1845 – Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was published for the first time in the “New York Evening Mirror.”
0474 – Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7)
0661 – Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.
0904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
1258 – Mongols defeated by Dai Viet at the battle of Dong Bo Dau
1594 – Mathematician John Napier dedicates his “Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John” to King James VI, predicts end of the world in 1688 or 1700
1613 – Galileo observes Neptune but fails to recognize what he sees
1732 – Paris churchyard of Saint-Medard closed after Jansenistic ritual
1785 – In a surprising announcement, John Hancock resigns as Governor of Massachusetts, allegedly due to his failing health
1802 – John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress.
1820 – Britain’s King George III died insane at Windsor Castle.
1845 – Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was published for the first time in the “New York Evening Mirror.”
1850 – Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.
1856 – Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, was founded by Queen Victoria.
1861 – In America, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.
1886 – The first successful petrol-driven motorcar, built by Karl Benz, was patented.
1905 – Tsar Nicolas II of Russia, unsettled by the rising violence and protest, enacts reforms to improve the conditions of workers; these changes will do little to stop disorder throughout Russia in ensuing months
1907 – Republican Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the 1st Native American US Senator
1914 – U.S. Marines land in Haiti to protect U.S. consulate
1916 – In World War I, Paris was bombed by German zeppelins for the first time.
1922 – Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador dissolved
1924 – R. Taylor patented the ice cream cone rolling machine.
1936 – 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
1942 – Peru & Ecuador sign Protocol of Rio (boundary determination)
1944 – 285 German bombers attack London
1949 – “The Newport News” was commissioned as the first air-conditioned naval ship in Virginia
1958 – Charles Starkweather was captured by police in Wyoming.
1959 – Smog pollution with readings higher than the 1952 ‘Great Smog of London’ hits London, with many suffering chest and lung-related illnesses
1963 – The first inductees to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, are revealed. They include Earl Lambeau, Earl (Dutch) Clark, and Sammy Baugh
1967 – In Ottawa Terrorists bomb Yugoslav Embassy in Ottawa and Consulate in Toronto
1978 – Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban.
1979 – U.S. President Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House. The visit followed the establishment of diplomatic relations.
1985 – New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield found not guilty of possession of marijuana, claims it was planted
1987 – “Physician’s Weekly” announced that the smile on the face of Leonardo DeVinci’s Mona Lisa was caused by a “…facial paralysis resulting from a swollen nerve behind the ear.”
1989 – Episcopal Church of the United States, Diocese of Massachusetts elects Barbara Harris as its first female bishop
1990 – Joseph Hazelwood, the former skipper of the Exxon Valdez, went on trial in Anchorage, AK, on charges that stemmed from America’s worst oil spill. Hazelwood was later acquitted of all the major charges and was convicted of a misdemeanor.
1996 – French President Jacques Chirac announced the “definitive end” to nuclear testing.
1997 – America Online agreed to give refunds to frustrated customers under threat of lawsuits across the country. Customers were unable to log on after AOL offered a flat $19.95-a-month rate.
1998 – A bomb exploded at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL, killing an off-duty policeman and severely wounding a nurse. Eric Rudolph was charged with this bombing and three other attacks in Atlanta.
1999 – The U.S. Senate delivered subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and two presidential advisers for private, videotaped testimony in the impeachment trial.
2001 – In Indonesia, thousands of student protesters stormed the parliament property and demanded that President Abdurrahman Wahid quit due to his alleged involvement in two corruption scandals. Wahid announced that he would not resign.
2002 – US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes “regimes that sponsor terror” an “Axis of Evil”, which includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea
2009 – Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois, is removed from office after being convicted of corruption charges
2014 – Archaeologists announced that they had uncovered what they believed to be the oldest temple in Roman antiquity. The temple was found at the Sant’Omobono site in central Rome.
2015 – Malaysia officially declares the disappearance of missing flight MH370 an accident
2017 – Attack on mosque in Quebec kills 6 and injures 17, shooter is French Canadian student
2018 – Cleveland Indians announce they will remove “Chief Wahoo” caricature logo from uniforms in 2019
2019 – Tehran, Iran bans dog walking in public, and driving with dogs
2021 – Nigerian farmers win landmark case against Shell at Court of Appeal of the Hague – held accountable for oil spills and ordered to carry out a clean-up in Delta region
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
