1945 – The U.S. Congress officially recognized the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
0457 – Roman armies proclaim Majorian Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
1065 – New church devoted to St Peter the Apostle built by Edward the Confessor – later called the ‘west minister’ consecrated in London (rebuilt mid 13th century)
1308 – The reign of Emperor Hanazono, emperor of Japan, begins
1537 – French king Francis I issues decree to booksellers and printers requiring them to deposit their work in the King’s Library, world’s first legal depository requirement
1612 – Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star
1694 – Queen Mary II of England died after five years of joint rule with her husband, King William III.
1732 – “The Pennsylvania Gazette,” owned by Benjamin Franklin, ran an ad for the first issue of “Poor Richard’s Almanack.”
1767 – King Taksin crowned King of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as his capital
1781 – Comte de Rochambeau and Nicolas Luckner are the last generals to be made Marshal of France by Louis XVI before the Revolution
1832 – John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down over differences with President Jackson.
1835 – Second Seminole War between United States and Native Americans begins with the Dade Massacre in Sumter County, Florida; Senminole fighters kill nearly all 110 of US Army troops under Major Francis Langhorne Dade
1836 – Mexico’s independence was recognized by Spain.
1846 – Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.
1867 – United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits.
1869 – William E. Semple, of Mt. Vernon, OH, patented an acceptable chewing gum.
1895 – In Paris, The Lumire brothers have their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines marking the debut of the cinema.
1902 – The first professional indoor football game was played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Syracuse defeated the Philadelphia Nationals 6-0.
1908 – An earthquake killed over 75,000 at Messina in Sicily.
1912 – The first municipally-owned street cars were used on the streets of San Francisco, CA.
1917 – The New York Evening Mail published a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken on the history of bathtubs in America.
1921 – The beginning of the Rand Rebellion in Southern Africa; the rebellion started as a strike by white mineworkers on and became an open armed rebellion against the state
1931 – Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China
1934 – Stalin used the assassination of an aide as an opportunity to execute more than one hundred officials, beginning a series of purges that eliminated most of the old Bolsheviks
1943 – All Kalmyk inhabitants of the Republic of Kalmukkie deported by the Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia. Many die en route
1944 – Dutch Resistance fighter Corrie ten Boom is accidentally released from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, living to speak and educate of her experience in “The Hiding Place”
1945 – The U.S. Congress officially recognized the “Pledge of Allegiance.” https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/pledge-of-allegiance-day-december-28
1950 – The Peak District became Britain’s first designated National Park.
1958 – “The Greatest Game Ever Played”: Baltimore Colts win the 26th NFL championship against the New York Giants 23-17 at Yankee Stadium, in the first ever sudden-death overtime game in NFL history. 17 future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were involved in the game.
1968 – Israel raid on Beirut Airport – The Israeli Defence Forces mounted a special operation, also known as Operation Gift, on Beirut Airport. The raid was in retaliation to the attack on El Al Flight 253, which was en route from Tel Aviv to New York. During its layover in Athens, Greece, two Palestinians fired at passengers and crew and killed 1 person. In retaliation, Israel destroyed several passenger and cargo planes parked at Beirut Airport. There were no fatalities during the raid.
1970 – Paul Rose, his brother Jacques Rose, and Francis Simard captured at 4;30 am in tunnel under farmhouse near Montreal; suspected FLQ terrorists, kidnappers and murderers of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte
1972 – Kim il Sung becomes first president of North Korea
1973 – The Chamber of Commerce of Akron, OH, terminated its association with the All-American Soap Box Derby. It was stated that the race had become “a victim of cheating and fraud.”
1974 – Senegalese marxist group Reenu-Rew founds the political movement And-Jf at a clandestine congress.
1980 – Mexico terminated fishing agreements with US
1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, VA.
1982 – Nevell Johnson Jr. was mortally wounded by a police officer in a Miami video arcade. The event set off three days of race related disturbances that left another man dead.
1985 – Warring Lebanese Moslem & Christian leaders sign peace agreement
1987 – The bodies of 14 relatives of R. Gene Simmons were found at his home near Dover, AR. Simmons had gone on a shooting spree in Russellville that claimed two other lives.
1989 – Alexander Dubcek, who had been expelled from the Communist Party in 1970, was elected speaker of the Czech parliament.
1991 – Nine people died in a rush to get into a basketball game at City College in New York.
1995 – Pressure from German prosecutors investigating pornography forced CompuServe to set a precedent by blocking access to sex-oriented newsgroups on the Internet for its customers.
1999 – Saparmurat Niyazov is proclaimed President for Life in Turkmenistan.
2000 – U.S. District Court Judge Matsch held a hearing to ensure that confessed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh understood that he was dropping his appeals. McVeigh said that he wanted an execution date, set but wanted to reserve the right to seek presidential clemency.
2001 – OPEC oil ministers meeting in Cairo agree to reduce their crude oil output quotas by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day
2005 – A U.S. immigration judge orders John Demjanjuk deported to Ukraine for crimes against humanity committed during World War II
2007 – Nepal abolishes monarchy – The amendment to the Nepalese constitution that declared the country a federal republic was passed by the parliament. The transition was completed on May 28, 2008. Established in 1768 by Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Kingdom of Nepal lasted for over 200 years. Nepal is the world’s only country with Hinduism as the state religion
2012 – Vladimir Putin signs into law a ban on US adoption of Russian children
2013 – Early signs of Ebola epidemic: 2 year old child in Guinea dies of an unidentified hemorrhagic fever; mother, sister and grandmother soon follow
2015 – Japan and South Korea reach agreement over WWII “comfort women”, Japan apologies and pays 1bn yen compensation
2017 – Iranian woman Vida Mohaved arrested for protesting against policy of compulsory hijab, sparking other protests
2019 – Jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabaab sets off a truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 84 people and wounding over 150
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
