February 28th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

202 BC Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty’s rule over China

1710 In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock

1854 Republican Party formally organized in Ripon, Wisconsin

1915 WWI: After the French try to drive the Germans forces back into the Champagne region, they gain a few hundred yards – at the cost of 50,000 casualties

1947 February 28 Massacre: Anti-government uprising in Taiwan is violently put down by Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang-led Republic of China government with the loss of 18,000-28,000 lives. Marks the beginning of the White Terror.

1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discover the chemical structure of DNA-molecule (double-helix polymer) using studies of x-ray diffraction developed by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins

1991 Gulf War ends after Iraq accepts a ceasefire following their retreat from Kuwait

Today’s Historical Events

202 BC Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty’s rule over China

364 Valentinian I becomes Roman Emperor (rules till 375)

870 8th Ecumenical council ends in Constantinople

1570 Anti-Portuguese uprising on Ternate, Moluccas

1638 Scottish Presbyterians sign National Convent, Greyfriars, Edinburgh

1646 Roger Scott tried in Massachusetts for sleeping in church

1653 -Mar 3] 3 Day Sea battle English beat Dutch

1667 English colony Suriname comes under Dutch controls

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1940 1st televised basketball game (U of Pitts beats Fordham U, 50-37)

1951 8th Golden Globes: “Sunset Boulevard”, Jose Ferrer, & Gloria Swanson win

1957 14th Golden Globes: The King and I, Kirk Douglas, & Ingrid Bergman win

1966 23rd Golden Globes: “Doctor Zhivago“, Omar Sharif, & Samantha Eggar win

1970 KIIN (now KUN) TV channel 12 in Iowa City, IA (PBS) 1st broadcast

1970 WUTR TV channel 20 in Utica-Rome, NY (ABC) begins broadcasting

1971 WDRB TV channel 41 in Louisville, Kentucky (IND) begins broadcasting

1983 Final TV episode of “M*A*S*H”, a 2-hour special directed by series star Alan Alda titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen”, airs (CBS); record 125 million watch in the US

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1728 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Siroe, re di Persia” premieres in London

1819 1st public performance of a Franz Schubert‘s song “Schäfers Klageleid”

1862 Charles Gounod’s opera “La Reine de Saba” premieres in Paris

1888 Vincent d’Indy’s Wallenstein-trilogy, premieres

1904 Vincent d’Indy’s 2nd Symphony in B, premieres

1920 Maurice Ravel‘s orchestral suite “Le tombeau de Couperin” premieres in Paris

1925 “Tea For Two” by Marion Harris hits #1

1950 “Alive & Kicking” closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 46 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1844 6th Grand National: John Crickmere wins aboard 5/1 co-favourite Discount

1849 11th Grand National: Tom Cunningham wins aboard 20/1 Peter Simple; 2nd consecutive year there are 3 equine fatalities during the race

1903 Barney Dreyfuss & James Potter buy Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000

1904 Football club Sport Lisboa (Benfica) founded in Lisbon, Portugal

1906 Stanley Cup: Ottawa HC beats Queen’s University (Kingston, ON), 12-7 for a 2-0 sweep of challenge series

1912 Australian batting great Victor Trumper scores 50 in his final Test innings in 5th Test loss v England at Sydney Cricket Ground

1925 Longest win streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (9 games)

1929 Chic Black Hawks lose record NHL 15th straight game at home

February 27 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1693 1st women’s magazine “Ladies’ Mercury” published in London, England

1900 In London, the Trades Union Congress and the Independent Labour Party (formed in 1893) meet, results in a Labour Representative Committee and eventually the modern Labour Party in 1906

1933 Nazi Germany’s parliament building “The Reichstag” is destroyed by fire; possibly set by the Nazis, who blame and execute Dutch Communist Marinus van der Lubbe

1940 Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14 (radiocarbon dating) at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California

1950 General Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist China

1957 Mao’s famous speech to the Supreme State Conference “On Correct Handling of Contradictions Among People” expounding Maoist ideals

2012 Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million emails from private intelligence company Stratfor

Today’s Historical Events

837 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet

1526 Saxony and Hesse form League of Gotha (league of Protestant princes)

1531 Evangelical German towns form Schmalkaldische Union

1557 1st Russian Embassy arrives in London

1594 Henry IV crowned King of France

1626 Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci

1665 Battle at Elmina, Gold Coast: Vice-admiral De Ruyter beats English

1667 Abraham Crijnssen conquers Fort Willoughby (Zeelandia), Suriname

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1935 7th Academy Awards: “It Happened One Night”, Clark Gable, and Claudette Colbert win

1941 13th Academy Awards: “Rebecca”, James Stewart & Ginger Rogers win

1957 Premiere of only prime-time network TV show beginning with an “X”: “Xavier Cugat Show” on NBC (until X-Files)

1964 Erwin Drake’s musical “What Makes Sammy Run?”, starring Steve Lawrence, Robert Alda, and Sally Ann Howes, opens at 54th St Theater, NYC; runs for 540 performances

1965 Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray’s musical “High Spirits”, based on Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit”, closes at Alvin Theater, NYC, after 375 performances

1968 CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite delivers a scathing editorial on America’s chances of winning the Vietnam War

1986 The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis

1996 American film production company “Happy Madison Productions” is founded by Adam Sandler

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1563 British composer William Byrd is appointed organist at Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln, England

1814 Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 8 in F major premieres in Vienna

1854 German composer Robert Schumann saved from suicide attempt in Rhine River

1977 Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards gets suspended sentence for heroin possession in Canada

1977 Swedish pop group ABBA arrives in Australia for the first time, sparking “ABBA-mania”

1980 22nd Grammy Awards: Song of the Year – Kenny Loggins’ “What A Fool Believes”; Best Album – Billy Joel‘s “52nd Street”

1981 Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder record the single “Ebony & Ivory”

1990 “Hold On” single released by Wilson Phillips (Billboard Song of the Year 1990)

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1850 12th Grand National: Chris Green wins aboard Irish outsider Abd-El-Kader; goes on to become first dual winner and first to win in consecutive years

1856 18th Grand National: George Stevens wins aboard 25/1 Freetrader; first of Stevens’ record 5 GN victories

1874 Baseball 1st played in England at Lord’s Cricket Ground

1921 US Female Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard; US male Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger

1925 Test Cricket debut of Clarrie Grimmett, who took 5-45 & 6-37 v England

1936 Dutch swimmer Willy den Ouden sets new women’s world 100m freestyle record (1:04.6) in Amsterdam; lasts 22 years until broken in 1956 by Dawn Fraser of Australia

1937 Australian cricketer Don Bradman scores 169 in 5th Test match v England in 223 minutes, ensuring Australia wins the Ashes 3-2

