1845 – Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was published for the first time in the “New York Evening Mirror.”
474 – Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7)
661 – Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.
904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher
1594 – Mathematician John Napier dedicates his “Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John” to King James VI, predicts end of the world in 1688 or 1700
1732 – Paris churchyard of Saint-Medard closed after Jansenistic ritual
1785 – In a surprising announcement, John Hancock resigns as Governor of Massachusetts, allegedly due to his failing health
1802 – John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress.
1820 – Britain’s King George III died insane at Windsor Castle.
1834 – President Jackson orders first use of US troops to suppress a labor dispute
1845 – Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was published for the first time in the “New York Evening Mirror.”
1850 – Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.
1856 – Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, was founded by Queen Victoria.
1861 – In America, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.
1863 – Bear River Massacre: American soldiers slaughter hundreds of Native Americans at the confluence of the Bear River and Beaver Creek in present day Idaho
1886 – The first successful petrol-driven motorcar, built by Karl Benz, was patented.
1905 – Tsar Nicolas II of Russia, unsettled by the rising violence and protest, enacts reforms to improve the conditions of workers; these changes will do little to stop disorder throughout Russia in ensuing months
1912 – Martial law declared in textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts
1916 – In World War I, Paris was bombed by German zeppelins for the first time.
1936 – The first members of major league baseball’s Hall of Fame were named in Cooperstown, NY.
1942 – German & Italian troops occupy Benghazi, Libya
1942 – Peru and Ecuador sign Protocol of Rio (boundary determination)
1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy, is launched
1958 – Charles Starkweather was captured by police in Wyoming.
1959 – Smog pollution with readings higher than the 1952 ‘Great Smog of London’ hits London, with many suffering chest and lung-related illnesses
1959 – Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” released
1963 – The first members to the NFL’s Hall of Fame were named in Canton, OH.
1963 – Britain was refused entry into the EEC.
1973 – International agreement to pay for and conserve 9th century Borobudur Temple in Indonesia, world’s largest Buddhist temple (completed 1982). Beginnings of the World Heritage Convention.
1978 – Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban
1979 – U.S. President Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House. The visit followed the establishment of diplomatic relations.
1979 – US President Jimmy Carter commutes Patty Hearst’s 7 year jail sentence to 2 years
1987 – “Physician’s Weekly” announced that the smile on the face of Leonardo DeVinci’s Mona Lisa was caused by a “…facial paralysis resulting from a swollen nerve behind the ear.”
1989 – USSR’s Phobos II enters Martian orbit
1990 – Joseph Hazelwood, the former skipper of the Exxon Valdez, went on trial in Anchorage, AK, on charges that stemmed from America’s worst oil spill. Hazelwood was later acquitted of all the major charges and was convicted of a misdemeanor.
1996 – President Jaques Chirac announced the “definite end” to France’s nuclear testing program just 1 day after the country exploded a nuclear device in the South Pacific.
1997 – America Online agreed to give refunds to frustrated customers under threat of lawsuits across the country. Customers were unable to log on after AOL offered a flat $19.95-a-month rate.
1998 – A bomb exploded at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL, killing an off-duty policeman and severely wounding a nurse. Eric Rudolph was charged with this bombing and three other attacks in Atlanta.
1999 – Paris prosecutors announced the end of the investigation into the accident that killed Britain’s Princess Diana.
1999 – The U.S. Senate delivered subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and two presidential advisers for private, videotaped testimony in the impeachment trial.
2001 – In Indonesia, thousands of student protesters stormed the parliament property and demanded that President Abdurrahman Wahid quit due to his alleged involvement in two corruption scandals. Wahid announced that he would not resign.
2002 – George W. Bush coins the term “axis of evil” as part of his State of the Union Address, The term used to describe “regimes that sponsor terror” became exemplary for the terminology used by the Bush administration to promote its “war on terror”.
2005 – The first direct commercial flights from the mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrives in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier lands in Beijing.
2014 – Archaeologists announced that they had uncovered what they believed to be the oldest temple in Roman antiquity. The temple was found at the Sant’Omobono site in central Rome.
2015 – Malaysia officially declares the disappearance of missing flight MH370 an accident
2017 – Attack on mosque in Quebec kills 6 and injures 17, shooter is French Canadian student
2018 – Cleveland Indians announce they will remove “Chief Wahoo” caricature logo from uniforms in 2019
2018 – Toronto police arrest landscaper Bruce McArthur for murder after remains of at least 5 people found in potted plants
2019 – Tehran, Iran bans dog walking in public, and driving with dogs
2021 – Nigerian farmers win landmark case against Shell at Court of Appeal of the Hague – held accountable for oil spills and ordered to carry out a clean-up in Delta region
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
