martian invasion was actually taking place.
October 31st:
- 1517: Martin Luther posts his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
- 1941: Mount Rushmore is completed after 14 years of construction.
NOV
1st November:
- 1512: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, was unveiled to the public.
- 1755: The Lisbon earthquake struck Portugal, killing tens of thousands of people and destroying much of the city.
2nd November:
- 1895: The first shipment of canned pineapple left Hawaii, marking the beginning of the state’s major pineapple industry.
- 1917: The Balfour Declaration, a letter from the British government expressing support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, was issued.
3rd November:
- 1493: Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Puerto Rico during his second voyage to the Americas.
- 1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, which carried the first living animal, a dog named Laika, into orbit.
4th November:
- 1922: The entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
- 2008: Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president of the United States.
5th November:
- 1605: Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the British Parliament, foiling the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the building.
- 1990: Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Jewish Defense League, was assassinated in New York City.
6th November:
- 1860: Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president of the United States.
- 1985: The Colombian city of Armero was destroyed by the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, killing over 20,000 people.
7th November:
- 1917: The Bolshevik Revolution began in Russia, with the seizure of key government buildings in Petrograd.
- 2000: Hillary Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first First Lady to win public office.
8th November:
- 1895: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays while experimenting with cathode rays.
- 1960: John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th president of the United States.
9th November:
- 1989: The Berlin Wall was opened after 28 years of separation between East and West Germany.
- 1938: Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, occurred in Nazi Germany, with the destruction of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.
10th November:
- 1975: The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution declaring Zionism a form of racism.
- 1989: Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov was ousted from power after 35 years of rule.
11th November:
- 1918: World War I officially ended with the signing of the Armistice of Compiègne between the Allies and Germany.
- 1889: Washington became the 42nd state to join the United States.
12th November:
- 1927: Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, marking the beginning of his opposition to Joseph Stalin’s leadership.
- 1954: Ellis Island, the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States, closed its doors after 62 years of operation.
13th November:
- 1985: The Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in Colombia, killing over 20,000 people.
- 1956: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rosa Parks, ending segregation on Montgomery, Alabama’s public buses.
November 14th:
- 1851: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is published in the United States
- 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang begins, marking the first major engagement between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces
November 15th:
- 1864: Union General William T. Sherman begins his “March to the Sea” in the American Civil War
- 1988: The Palestine Liberation Organization proclaims the State of Palestine
November 16th:
- 1532: Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors arrive in Cajamarca, Peru, where they capture Inca emperor Atahualpa
- 1988: Benazir Bhutto becomes the first female prime minister of a Muslim country, Pakistan
November 17th:
- 1558: Elizabeth I accedes to the English throne after the death of her half-sister Mary I
- 1869: The Suez Canal opens in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas
November 18th:
- 1307: William Tell shoots an apple off his son’s head, according to legend in Switzerland
- 1928: Mickey Mouse makes his debut in the cartoon “Steamboat Willie”
November 19th:
- 1863: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address during the American Civil War
- 1998: The United States House of Representatives begins impeachment hearings against President Bill Clinton
November 20th:
- 1789: New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights
- 1985: Microsoft Corporation releases Windows 1.0
November 21st:
- 1783: Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent d’Arlandes make the first manned free balloon flight in Paris, France
- 1974: The Birmingham pub bombings in England kill 21 people and injure 182 others
November 22nd:
- 1718: Blackbeard, the notorious pirate, is killed in battle off the coast of North Carolina
- 1963: U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas
November 23rd:
- 1889: The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco, California
- 1992: The first smartphone, IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX computer expo in Las Vegas, Nevada
November 24th:
- 1859: Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is published, introducing the theory of evolution
- 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is shot and killed by Jack Ruby
November 25th:
- 1783: The last British troops leave New York City, marking the end of the American Revolution
- 1952: Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap opens in London, eventually becoming the longest-running play in history
November 26th:
- 1789: A day of thanksgiving is declared by U.S. President George Washington to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution
- 2008: Terrorists launch coordinated attacks on Mumbai, India, killing 166 people and injuring over 300 others
November 27th:
- 1701: Anders Celsius, the Swedish astronomer and mathematician who invented the Celsius temperature scale, is born
- 1978: San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White
November 28th:
- 1520: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew reach the Pacific Ocean after successfully navigating through the Strait of Magellan, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- 1895: The first automobile race takes place from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois. The winner completes the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes.
November 29th:
- 1530: Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, an English statesman and one of King Henry VIII’s closest advisers, dies while en route to face charges of treason.
- 1947: The United Nations votes in favor of the partition of Palestine into two separate states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.
November 30th:
- 1782: The United States and Great Britain sign a preliminary peace treaty in Paris, officially ending the American Revolutionary War.
- 1966: Barbados gains independence from Great Britain.
DEC
December 1:
- 1913: Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile.
December 2:
- 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
- 1942: The first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, went critical at the University of Chicago.
December 3:
- 1967: The first human heart transplant was performed by South African surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard.
- 1984: Bhopal disaster occurred when a gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India killed more than 3,000 people immediately and more than 15,000 over time.