1959 Boston Celtic Bob Cousy sets NBA record with 28 assists Boston Celtics score 173 points against Minneapolis Lakers

February 26 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1616 Roman Inquisition delivers injunction to Galileo demanding he abandon his belief in heliocentrism, which states the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun

1797 Bank of England issues first £1 note

1815 Napoleon Bonaparte and his supporters leave Elba to start a 100 day re-conquest of France

1885 Berlin Conference gives Congo to Belgium and Nigeria to Great Britain

1935 RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt

1991 Coalition planes bomb Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait during the Gulf War, killing hundreds and creating the so-called ‘Highway of Death

2005 Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, orders the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections, asking Egyptian parliament to amend Article 76

Today’s Historical Events

747 BC Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era

364 Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor

1266 Battle of Benevento fought in Southern Italy between Manfred of Sicily and army of Charles of Anjou

1401 English Catholic priest William Sawtrey convicted of heresy and later becomes 1st Lollard martyr to be publicly burnt at the stake

1534 Pope Paul II affirms George van Egmond as bishop of Utrecht

1548 Ottoman fleet under Piri Reis retakes the port of Aden (modern Yemen) from the Portuguese

1590 Mauritius of Nassaus sails to Breda

1597 Cornelis de Houtman‘s Dutch fleet departs Bali and sets sail for the Netherlands

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1916 Mutual signs Charlie Chaplin to a film contract

1920 German silent horror film classic “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari” starring Werner Krauss is released

1947 4th Golden Globes: “The Best Years of Our Lives”, Gregory Peck, & Rosalind Russell win

1953 10th Golden Globes: “The Greatest Show on Earth”, Gary Cooper, & Shirley Booth win

1955 Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green’s musical “Peter Pan”, starring Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard, closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 152 performances

1960 Vera Miles stars in”Mirror Image” episode of CBS anthology series “The Twilight Zone”

1966 KBIM TV channel 10 in Roswell, NM (CBS) begins broadcasting

1975 1st televised kidney transplant (Today Show)

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1869 Franz Schubert‘s Symphony number 4, “The Tragic”, premieres

1917 1st jazz records recorded – “Dixie Jazz Band One Step” and “Livery Stable Blues” by Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Company

1930 Play “Green Pastures” opens at Mansfield Theater

1950 Jerome Robbin’s ballet choreographed to Leonard Bernstein‘s “Age of Anxiety” premieres at the New York City Center Theater

1970 Carole Bayer (Sager) and George Fischoff’s musical “Georgy” opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances

1970 The Beatles release “Hey Jude” compilation album in US (originally to be titled “Beatles Again”)

1973 8th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Donna Fargo win

1975 “Night… Made America Famous” opens at Barrymore, NYC; runs for 75 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1839 1st Grand National steeplechase, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool: Jem Mason wins aboard 5/1 favourite Lottery

1851 13th Grand National: Terry Abbott wins aboard Irish stallion Abd-El-Kader at 7/1; first dual winner and first to win back-to-back

1859 Paul Morphy‘s chess match vs Augustus Mongredien begins; Morphy wins

1887 George Lohmann took 1st 8-wkt haul in test cricket, 8-35 at Sydney Cricket Ground

1918 Stands at Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse & burn, killing 604

1930 West Indies make 1st Test Cricket win, by 289 runs over England

1935 NY Yankees release Babe Ruth, he signs with Boston Braves

1938 Rie Van Veen swims world record 200m free style (2:24.6)

February 25th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1570 Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign. Also absolves her subjects from allegiance to the crown.

1862 First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America

1910 Dalai Lama flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops

Today’s Historical Events

138 The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor

1095 Council of Rockingham: bishop Anselmus vs King William II Rufus

1358 Dalmatie flees Venice

1502 Austrian emperor Maximilian I reformats government machine

1570 Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign. Also absolves her subjects from allegiance to the crown.

1601 Robert Devereux, English 2nd Earl of Essex, executed for treason against the Crown of England

1605 Portuguese garrison on Ambon surrenders to Admiral Van der Haghen

1623 Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1901 George M. Cohan‘s 1st Broadway musical “The Governor’s Son”opens at the Savoy Theatre, NYC; runs for 32 performances

1940 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians)

1950 “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC. Writers include Mel BrooksNeil Simon and Woody Allen.

1980 British political comedy “Yes Minister” written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, starring Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds premieres on BBC Two

1986 28th Grammy Awards: “We Are the World”, Sade, Phil Collins win

1990 On a BBC taped interview, rock star Stevie Nicks breaks down, saying that she will never have children & no man can stand her for long

1991 Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy buy CFL’s Toronto Argonauts

1995 Singer Frank Sinatra performs for final time before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, in Palm Desert, California, on the closing night of his charity golf tournament

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1904 J M Synge’s “Riders to the Sea” opens at Irish National Theater Society

1911 Victor Herbert’s opera “Natoma” premieres at Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1944 Alexander Gretchaninov‘s “Missa Oecumenica” (Ecumenical Mass) premieres in Boston with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the composer wrote the work in memory of the conductor’s wife Natalie (1880-1942)

1951 “Michael Todd’s Peep Show” closes at Winter Garden, NYC, after 278 performances

1953 Leonard BernsteinBetty Comden and Adolph Green‘s musical “Wonderful Town”, starring Rosalind Russell, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 559 performances, wins 5 Tony Awards

1957 Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit “That’ll Be the Day” in Clovis, New Mexico

1960 John Cage’s “Music for Amplified Toy Pianos” premieres

1963 Beatles release their 1st US single – “Please Please Me”

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1904 Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games

1924 Marie Boyd scores 156 points in Maryland HS basketball game (163-3)

1925 US Men’s Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles

1930 Brilliant West Indian cricket batsman George Headley completes twin tons (114 & 112) in 3rd Test win against England at Georgetown, British Guiana

1933 Major NFL rule changes (hash mark 10 yds in, posts on goal line)

1933 New York industrialist Thomas Yawkey purchases Boston Red Sox for $1.25 million

1941 Boston Bruins set NHL record of 23-game unbeaten streak (15-0-8)

1952 VI Winter Olympic Games close at Oslo, Norway

February 24th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V‘s troops beat the French. French King Francois I captured, 15,000 killed or wounded

1582 Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar

1739 Battle of Karnal: Army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah

1821 Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero agree to the Plan of Iguala, stating that Mexico will become a constitutional monarchy, Roman Catholicism the official religion and that Peninsulares and Creoles will enjoy equal political and social rights

1868 US House of Representatives vote 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson

1946 General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina

2008 Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years

2022 Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine to “demilitarize” the country moments before Russia launches a full-scale pre-dawn invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities amid international condemnation [1] [2]

Today’s Historical Events

1152 English cleric and writer Geoffrey of Monmouth consecrated as Bishop of St Asaph at Lambeth

1208 St Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy

1296 Pope Boniface VIII decree Clericis Iaicos

1387 King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda

1389 Battle at Falköping: Danes defeat King Albert of Sweden

1496 England’s Henry VII ends commercial dispute with Flanders

1510 Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice

1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V‘s troops beat the French. French King Francois I captured, 15,000 killed or wounded

