557 Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, is significantly damaged by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake
1287 During St. Lucia’s Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history
1542 Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old
1702 The Forty-seven Ronin (leaderless samurai), under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master in Japan
1812 The French invasion of Russia, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, officially ends with the French having lost as many as 530,000 people
1819 Alabama admitted to Union as 22nd state
1836 The Toledo War unofficially ends, boundary dispute between Ohio state and territory of Michigan
1900 Birth of Quantum Physics: German Physicist Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law
1900 France and Italy sign a secret agreement by which Italy recognizes France’s right to exploit Morocco in return for France’s conceding her the same right in Tripoli
1903 Orville Wright made the first attempt at powered flight. The engine stalled during take-off and the plane was damaged in the attempt. Three days later, after repairs were made, the modern aviation age was born when the plane stayed aloft for 12 seconds and flew 102 feet.
1911 Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole. He reached the destination 35 days ahead of Captain Robert F. Scott.
1914 US President Woodrow Wilson signs Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, to regulate and tax production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products
1918 Sinn Féin candidates win 73 of 105 Irish seats in UK general election, though all will refuse to take seats in Westminster, instead meeting at a Dail Eireann in Dublin
1944 US Congress establishes rank of General of Army (5-star General)
1947 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida
1962 The U.S. space probe Mariner II approached Venus. It transmitted information about the planet’s atmosphere and surface temperature.
1980 Massacre at Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in Los Angeles with 3 people killed and 6 injured
1981 Israel annexed the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in war in 1967.
1984 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from Monday Night Football
1987 Chrysler pled no contest to federal charges of selling several thousand vehicles as new when Chrysler employees had driven the vehicles with the odometer disconnected.
1990 Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
1993 The United Mine Workers approved a five-year contract that ended a strike that had reached seven states and involved some of the nation’s biggest coal operators.
1995 The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments ending the conflict in the former Yugoslavia including Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović, Franjo Tuđman and Bill Clinton
1999 Charles M. Schulz announced he was retiring the “Peanuts” comic strip. The last original “Peanuts” comic strip was published on February 13, 2000.
2001 The first commercial export, since 1963, of U.S. food to Cuba began. The 24,000 metric tons for corn were being sent to replenish what was lost when Hurricane Michelle struck on November 4.
2008 President George W. Bush make his fourth and final trip to Iraq as president and is almost struck by two shoes thrown at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi during a farewell conference in Baghdad
2016 University of Toronto scientists present findings of the world’s oldest water – 2 billion years old from a mine in Canada
2017 Suicide bomber kills at least 18 police officers at a training centre parade in Mogadishu, Somalia, Islamic group al-Shabab claim responsibility
2020 Russia revealed to have been behind massive cyberattack on US government agencies and private companies since the Spring
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