December 4:
- 1945: The Senate approved the United States participation in the United Nations.
- 1991: Terry Anderson, the longest-held American hostage in Lebanon, was released after 6 years of captivity.
December 5:
- 1933: The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending Prohibition.
- 1955: The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
December 6:
- 1877: Thomas Edison demonstrated the first sound recording, the tinfoil phonograph.
- 1989: École Polytechnique massacre occurred in Montreal, Canada where a man killed 14 women and injured 10 others at a university.
December 7:
- 1941: The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.
- 1972: Apollo 17, the final mission of the United States’ Apollo program, was launched.
December 8:
- 1980: John Lennon was assassinated outside his apartment in New York City by Mark David Chapman.
- 1991: The leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine signed the Belavezha Accords, dissolving the Soviet Union and forming the Commonwealth of Independent States.
December 9:
- 1960: The first episode of the animated television series The Flintstones premiered.
- 1987: The first Palestinian intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation began.
December 10:
- 1901: The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.
- 1948: The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
December 11:
- 1936: Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.
- 1997: The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to address climate change, was adopted by 192 countries.
December 12:
- 1787: Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 2000: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore, effectively ending the recount of votes in Florida and giving the presidency to George W. Bush.
December 13:
- 1642: Dutch navigator Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand.
- 2003: Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, was captured by U.S. forces.
December 14:
- 1799: George Washington, the first president of the United States, died at his home in Virginia.
- 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole.
December 15th:
- 1791: The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, is ratified.
- 1939: Gone with the Wind, one of the most successful and popular films in cinema history, premieres in Atlanta, Georgia.
December 16th:
- 1773: The Boston Tea Party takes place, as American colonists, disguised as Native Americans, dump crates of tea into Boston Harbor to protest against British taxation without representation.
- 1944: The Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front, begins.
December 17th:
- 1903: The Wright Brothers make the first successful powered flight in history, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 2010: Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, sets himself on fire in protest against government corruption and repression, igniting the Arab Spring uprisings.
December 18th:
- 1865: The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, is ratified.
- 1979: The SALT II arms control treaty is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union, but never ratified by the U.S. Senate.
December 19th:
- 1777: George Washington’s Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolution.
- 1998: Bill Clinton becomes the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
December 20th:
- 1803: The Louisiana Purchase, in which the United States acquires approximately 827,000 square miles of French territory west of the Mississippi River for $15 million, is completed.
- 1989: The United States invades Panama to remove dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted on drug trafficking charges.
December 21st:
- 1620: The Mayflower Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, after a 66-day voyage across the Atlantic.
- 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 is blown up by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board, as well as 11 people on the ground.
December 22nd:
- 1807: The Embargo Act, which prohibits all American ships from trading with foreign ports, is signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson, in an attempt to avoid war with Britain and France.
- 1989: Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown and executed, following a popular uprising against his regime.
December 23rd:
- 1783: George Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and returns to civilian life, setting a precedent for the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.
- 1972: The United States begins its massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam, known as Operation Linebacker II, during the Vietnam War.
December 24th:
- 1814: The Treaty of Ghent is signed, ending the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain.
- 1914: During World War I, German and British soldiers on the Western Front hold a spontaneous Christmas truce, playing soccer and exchanging gifts in no man’s land.
December 25th:
- 800: Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.
- 1066: William the Conqueror is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
- 1776: George Washington and his army cross the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1914: During World War I, British and German troops declare an unofficial truce for Christmas Day and exchange small gifts and play football.
- 1991: Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union, marking the end of the Soviet Union.
December 26th:
- 1776: The Battle of Trenton takes place during the American Revolutionary War, resulting in an American victory over Hessian troops.
- 1862: The largest mass execution in American history takes place in Mankato, Minnesota, where 38 Dakota Indians are hanged for their involvement in the Dakota War of 1862.
- 2004: A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggers a tsunami that kills over 200,000 people in 14 countries.
December 27th:
- 537: The Hagia Sophia, a landmark cathedral in Constantinople, is inaugurated by Emperor Justinian I.
- 1831: Charles Darwin sets sail on his journey aboard the HMS Beagle, which would eventually lead to his theory of evolution by natural selection.
- 2007: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a suicide bombing.
December 28th:
- 1612: Galileo Galilei observes the planet Neptune, but mistakes it for a star.
- 1836: Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico.
- 1973: The Endangered Species Act is signed into law by US President Richard Nixon.
December 29th:
- 1170: Archbishop Thomas Becket is assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II of England.
- 1845: Texas is admitted as the 28th state of the United States.
- 1890: The Wounded Knee Massacre takes place in South Dakota, where US Army troops kill over 300 Sioux Indians.
December 30th:
- 1922: The USSR is formed with the signing of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Treaty by the Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, and Transcaucasian SFSR.
- 1947: The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.
- 2006: Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is executed by hanging.
December 31st:
- 1775: The Battle of Quebec takes place during the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a British victory over American forces.
- 1857: Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, Ontario as the capital of Canada.
- 1999: The Panama Canal is handed over from the United States to Panama.