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1955 12th Golden Globes: “On The Waterfront”, Marlon Brando, & Judy Garland win

1969 “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” film based on novel by Muriel Spark directed by Ronald Neame, starring Maggie Smith (Academy Award Best Actress) premieres in London

1969 26th Golden Globes: “The Lion in Winter”, Peter O’Toole, & Joanne Woodward win

1970 KVDO TV channel 3 in Salem, OR (IND) begins broadcasting

1980 Revival of Brian Clark’s stage drama “Whose Life is it Anyway?” starring Mary Tyler Moore and James Naughton, and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, opens at the Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 96 performances

1987 American radio and television personality Larry King suffers a heart attack

1989 Stalker Margaret Ray found in David Letterman‘s home, claims to be his wife

1999 41st Grammy Awards: “My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)” and Lauryn Hill win

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1607 Claudio Monteverdi’s opera “L’Orfeo” premieres in Mantua, oldest opera still regularly performed

1711 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Rinaldo” premieres at Haymarket theatre in London

1939 Roy Harris‘ 3rd Symphony premieres in Boston

1951 “Bless You All” closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 84 performances

1955 Cole Porter‘s final Broadway musical “Silk Stockings”, loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel’s “Ninotchka”, opens at the Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs for 478 performances

1956 Walter Piston‘s 5th Symphony, commissioned by the Juilliard School of Music for their 50th anniversary, premiere performance by the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Jean Morel

1962 “New Faces of ’62” closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 28 performances

1962 “Sail Away” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 167 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1917 Red Sox sell Smokey Joe Wood, his arm dead at 26, to Cleveland for $15,000

1932 Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 253.96 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida

1952 Canada wins 6th Olympic ice hockey title courtesy of a final round 3-3 tie with the US at the Oslo Winter Games; Canadian center Billy Gibson top scores with 19 points

1952 Norway goes 1-2 in the men’s ski jumping event at the Oslo Winter Olympics with Arnfinn Bergmann winning gold ahead of teammate Torbjørn Falkanger

1960 Austria goes 1-2 in the men’s slalom at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics; Ernst Hintersteer wins gold ahead of teammate Hias Leitner

1963 5th Daytona 500: Tiny Lund driving for Wood Bros Racing, wins on 4 pit stops as first 10 laps run under caution flag because of rain

1968 Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games

1974 Dutch speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes Women’s Allround World Champion at Heerenveen, Netherlands, her third consecutive title and fourth in 5 years

February 23rd Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1455 Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date)

1540 Francisco Vázquez de Coronado‘s expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the 7 cities of Cibola

1836 Alamo besieged for 13 days until March 6 by Mexican army under General Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed

1904 United States acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million

1945 US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Pulitzer Prize winning photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture

1954 1st mass inoculation against Polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1998 Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders

Today’s Historical Events

1455 Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date)

1540 Francisco Vázquez de Coronado‘s expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the 7 cities of Cibola

1574 France begins 5th “holy war” against Huguenots

1660 Charles XI becomes king of Sweden

1668 Fire in the Hofburg in Vienna, Emperor Leopold I rescued

1672 Joan Blaeus publishers destroyed by fire in Amsterdam

1689 Dutch prince William III proclaimed King of England

1778 Baron von Steuben joins Continental Army at Valley Forge

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1939 11th Academy Awards: “You Can’t Take It With You”, Spencer Tracy & Bette Davis wins

1939 Lou Thesz beats Everett Marshall in St Louis, to win the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight C’ship for a 2nd time

1940 Walt Disney’s animated movie “Pinocchio” released

1950 7th Golden Globes: “All the King’s Men”, Broderick Crawford, and Olivia de Havilland win

1956 13th Golden Globes: “East of Eden”, Ernest Borgnine, & Anna Magnani win

1959 KVIE TV channel 6 in Sacramento-Stockton, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1964 The Beatles’ 3rd appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, featuring 3 performances taped on February 9, prior to their debut

1969 Groundbreaking TV documentary series “Civilisation” presented by art historian Kenneth Clark premieres on BBC2 in the UK

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1792 Joseph Haydn’s 94th Symphony in G premieres

1957 “Mr Wonderful” closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 383 performances

1963 Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in “La traviata”

1971 George Harrison is fined & his driving license is suspended for 1 year

1978 20th Grammy Awards: “Hotel California”; Fleetwood Mac; Debbie Boone win

1979 “Sarava” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 140 performances

1979 George Harrison releases “George Harrison” album, featuring the single “Blow Away”

1981 People magazine features drug ordeal of Mackenzie & Papa John Phillips

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1874 Major Walter Clopton Winfield patents a game called “sphairistike” (lawn tennis)

1895 Jaap Eden skates world record 10km (17:56)

1906 Tommy Burns beats Marvin Hart in 20 for heavyweight boxing title

1934 Casey Stengel becomes manager of Brooklyn Dodgers

1938 Joe Louis retains his world heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Nathan Mann in round 3 at Madison Square Garden, New York; second defence by Louis

1939 Lou Thesz beats Everett Marshall in St Louis, to win the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight C’ship for a 2nd time

1952 Following his Nordic combined gold medal in St. Moritz (1948), Heikki Hasu takes his 2nd Olympic gold as part of Finland’s 4 x 10k cross country relay team at the Olso Winter Games

1952 Lydia Wideman of Finland becomes first female Olympic cross-country skiing champion; wins inaugural 10k event in Olso; Finnish medal sweep with minors to Mirja Hietamies and Siiri Rantanen

February 22, 2023 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

303 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia, ordering all churches to be closed and scriptures burnt

1632 Galileo‘s “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems” is published

1774 British House of Lords rules authors do not have perpetual copyright

1797 The Last Invasion of Britain, launched by the French during the Revolutionary Wars, begins near Fishguard, Wales

1825 Russia & Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary

1967 25,000 US and South Vietnamese troops launch Operation Junction City against the Viet Cong. Largest US airborne assault since WWII.

Today’s Historical Events

303 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia, ordering all churches to be closed and scriptures burnt

896 Pope Formosus crowned Arnulf King of Carinthia and Holy Roman Emperor

1071 Battle of Cassel; Robert I the Frisian defeats Arnulf III/I

1281 Simon de Brion elected Pope Martinus IV

1288 Girolamo Masci elected Pope Nicolas IV

1300 Pope Boniface VIII issues papal bull (decree) instating a Jubilee Year, granting forgiveness of sins and debts for those who fulfill various conditions

1349 Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland

1415 English King Henry V lays the foundation stone for Syon Abbey for nuns of the Bridgettine Order. Became one of the wealthiest abbeys in England.

