1962 – During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. military forces went on the highest alert in the postwar era in preparation for a possible full-scale war with the Soviet Union. The U.S. blockade of Cuba officially began on this day.
1260 – Qutuz, Mamluk Sultans of Egypt (1259-60), is assassinated by Baibars, a fellow Mamluk leader, who seizes power for himself
1260 – The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
1360 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War
1492 – 24 Jews are burned at the stake in Mecklenburg, Germany
1593 – Alleged teleportation of Spanish soldier Gil Perez from the Philippines to Mexico
1648 – The Holy Roman Empire was effectively destroyed by the Peace of Westphalia that brought an end to the Thirty Years War.
1795 – The country of Poland was divided up between Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow, French army then forced to retreat through the snow towards Smolensk
1861 – The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent when Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to U.S. President Lincoln.
1861 – West Virginia secedes from Virginia
1871 – Mob in Los Angeles, California hangs 18 Chinese
1902 – Santa Maria volcano in Guatemala erupts, killing 6,000 people and becoming one of the three largest eruptions of the 20th century
1929 – In the U.S., investors dumped more than 13 million shares on the stock market. The day is known as “Black Thursday.”
1929 – Belgian princess Marie-Jose & Italian crown prince Umberto get engaged, assassination attempt on Umberto fails
1930 – Coup in Brazil, President Washington Luís was deposed by the heads of the armed forces just 4 years after he came to office. The coup prevented President-elect Júlio Prestes from coming to power and the military junta instead installed Getúlio Vargas as the de facto President of the country.
1938 – US forbids child labor in factories
1939 – Nylon stockings were sold to the public for the first time in Wilmington, DE.
1940 – In the U.S., the 40-hour workweek went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
1945 – The United Nations (UN) was formally established less than a month after the end of World War II. The Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories.
1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket, launched from Whites Sands US, takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
1948 – The term “cold war” was used for the first time. It was in a speech by Bernard Baruch before the Senate War Investigating Committee.
1949 – The cornerstone for the U.N. Headquarters was laid in New York City.
1954 – Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States’ support to South Vietnam
1960 – Disaster on USSR’s Baikonoer launch pad, kills missile expert Nedelin & team (165 die-unconfirmed); USSR claims killed in plane crash
1960 – All remaining American-owned property in Cuba was nationalized. The process of nationalizing all U.S. and foreign-owned property in Cuban had begun on August 6, 1960.
1962 – During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. military forces went on the highest alert in the postwar era in preparation for a possible full-scale war with the Soviet Union. The U.S. blockade of Cuba officially began on this day.
1964 – Zambian independence, The African country gained independence from British rule with the passage of the Zambia Independence Act 1964 by the UK Parliament.
1972 – 2 Catholic men are found dead at a farm at Aughinahinch, near Newtownbbutler, County Fermanagh – British soldiers carry out the killings
1973 – Yom Kippur War ends, Israel 65 miles from Cairo, 26 from Damascus
1986 – Britain broke off relations with Syria after a Jordanian was convicted in an attempted bombing. The evidence in the trial led to the belief that Syria was involved in the attack on the Israeli jetliner.
1989 – American televangelist Jim Bakker is sentenced to 45 years in prison for fraud but the sentence is later reduced to eight years on appeal
1994 – Bomb attack on opposition in Sri Lanka, 55+ killed
2001 – The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that gave police the power to secretly search homes, tap all of a person’s telephone conversation and track people’s use of the Internet.
2002 – Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, D.C.
2003 – In London, the last commercial supersonic Concorde flight landed
2008 – Iceland receives a £1.3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1st European country to require an emergency loan as a result of the financial crisis
2012 – 3 people are shot dead and two critically wounded after being shot by an unknown gunman in Downey, California
2012 – Libyan militias capture Bani Walid resulting in 130 civilian deaths
2016 – Suicide bomb kills 61 and injures 117 at a police training academy in Quetta, Pakistan, ISIS claims responsibility
2017 – Dog doping scandal confirmed by officials of Iditarod, Alaskan dog sled race after dogs test positive for a banned substance
2018 – Pipe bombs sent to prominent US Democrats including the Obamas, Clintons, John Brennan and CNN, but safely defused
2019 – Remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco removed from mausoleum in Valley of the Fallen and reburied in private family vault in Madrid
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
