1974 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill requiring all states to lower the maximum speed limit to 55 MPH. The law was intended to conserve gasoline supplies during an embargo imposed by Arab oil-producing countries. Federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.
0366 – The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire
1235 – Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names
1492 – Muhammad XI, the leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain, surrendered to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.
1570 – Tsar Ivan the Terrible’s march to Novgorod begins
1788 – Georgia became the 4th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.
1811 – US Sen Thomas Pickering is 1st senator censured (revealed confidential documents communicated by the president of the US)
1839 – Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre took the first photograph of the Moon.
1842 – In Fairmount, PA, the first wire suspension bridge was opened to traffic.
1860 – Urban Le Verrier announces the discovery of the planet Vulcan, Despite a thorough search, the planet was never actually sighted.
1865 – Welterweight Con Orem & heavyweight Hugh O’Neill brawl for 185 rounds before darkness ends legendary bare knuckle boxing match in Virginia City, Montana
1872 – Brigham Young, the 71-year-old leader of the Mormon Church, was arrested on a charge of bigamy. He had 25 wives.
1882 – The Standard Oil Trust agreement was completed and dated. The document transferred the stock and property of more than 40 companies into the control of nine trustees lead by John D. Rockefeller. This was the first example of what became known as a holding company.
1890 – Alice Sanger became the first female White House staffer.
1900 – U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China.
1900 – The Chicago Canal opened.
1903 – US President Theodore Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Miss, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black
1905 – Elara, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine in San Jose, California
1905 – Japanese troops capture Port Arthur from Russia, a blow to national morale and causing further discontent within Russia
1920 – Responding to global fear of communism caused by the Russian Revolution, US Attorney General Palmer authorizes raids across the country on unionists and socialists
1921 – The first religious broadcast on radio was heard on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, PA, as Dr. E.J. Van Etten of Calvary Episcopal Church preached.
1923 – The African-American town of Rosewood, Fla., was burned by a white mob. (compensation awarded in 1995)
1929 – The United States and Canada reached an agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.
1934 – 1st state liquor stores open, in Pennsylvania
1935 – Bruno Richard Hauptmann went on trial for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindberghs baby. Hauptmann was found guilt and executed.
1942 – The Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.
1955 – Panamanian President Jose Antonio Remon was assassinated.
1959 – The first spacecraft to fly by the Moon and also to orbit the Sun, Mechta (Luna 1) was launched by the USSR.
1960 – U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
1960 – John Reynolds sets age of solar system at 4,950,000,000 years
1964 – Failed assassination attempt on President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
1968 – Fidel Castro announced petroleum and sugar rationing in Cuba.
1971 – Spectator crush at Ibrox Park in Glasgow, Scotland as Rangers supporters leave the ground with home team 0-1 behind to Old Firm rivals Celtic; 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries; Rangers score late for 1-1
1974 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill requiring all states to lower the maximum speed limit to 55 MPH. The law was intended to conserve gasoline supplies during an embargo imposed by Arab oil-producing countries. Federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.
1975 – US Department of Interior designates grizzly bear a threatened species
1979 – Sid Vicious’ trial for murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen begins
1981 – The “Yorkshire Ripper” is caught, Peter Sutcliffe confessed to murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
1983 – The final edition of Garry Trudeau’s comic strip, “Doonesbury”, appeared in 726 newspapers. “Doonesbury” began running again in September 1984.
1984 – Major-General Muhammadu Buhari is declared Head of State in Nigeria, following a military coup
1985 – The Rebels of UNLV beat Utah State in three overtime periods. The final score of 142-140 set a new NCAA record for total points in a basketball game (282). The game took over three hours to play.
1988 Ashland Oil storage tank spills 3.8 million gallons, Pittsburgh, Pa
1990 – Sting joins pro wrestling’s legendary “4 Horsemen” (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson)
1996 – The US deploys troops in Northern Bosnia with the intention of maintaining order and peace between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims
1996 – AT&T announced that it would eliminate 40,000 jobs over three years.
1998 – Russia began circulating new rubles in effort to keep inflation in check and promote confidence.
2004 – NASA’s Stardust space probe collected samples from the comet Wild 2. The samples returned to Earth on January 15, 2006.
2008 – The price of oil hit $100 per barrell for the first time.
2014 – Raúl Castro gives a speech commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Cuban revolution and warns of “neo-liberal and neo-colonial thinking” entering the country
2016 – Saudi Arabia executes 47 alleged terrorists, including Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr
2017 – US House Republicans vote to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, a public uproar forces them to back down the next day
2018 – WHO reveals it will classify gaming addiction as mental health condition in its next Classification of Diseases
2022 – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigns in a televised address amid political deadlock after a rejection of his deal with the military by pro-democracy forces
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