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1858 Dion Boucicault‘s play “Jessie Brown” premieres in NYC

1934 “It Happened One Night” directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert opens at NY’s Radio City Music Hall (Academy Awards Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay 1935)

1935 “The Little Colonel” premieres starring Shirley TempleLionel Barrymore and Bill Robinson, featuring famous stair dance with Hollywood’s first interracial dance couple

1936 Sonja Henie of Norway follows up her Winter Olympics victory with an incredible 10th consecutive women’s World Championship figure skating gold medal in Paris, France

1951 4th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): “All About Eve” Best Film

1958 15th Golden Globes: “The Bridge on the River Kwai“, Alec Guinness, & Joanne Woodward win

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1878 Peter Tchaikovsky‘s 4th Symphony in F premieres at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow [February 10 O.S.]

1941 Paul Creston’s 1st Symphony premieres

1941 Roy Harris‘ “Ballad of a Railroad Man” premieres

1943 Plane crash in the Tagus River, Lisbon, Portugal kills 23 with 15 survivors including singer Jane Froman

1950 Brockway & Weinstock publish “Men of Music” (rev ed)

1958 “Portotino” closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 3 performances

1963 Beatles begin their own music publishing company (Northern Songs)

1964 Beatles arrive back in England after their 1st US visit

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1860 Organized baseball played in San Francisco for 1st time between the Eagles and the Red Rovers

1888 “Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends

1892 Manitoba Rugby Football Union forms

1893 1st Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 32-22 in Birmingham

1927 ARC soccer team forms in Alphen on the Rhine

1933 Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 272.46 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida

1936 Sonja Henie of Norway follows up her Winter Olympics victory with an incredible 10th consecutive women’s World Championship figure skating gold medal in Paris, France

1952 German husband and wife team Ria and Paul Falk win the mixed pairs gold medal at the Oslo Winter Olympics; defeat American siblings, Karol and Peter Kennedy

February 21 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury

1613 Michael Romanov, son of Patriarch of Moscow, elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov

1804 1st locomotive, Richard Trevithick’s, runs for the 1st time, along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

1916 World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)

1922 Britain declares Egypt a sovereign state

1972 Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing

Today’s Historical Events

362 Athanasius returns to Alexandria

1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury

1245 Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after having confessed to torture and forgery

1431 Joan of Arc‘s first day of interrogation during her trial for heresy

1440 The Prussian Confederation is formed

1564 Philip II routes Cardinal Granvelle to Franche-Comte

1574 Spanish garrison of Middelburg, Netherlands, surrenders

1583 Groningen, Netherlands, begins using Gregorian calendar

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1944 “War As It Happens” news show premieres on NBC TV (NYC only)

1947 Whipper Billy Watson beats Bill Longson, to become wrestling champ

1949 US TV soap opera “A Woman to Remember” is 1st broadcast on DuMont Television Network

1950 WOI TV channel 5 in Ames-Des Moines, IA (ABC/PBS) begins broadcasting

1952 9th Golden Globes: “A Place in the Sun”, Fredric March, & Jane Wyman win

1981 Charles Rocket clearly says “f*ck” on “Saturday Night Live”

1982 Musical review of Fats Waller songs “Ain’t Misbehavin'” starring Nell Carter and Irene Cara, closes at Longacre Theater, NYC, after 1604 performances, winning 3 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards

1990 “The Batman Theme” by Danny Elfman wins Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition at 32nd Annual Grammy Awards

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1911 Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, Berceuse élégiaque, in New York City

1923 Andre Charlot’s musical “Rats” premieres in London

1927 Franz Lehár’s opera “Der Zarewitsch” premieres

1958 “Portotino” opens at Adelphi Theater, NYC; runs for 3 performances

1964 UK flies 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to US

1976 Cliff Jones’ theatrical rock opera “Rockabye Hamlet”,starring Beverly D’Angelo closes at Minskoff Theater, NYC, after 7 performances

1982 “Little Me” closes at Eugene O’Neill Theater NYC after 36 performances

1990 32nd Grammy Awards: “Wind Beneath My Wings”; “Nick of Time” win

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1931 Chicago White Sox & NY Giants play 1st exhibition night game

1948 NASCAR is incorporated

1951 South Carolina House of Representatives urges “Shoeless Joe” Jackson be reinstated by Major League Baseball

1953 Longest collegiate basketball game (6 OTs) Niagara beats Siena 88-81

1957 Dodgers (Fort Worth) & Cubs (LA) “trade” minor league franchises

1960 Biathlon debuts at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics; Klas Lestander from Sweden becomes the first Olympic champion ahead of Finland’s Antti Tyrväinen and Soviet Aleksandr Privalov

1968 Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of $10,000

1969 Ted Williams signs 5-year contract to manage Washington Senators

February 20 Tody in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1792 US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance

1872 New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens

1873 British Naval Officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and claims it for the United Kingdom

1938 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany

1944 Battle of Eniwetok: US forces take Enewetak Atoll at the cost of 37 Americans killed or missing and 94 wounded, Japanese losses were 800 dead and 23 prisoners

1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence

1962 John Glenn becomes the 1st American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7

Today’s Historical Events

1280 Japanese Imperial Court orders all temples and shrines to pray for victory in the impending second Mongol invasion

1472 Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment

1525 Swiss & German mercenaries desert Francois I’s army

1547 King Edward VI of England crowned following the death of his father Henry VIII

1613 Gerard Reynst appointed Governor-General of Dutch East Indies

1619 Trial against Johan van Oldenbarnevelt begins in The Hague for alleged crimes against the federal government

1653 Defeat of Dutch fleet under Adm Van Tromp by Admiral Blake off Portsmouth

1673 1st recorded wine auction held in London

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1944 Batman & Robin comic strip premieres in newspapers

1952 “African Queen” film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is released in the US

1956 WOSU TV channel 34 in Columbus, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting

1958 Adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”, starring Yul Brynner and featuring William Shatner‘s film debut, premieres at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

1971 National Emergency Center erroneously orders US radio & TV stations to go off the air. Mistake wasn’t resolved for 30 minutes

1978 4th People’s Choice Awards: John Wayne and Barbra Streisand (Motion Picture), and James Garner and Mary Tyler Moore (TV) win

1978 Bob Backland beats “Superstar” Billy Graham in NYC, to become WWF wrestling champion

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1724 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” premieres at the King’s Theatre in Haymarket, London

1816 Gioachino Rossini‘s comic opera “Barber of Seville” premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy

1917 Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton & P.G. Wodehouse’s musical “Oh, Boy!” opens at the Princess Theatre, NYC; runs for 463 performances

1934 Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s opera “Four Saints in Three Acts” opens on Broadway at the 44th Street Theatre, NYC

1940 Larry Clinton & his Orchestra record “Limehouse Blues”

1959 Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle; fired from the band after the 1st set due to “wild” playing

