1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit in the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the only player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game
1384 – The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting over thema case considered equal to the act of destroying stamped government documents, which by law necessitated one hundred floggings by a bamboo rod. However, the Hongwu Emperor decided to pardon them, seeing as how their intention was not to tear up the money
1501 – Michelangelo awarded the contract to create his statue of David at Florence Cathedral by the Overseers of the Office of Works (the Operai) of the Duomo
1513 – Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) – King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who were forced to retreat.
1665 – The arrival of 12 mares and 2 stallions; gift of Louis XlV to start a new breed of Canadian horse.
1743 – Champion of England titleholder Jack Broughton publishes ‘Rules of the Ring’ – earliest boxing code
1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England’s minutemen routed the British regulars.
1792 – Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal
1812 – War of 1812: General Hull surrenders Detroit and Michigan territory to British forces under the command of Major General Sir Isaac Brock, who capture Fort Detroit with the help of Indigenous warriors led by Tecumseh
1819 – Eleven people die and 400 are injured by cavalry charges at the Peterloo Massacre at a public meeting at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, England
1829 – The “Siamese twins,” Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston, MA. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist.
1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
1842 – In New York City, the U.S. government took over operations of the City Despatch Post. This was the first congressionally authorized local postage delivery.
1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
1861 – U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.
1869 – Battle of Acosta: A Paraguay battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the War of the Triple Alliance
1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.
1907 – Mulay Hafid is proclaimed the Sultan of Morocco by supporters leading to civil war; Mulay is supported by Germany while France supports the existing Sultan
1908 – The Committee of Union and Progress, ‘The Young Turks’, announces a program for reforms and respect for the rights of all within the Ottoman Empire, regardless of race or religion
1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit in the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the only player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game
1923 – Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees.
1930 – The first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games.
1937 – Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration.
1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California
1944 – U.S. War Department issues a statement that bombing Auschwitz would divert air power from “decisive operations elsewhere.”
1946 – Direct Action Day: Widespread riots erupt in Calcutta between Muslims and Hindus over whether Pakistan should be a separate state, killing over 4,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless
1953 – Shah of Persia Mohammad Reza Pahlavi & princess Soraya flee to Baghdad & Rome
1954 – Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.
1960 – Cyprus was granted independence by Britain.
1964 – Vietnam War: A coup d’tat replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy
1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
1971 – Over 8,000 workers go on strike in Derry, Northern Ireland, in protest at the introduction of Internment (allowing suspected terrorists to be indefinitely detained without trial)
1972 – The Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon, in an unsuccessful coup d’tat attempt, Hassan II of Morocco’s plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
1977 – Elvis Aaron Presley, often referred as the “King of Rock and Roll” dies https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-dies
1984 – LA federal jury acquits auto maker John Z DeLorean on cocaine charges
1984 – The U.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization.
1987 – First Day of Harmonic Convergence. The largest worldwide meditation event lasted for 2 days and was organized by new-age author José Argüelles.
1988 – IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence
1991 – John Gutfreund announces his resignation as chief executive of Salomon Brothers amid illegal bidding scandal
1995 – Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britai
2003 – U.S. Representative from South Dakota Bill Janklow hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near Trent, South Dakota; he will eventually be convicted of manslaughter and will resign from Congress.
2012 – 113 people are killed and over 200 wounded in a series of attacks across Iraq
2012 – South African police open fire on striking mine workers and kill at least 34 people
2017 – Baltimore city council removes confederate statues under cover of darkness in response to Charlottesville violence
2017 – Lebanon parliament abolishes article 522, which exempted rapists from prosecution if they married their victim
2018 – Pope Francis and the Vatican issues statement in support of the 300 victims of “predator priests” in Pennsylvania
2018 – World’s first floating dairy farm opens in Merwehaven harbour, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with 40 cows milked by robots
2020 – At least 17 people killed in attack on beach resort in Mogadishu, Somalia, by al-Shabab group
2020 – Biggest protests in Thailand in six years as 10,000 people demonstrate in Bangkok for reforms of the government and the monarchy
2021 – US President Joe Biden says “I stands squarely behind my decision” to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, despite sudden collapse of the country to the Taliban
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
