1985 – Dian Fossey, an American naturalist, was found murdered at a research station in Rawanda.
0537 – Hagia Sophia inaugurated by the Emperor Justinian I as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral
1512 – Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World
1521 – The “Zwickau Prophets” appear in Wittenberg
1657 – “Flushing Remonstrance” petition signed in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, protesting the ban on Quaker worship
1703 – The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England.
1814 – Destruction of schooner Carolina, the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson’s makeshift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
1831 – Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin’s discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis of his theories on evolution.
1845 – Dr. Crawford Williamson Long used anesthesia for childbirth for the first time. The event was the delivery of his own child in Jefferson, GA.
1892 – Foundation Stone of Cathedral of St John laid (NYC)
1900 – Carrie Nation staged her first raid on a saloon at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, KS. She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles that could be seen.
1904 – James Barrie’s play “Peter Pan” premiered in London.
1915 – US Iron and Steel workers begin a 3-week strike in Ohio for a eight-hour-day; they are successful as the US needs steel for armaments
1918 – Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919 begins, The revolt against the Germans began in Poznań after a speech by the Polish Prime Minster, Ignacy Paderewski. The uprising led to newer territory being added to Poland in the Treaty of Versailles.
1924 – The US signs a treaty with the Dominican Republic, which supersedes that of 1907: in July, the Us had withdrawn its Marines and ended its occupation
1932 – Emperor Hirohito of Japan narrowly evades an assassination attempt by a Korean independence activist, Lee Bong-chang
1937 – German immigration officials with no explanation bar Juan Carlos Zabala (Arg), 1932 Olympic marathon champion, from entering Germany
1945 – The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.
1947 – The children’s television program “Howdy Doody,” hosted by Bob Smith, made its debut on NBC.
1949 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted sovereignty to Indonesia after more than 300 years of Dutch rule.
1951 – In Cincinnati, OH, a Crosley automobile, with a steering wheel on the right side, became the first vehicle of its kind to be placed in service for mail delivery.
1965 – The BP oil rig Sea Gem capsized in the North Sea, with the loss of 13 lives.
1968 – “The Breakfast Club” signed off for the last time on ABC radio, after 35 years on the air.
1971 – Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock of Charles Schulz’ “Peanuts” comic strip were on the cover of “Newsweek” magazine.
1975 – Explosion at Chasnala Colliery collapses drowning 350 in Dhanbad, India
1978 – Spain adopted a new constitution and became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
1979 – Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan. Babrak Karmal succeeded President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed.
1983 – Pope John Paul II personallt forgives Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot him (Later pardoned in June 2000)
1985 – Palestinian guerrillas opened fire inside the Rome and Vienna airports. A total of twenty people were killed, including five of the attackers, who were slain by police and security personnel. President Reagan blames Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
1985 – Dian Fossey, an American naturalist, was found murdered at a research station in Rawanda. https://gorillafund.org/who-we-are/dian-fossey/dian-fossey-bio/
1992 – The U.S. shot down an Iraqi fighter jet during what the Pentagon described as a confrontation between a pair of Iraqi warplanes and U.S. F-16 jets in U.N.-restricted airspace over southern Iraq.
1996 – Muslim fundamentalist Taliban forces retook the strategic air base of Bagram, solidifying their buffer zone around Kabul, the Afghanistan capital.
1997 – In Northern Ireland, Billy Wright was assassinated. He was imprisoned as a Protestant paramilitary leader.
2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush granted China permanent normal trade status with the United States.
2002 – North Korea ordered U.N. nuclear inspectors to leave the country and said that it would restart a laboratory capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons.
2002 – Clonaid announced the birth of the first cloned human baby. The baby had been born December 26.
2002 – In Chechnya, at least 40 people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the administartion of Grozny.
2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
2007 – Benazir Bhutto assassinated, The former Prime Minister of Pakistan was killed after a shooting and the detonation of a suicide bomb while campaigning for the upcoming elections in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
2008 – Israel launches Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, beginning with an airstrike that hits 100 targets in 220 seconds killing around 250 people
2009 – The World Health Organization says 208 countries, territories and communities have reported H1N1 cases, including at least 12,220 deaths
2015 – Iraqi forces retake IS held city of Ramadi (ISIS first captured in May)
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