1965 Beatles record “That Means A Lot”; unhappy with the results, it was given to P.J. Proby to record, the Beatles version was unreleased until 1996 on Anthology 2

1977 Revival of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s musical “My Fair Lady” closes at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC, after 377 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1912 Argentina beats the MCC in their inaugural 1st-class cricket fixture at the Buenos Aires Cricket Club; lose the second and third games of the series

1919 Foundation NHL club Toronto Arenas are permitted to cease operations due to financial difficulties; later become Toronto St. Patricks and then Maple Leafs

1923 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson becomes President and owner of Boston Braves; buys the team for $300,000 with NY attorney Judge Emil Fuchs and Bostonian James McDonough

1926 Montreal and Ottawa battle out just the second 0-0 tie in NHL history; dominant goalies are Clint Benedict (Maroons) and Alex Connell (Senators)

1929 Boston Red Sox announce they will play Sunday MLB games at Braves Field; Fenway Park located too close to a church

1952 American alpine skier Andrea Mead-Lawrence is only multi-gold medallist at the Oslo Winter Olympics when she wins the slalom, after taking out the inaugural giant slalom

1952 Britain’s Jeannette Altwegg wins the Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal at the Olso Winter Games ahead of American Tenley Albright, who goes on to win in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956)

1952 Emmett Ashford is certified to be first black umpire in organised baseball; has to wait until 1966 for MLB debut

February 19 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples

1600 Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in South American recorded history

1878 Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his gramophone (phonograph)

1942 About 150 Japanese warplanes attack the Australian city of Darwin
1945 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines

Today’s Historical Events

197 Battle of Lugdunum [Battle of Lyon]: Lucius Septimius Severus‘ army beats Clodius Albinus at Lyon

356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples

607 Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

842 Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates the veneration of icons in churches

1512 French troops under Gaston de Foix occupy Brescia

1516 Consecration of the Lady Chapel, part of Westminster Abbey, by Henry VII, called “one of the most perfect buildings ever erected in England” [1]

1539 Jews of Tyrnau Hungary (then Trnava Czech), expelled

1574 Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer & Jisp, Netherlands

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1922 Ed Wynn becomes 1st talent to sign as a radio entertainer

1942 Dutch actors protest obligatory membership of Culture Chamber

1947 CBS radio premiere of Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasilieras No 3”

1960 Bil Keane’s “Family Circus” cartoon strip debuts

1968 Children’s educational TV program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuts on NET (now PBS)

1971 British TV chat show “Parkinson” debuts on BBC1 presented by Michael Parkinson

1978 Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green‘s musical “On The Twentieth Century”, starring John Cullum and Madeline Kahn, and Kevin Kline, and directed by Hal Prince, opens at the St. James Theatre, NYC; runs for 449 performances, wins 5 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards

1985 British soap opera “Eastenders” premieres on the BBC

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1736 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Alexander’s Feast” premieres at the Covent Garden Theatre, London

1910 English premiere of Richard Strauss‘ opera “Elektra”

1914 Riccardo Zandonai’s opera “Francesco da Rimini” premieres in Turin

1923 Jean Sibelius‘ 6th Symphony premieres

1942 Tommy Dorsey & his orchestra record “I’ll Take Tallulah”

1949 “Inside USA” closes at Century Theater, NYC, after 339 performances

1958 Carl Perkins leaves Sun Records for Columbia Records

1964 UK flies ½ ton of Beatles wigs to the US

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1928 Canada retains the Olympic ice hockey title when they rout Switzerland, 13-0 in the final round in St. Moritz; Canadian left-wing Dave Trottier top scores with 15 points

1928 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins his 3rd consecutive Olympic men’s figure skating gold medal at St. Moritz; one of only 2 athletes to win gold at both Winter & Summer Games (won figure skating Antwerp 1920)

1928 II Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland

1928 World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932

1942 NY Yankees announce 5,000 uniformed soldiers admitted free at each of their upcoming home games

1946 Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is 1st major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican League

1952 American defending champion Dick Button becomes first figure-skater to land a triple jump in competition; performs a triple loop in the Olympic free skate in Oslo; wins gold medal ahead of Austria’s Helmut Seibt

1960 Swedish cross country skier Sixten Jernberg follows his 50k gold medal in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956) with victory in 30k event at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics

2022 Historical Events The Good, The Bad and The Why Did This Have to Happen

Click Here for More 2022 Worldwide Historical Events

Feb 24 Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine to “demilitarize” the country moments before Russia launches a full-scale pre-dawn invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities amid international condemnation [1] [2]

Mar 29 In a major victory for Ukraine, Russia announces it is withdrawing its badly mauled forces from around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv

Jun 24 US Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, eliminating constitutional right to choose abortion, in a 6-3 vote [1] [2]

Aug 3 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the first speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, prompting condemnation from the Chinese Communist Party [1]

Sep 8 Queen Elizabeth II dies at Balmoral Castle after ruling for 70 years, as the UK’s longest-serving monarch. Her eldest son inherits the throne as King Charles III[1]

Dec 7 After widespread public protests China announces a major loosening of COVID-19 restrictions for the whole country, allowing home quarantine and scrapping QR codes, effectively ending China’s zero-COVID policy [1]

2022

Click Here for More 2022 Historical Events in Flim and TV

Jan 10 79th Golden Globes: Best film “The Power of the Dog” (drama), “West Side Story” (comedy/musical), Best TV series “Succession”, Best Director Jane Campion (Motion Picture)

Jan 26 Spotify removes Neil Young‘s music from its streaming platform after the singer-songwriter’s ultimatum in objection to COVID-19 misinformation in Joe Rogan‘s podcasts [1]

Feb 13 Super Bowl LVI halftime show features Hip Hop legends Dr. DreSnoop DoggKendrick Lamar and Mary J. BligeEminem and 50 Cent

Feb 15 Revival of Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC

Mar 1 DC film “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz, directed and written by Matt Reeves premieres in New York

Mar 9 American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Mar 13 75th BAFTA awards: Best Film “The Power of the Dog”, Best Director Jane Campion, acting awards Joanna Scanlan, Will Smith

2022

Click Here for More 2022 Historical Events in Music

Jan 3 Rock singer David Lee Roth cancels his pre-retirement residency in Las Vegas due to “unforeseen circumstances related to COVID…”

Jan 10 79th Golden Globes: Best film “The Power of the Dog” (drama), “West Side Story” (comedy/musical), Best TV series “Succession”, Best Director Jane Campion (Motion Picture)

Jan 26 Spotify removes Neil Young‘s music from its streaming platform after the singer-songwriter’s ultimatum in objection to COVID-19 misinformation in Joe Rogan‘s podcasts [1]

Feb 8 BRIT Awards: Adele wins best artist, song and album of the year

Feb 13 Super Bowl LVI halftime show features Hip Hop legends Dr. DreSnoop DoggKendrick Lamar and Mary J. BligeEminem and 50 Cent

Feb 15 Revival of Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC

Mar 8 UK band Glass Animals’ song “Heat Waves” sets new record of 59 weeks for longest time to reach No. 1 on US Billboard Top 100 [1]

Mar 9 American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Click Here for More 2022 Historical Events in Sports

Jan 1 Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozen becomes first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beaters on consecutive days; hits 3-pointers to beat Washington Wizards, 120-119 and previous night Indiana Pacers, 108-106

Jan 3 Scotsman Peter Wright wins his second PDC World Darts Championship; beats Michael Smith of England, 7-5 at the Alexandra Palace in London

Jan 6 Tennis world No. 1 Novak Đoković’s visa into Australia cancelled after uproar over his COVID-19 vaccination exemption

Jan 10 College Football, National Championship, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana: #3 Georgia beats #1 Alabama, 33-18

Jan 16 Unvaccinated World #1 tennis player Novak Đoković is deported by the Australian government on “health and good order” grounds, without playing in the Australian Open

Jan 18 Boston Bruins retire Willie O’Ree’s #22 jersey, on the 64th anniversary of his becoming the NHL’s first Black player [1]

Jan 23 Buffalo wide receiver Gabriel Davis scores an NFL playoff record 4 TDs in the Bills’ epic 42-36 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in their divisional-round playoff at Arrowhead Stadium

Jan 25 Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle becomes NHL’s new “Iron Man” with his 965th consecutive regular-season game, breaking Doug Jarvis’s all-time record, in a 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders [1]

Jan 29 Australian Open Women’s Tennis: World #1 Ash Barty wins her home Grand Slam event for the first time; beats American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6

Jan 30 AFC Championship, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri: Cincinnati Bengals beat Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24 OT

December 24th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1565 Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against inquisition

1814 Treaty of Ghent signed, ending the War of 1812 between the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies

1936 1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California

1943 US President FDR appoints General Eisenhower Supreme Commander of the Allied forces

Today’s Historical Events

563 The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.

640 John IV begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1046 Pope Clement II, [Suitger] elected

1294 Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani chosen as Pope Boniface VIII

1476 400 Burgundian soldiers freeze to death during siege of Nancy

1515 Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England

1565 Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against inquisition

1568 Uprising of Moriscos in Granada

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1860 Actor Joseph Jefferson’s dramatization of “Rip Van Winkle” premieres in NYC

1922 BBC broadcasts first British radio play “The Truth about Father Christmas”

1951 1st opera commissioned for television – “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Gian Carlo Menotti premieres on NBC with the NBC Opera Theater

1953 KHOL (now KHGI) TV channel 13 in Kearney, NB (ABC) begins broadcasting

1953 KOA (now KCNC) TV channel 4 in Denver, CO (NBC) begins broadcasting

1968 WATU (now WAGT) TV channel 26 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting

1970 Walt Disney releases animated musical “The Aristocats” featuring voices of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Sterling Holloway, and Scatman Crothers

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1818 Christmas carol “Silent Night” composed by Franz Xaver Gruber is first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria

1871 Giusseppi Verdi’s “Aida” opera premieres in Cairo, Egypt

1906 Reginald Fessenden becoomes 1st to broadcast music over radio (disputed)

1920 Enrico Caruso gives his last public performance, with the Metropolitan Opera in NYC

1966 Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau’s musical “A Joyful Noise”, starring John Raitt, closes at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC, after 12 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1889 Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake

1921 Ottawa’s Harry Broadbent scores in 10-0 Senators blowout of the Montreal Canadiens; first in 16-game NHL record goal-scoring streak; Charlie Simmer’s 13 game streak (1979) is considered modern-day record

1927 Test Cricket debut of Walter Hammond, who scored 51 & took 5-36 v S Af

1950 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Cleveland Browns beat LA Rams, 30-28; Cleveland has 5 interceptions, Rams 1

1961 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium, San Diego: Houston Oilers beat San Diego Chargers 10-3; Billy Cannon scores game’s only TD

1968 Ballon d’Or: Manchester United’s winger George Best wins award for best European football player ahead of teammate Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Džajić; first Northern Irish national to win the award

1969 Curt Flood writes to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn refusing to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him and in favor of free agency [1]

1974 MLB St Louis Cardinals Lou Brock is named Sportsman of the Year

December 23 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist

1688 King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch flees to France from William of Orange

1783 US General George Washington resigns his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to Congress

1888 Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor, after argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and sends to a prostitute for safe keeping

1920 Government of Ireland Act / Home Rule Act passed partitioning Ireland

1954 The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts

Today’s Historical Events

438 The Theodosian Code of Roman laws proclaimed in the Western Empire (first law reforms since 295)

619 Boniface V begins his reign as Catholic Pope

962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist

1482 The Peace of Atrecht (now Arras) concluded between Louis XI of France and Maximilian of Austria, ending the War of the Burgundian Succession

1493 Georg Alt’s German translation of Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle is published.

1588 “The Day of the Dagger” Henry, Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League is assassinated by the bodyguards of King Henry III at the Château de Blois

1620 French Huguenots declare war on King Louis XIII

1672 Giovanni Cassini discovers Rhea, a satellite of Saturn

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1911 Frank Wedekind‘s play “Oaha, die Satire der Satire” premieres in Munich

1924 German silent film classic “The Last Laugh” directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Emil Jannings is released

1928 NBC sets up a permanent, coast-to-coast radio network

1930 Bette Davis arrives in Hollywood under contract to Universal Studios

1938 Margaret Hamilton‘s costume catches fire while filming “The Wizard of Oz

1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game

1961 KICU TV channel 43 in Visalia-Fresno, CA (IND) begins broadcasting

1966 Britain’s rock TV show “Ready Steady Go” last program

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1893 Opera “Hansel und Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck and his sister Adelheid Wette premieres in Weimar, conducted by Richard Strauss

1911 Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari‘s opera “I Gioielli Della Madonna” premieres at the Kurfürstenoper in Berlin, Germany, sung in German as “Der Schmuck der Madonna”

1915 Jerome Kern and Schuyler Greene’s musical farce “Very Good Eddie” premieres at the Princess Theatre, NYC; runs for 341 performances

1943 Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel & Gretel” becomes 1st complete opera to be telecast (WGRB, Schenectady, New York)

1948 “Cinderella” the first full-length ballet by Frederick Ashton with music by Sergei Prokofiev is first presented by Sadler’s Wells Ballet at Covent Garden, London

1958 Musical revue “Party with Comden & Green” opens at John Golden Yheater, NYC; runs for 38 performances

1974 Dmitri Shostakovich‘ son cycle “Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti” premieres in Leningrad

1974 Revival of Ray Henderson, B.G. DeSylva, and Lew Brown’s musical “Good News” opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 16 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1866 First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY

1923 Yankees pitcher Carl Mays sold to Reds for $85,000

1933 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz scores in 3-0 win v Detroit Red Wings; his NHL record 249th career goal

1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game

1953 Dodgers 2nd baseman Jim Gilliam wins NL Rookie of Year

1957 Test cricket debut for all-time great Australian wicketkeeper Wally Grout and future captain and coach Bobby Simpson, 1st Test v South Africa in Johannesburg

1969 Ballon d’Or: Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera wins award for best European football player ahead of Cagliari forward Luigi Riva and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller

1972 “Immaculate Reception” Steelers turns around a 7-6 defeat with a last second touchdown reception against Raiders to win 13-7

December 22 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1790 Supposedly impenetrable Turkish fortress of Izmail stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92)

1877 Thomas Edison‘s Phonograph is announced by Scientific American

1885 Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan

1989 After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu

1990 Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland’s 1st popularly elected president

2010 Repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy”, a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama

Today’s Historical Events

401 St. Innocent I begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1135 Norman nobles recognize Stefanus van Blois as English king

1216 Pope Honorius III delegates decree “Religiosam vitam eligentibus”

1465 Peace of St Truiden: Louis van Bourbon becomes bishop of Liège

1536 English scholar Reginald Pole appointed cardinal

1590 Army of Moroccan Pasha Ahmad al-Mansur begins its epic 135 day crossing of the Saharan desert on his way to defeat the Songhai Empire

1596 Ferryboat Meuniers crashes in Paris, 150 die

1642 Pope Urbanus VIII publishes decree In eminente

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1932 “The Mummy” directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff is released in the US – 1st Mummy horror film

1948 KPIX TV channel 5 in San Francisco, California (CBS) begins broadcasting

1952 WSBA (now WPMT) TV channel 43 in York, PA (IND) begins broadcasting

1957 KWRB (now KFNE) TV channel 10 in Lander-Riverton, WY (ABC) begins

1964 American comedian Lenny Bruce is convicted of obscenity

1965 “Doctor Zhivago” based on the novel by Boris Pasternak, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie premieres in NYC

1966 WCVW TV channel 57 in Richmond, VA (PBS) begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1808 Beethoven‘s Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring the composer as soloist) premiere at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria

1894 Claude Debussy‘s first orchestral masterpiece “Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune” premieres in Paris

1946 “Bal Negre” closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 54 performances

1956 “New Faces of 1956” closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 221 performances

1958 “Chipmunk Song” reaches #1

1958 “Whoop-Up” opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 56 performances

1976 “Your Arm’s Too Short…” opens at Lyceum NYC for 429 performances

1976 East Germany grants rock singer Nina Hagen her request to leave the country, after refusing her stepfather re-entry

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1877 “American Bicycling Journal” begins publishing (Boston, Mass)

1888 Heavyweight boxing champ John L. Sullivan challenges Jake Kilrain

1894 United States Golf Association forms in New York

1915 Organized baseball and Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati; Federal Baseball League dissolves

1917 In the NHL’s first official week of play, 3 players score hat tricks in the same game, for the same team; Corb Denneny, Reg Noble, & Harry Meeking each score 3 for the Toronto Arenas in an 11-4 win over the Ottawa Senators

1923 Bill Ponsford & Edgar Mayne make 456 opening stand for Vict

1924 Babe Dye of NHL’s Toronto St Patricks scores 5 goals beat Bruins 10-2

1941 1942 NFL Draft: Bill Dudley from University of Virginia first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers

December 20th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1522 Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

1803 French flag lowered in New Orleans to mark the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase from France to USA, purchased for $15M

1812 “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” or “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is first published

1917 Cheka formed – Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Lenin

1960 The National Liberation Front, better known as the Viet Cong, is officially formed in South Vietnam

Today’s Historical Events

69 General Vespasian’s troops occupy Rome after defeating the Emperor Vitellius

1046 Pope Gregory VI abdicates at the Council of Sutri, ending a conflict between himself, Benedict IX and Sylvester III; Clement II becomes the new Pope

1192 Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna

1448 Pope Nicholas V appoints Rudolf of Diepholt, Bishop of Utrecht, as cardinal

1522 Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

1585 English fleet & Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, reach Vlissingen

1606 The English colonial expedition to America, consisting of the ships Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant, departs Blackwall, London to found Jamestown, Virginia

1626 Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Prince of Transylvania Gabor Bethlen sign Peace of Pressburg (Bratislava)

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1920 Bob Hope becomes an American citizen

1928 Ethel Barrymore Theater opens at 243 W 47th St NYC

1946 Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” film, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore premieres in New York

1950 “Harvey” starring James Stewart premieres in New York

1952 KHQ TV channel 6 in Spokane, WA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 KID (now KIDK) TV channel 3 in Idaho Falls, ID (CBS) 1st broadcasting

1953 KWTV TV channel 9 in Oklahoma City, OK (CBS) begins broadcasting

1962 Osmond brothers debut on Andy Williams Show

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1600 Ottario Rinuccini and Giulio Caccini’s opera “Euridice” published

1823 Play “Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus” by Helmina von Chézy with incidental music by Franz Schubert premieres in Vienna

1943 “Internationale” is no longer USSR National Anthem

1946 Darius Milhaud‘s 2nd Symphony, premieres

1949 Maurice Ravel and John Cranko’s ballet “Beauty And The Beast” premieres

1957 Elvis Presley receives his draft notice to join the US Army for National Service

1967 Ian Anderson & Glenn Cornick form rock group Jethro Tull (SIDE NOTE: Lady Beltane’s all-time favorite rock group)

1969 Peter, Paul & Mary’s cover of John Denver‘s song “Leaving On A Jet Plane” reaches #1 (SIDE NOTE: Lady Beltane’s all-time favorite folk group)

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1894 England beat Australia by 10 runs in the 1st six-day Test Cricket, Australia needed 177 to win, all out at 166 on 6th day

1905 ‘Philadelphia’ Jack O’Brien wins the World Light Heavyweight boxing title after defending champion Bob Fitzsimmons of England retires in round 13 of 20 in San Francisco

1920 Bert Collins scores 104 on Test Cricket debut v England SCG

1921 AL votes to return to best-of-7 World Series, while NL votes best-of-9; Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts deciding vote for best-of-7

1925 National Football League Championship: Chicago Cardinals (11-2-1) win controversial first past the post title; Pottsville Maroons suspended after playing unsanctioned game

1926 St. Louis Cardinals trade future Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby to NY Giants for Frankie Frisch & Jimmy Ring; concerns over Hornsby’s gambling

1929 Heinie Wagner replaces Bill Carrigan as Red Sox manager

1930 Cricketer Learie Constantine scores 100 runs in 52 mins West Indies v Tasmania (10×4, 1×6, 1×5)

December 19 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1776 Thomas Paine publishes his 1st “American Crisis” essay beginning “These are the times that try men’s souls” (date disputed)

1783 William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister at age 24

1932 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins transmitting overseas

1958 1st radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower Christmas message “to all mankind, America’s wish for peace on Earth and goodwill to men everywhere”

1984 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997

Today’s Historical Events

324 Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.

401 St Anastasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

1055 Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad

1154 King Henry II of England crowned King of England

1487 Opening ceremony of the sixth Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) 4,000 prisoners of war are sacrificed to Aztec gods over four days [1]

1551 Dutch west coast hit by hurricane

1562 Battle at Dreux: Anne de Montmorency & huguenots under Condé captured

1642 4 of Abel Tasman‘s crew killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by Māori; Tasman’s ships depart without landing

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1946 Noël Coward‘s musical “Pacific 1860” premieres in London

1949 WJW TV channel 8 in Cleveland, Ohio (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 KFYR TV channel 5 in Bismarck, ND (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

1957 Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 1375 performances, wins 5 Tony and a Grammy Award

1964 “Gertrud”, Danish film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, starring Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe and Ebbe Rode, is released in France

1968 WCWB (now WMGT) TV channel 41 in Macon, GA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1971 CBS airs “Homecoming A Christmas Story,” (introducing the Waltons)

1971 Stanley Kubrick‘s X-rated film “A Clockwork Orange” based on the book by Anthony Burgess and starring Malcolm McDowell premieres

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1881 Opera “Hérodiade” by Jules Massenet is produced in Brussels

1955 Carl Perkins records “Blue Suede Shoes”

1960 Frank Sinatra‘s 1st session with Reprise Records (“Ring-A-Ding-Ding”)

1969 Beatle’s 7th Christmas fan-club single is released

1971 “Inner City” opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 97 performances

1973 “Molly” closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 68 performances

1975 British guitarist Ron Wood joins The Rolling Stones

1984 33 unknown Bach keyboard works found in Yale library [1]

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1891 Canadian Rugby Union forms

1904 Dawson City hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in Stanley Cup on Jan 13 1905

1913 Jack Johnson fights fellow African-American Jim Johnson to a draw in 10 rounds for the vacant world heavyweight boxing title in Paris, 1st time two black fighters compete for the title

1917 1st NHL game played on artificial ice in Toronto

1917 Quebec Bulldogs play their 1st professional hockey game

1920 1st US indoor curling rink opens (Brookline, Mass)

1924 Test Cricket debut of Bill Ponsford, who scored 110 in 1st innings

1926 National Football League Championship: Frankford Yellow Jackets (14-1-2) win first past the post title

December 18th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil

1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

1603 First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen departs for the East-Indies

1642 Abel Tasman‘s expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay, first sighting local Māori in New Zealand

1917 The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification

1957 World’s 1st full scale nuclear power plant, for peacetime use only, begins to generate electricity at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania

1979 Stanley Barrett 1st to exceed land sonic speed (739.666 MPH)

2019 US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)

Today’s Historical Events

218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil

1118 Alfonso van Aragon occupies Saragossa on Almoraviden

1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

1352 Etienne Aubert elected as Pope Innocentius VI

1385 Peace of Tournai (Dutch – Doornik) signed between the Burgundian Duke Philip II and the rebellious city of Ghent

1406 Anton of Burgundy becomes Duke of Brabant

1603 First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen departs for the East-Indies

1621 English parliament accept unanimously, Protestation

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1948 WDSU TV channel 6 in New Orleans, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 KATV TV channel 7 in Little Rock, AR (ABC) begins broadcasting

1953 KMID TV channel 2 in Midland & Odessa, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting

1956 “To Tell the Truth” debuts on CBS-TV

1956 Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankees radio-TV announcer

1961 KAIL TV channel 53 in Fresno, CA (IND) begins broadcasting

1962 WAIQ TV channel 26 in Montgomery, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting

1963 “The Pink Panther” film premieres, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers and David Niven, with theme by Henry Mancini

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1892 Anton Bruckner‘s 8th Symphony premieres

1892 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s ballet “The Nutcracker” premieres in Saint Petersburg, Russia, now the world’s most performed ballet; his final opera “Isolanta” also premieres

1962 Dmitri Shostakovich‘s 13th Symphony premieres in Moscow

1964 “I Had a BaIl” opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 199 performances

1964 During funeral service held for soul singer Sam Cooke, fans cause damage to funeral home

1965 “La Grusse Valise” closes at 54th St Theater NYC after 7 performances

1970 “Me Nobody Knows” opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 587 performances

1985 Jerry Herman’s musical revue “Jerry’s Girls” opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 139 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1894 Day 4 of the 1st cricket test Australia v England, England following on 4-268, 7 in front

1932 National Football League Championship; Playoff, Chicago Stadium: Chicago Bears beat Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0

1935 Don Bradman scores 117 in his debut Sheffield Shield cricket match for South Australia in an innings & 5 run win over his old team, New South Wales

1936 Queensland cricket all out for 49 v Vic, Fleetwood-Smith 7-17

1949 National Football League Championship, Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams, 14-0; played in driving rain that caused field to become a mud pit

1952 Ellis W. Ryan resigns as Cleveland Indians president

1956 Ballon d’Or: Blackpool & England winger Stanley Matthews wins inaugural award for best football player in Europe; beats Real Madrid pair Alfredo Di Stéfano & Raymond Kopa

1956 Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankees radio-TV announcer

December 16 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

755 An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during Chinese Tang Dynasty

1598 Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point – in the final battle of the war Korean navy decisively defeats the Japanese

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [NS: Dec 26]

1653 Parliamentarian General Oliver Cromwell appointed as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland

1773 Boston tea party incident – Sons of Liberty protesters throw tea shipments into Boston harbour in protest against British imposed Tea Act

1920 8.5 earthquake rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000

1944 Nazi Germany launches a counteroffensive against the Allies in the Ardennes region of Belgium, beginning the ‘Battle of the Bulge’

1998 Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox – the United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq

Today’s Historical Events

755 An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during Chinese Tang Dynasty

882 Marinus I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding John VIII

1392 Nanboku-chō – Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu

1431 King Henry VI of England crowned King of France (only English monarch to wear both crowns)

1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama is 1st European to sail along Africa’s East Coast, names it Natal

1538 King Francois I orders renewed pursuit of Protestants

1575 The 1575 Valdivia earthquake takes place.

1577 Danzig surrenders to troops of Polish king Istvan Bathory

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1913 Charlie Chaplin begins his film career at Keystone for $150 a week

1924 Noël Coward‘s “Vortex” premieres in London

1936 John Monks and Fred Finklehoff’s play “Brother Rat” premieres in New York City

1950 Child star Shirley Temple announces her retirement from films aged 22

1951 NBC premiere of “Dragnet” in black and white

1962 “Lawrence of Arabia” film directed by David Lean and starring Peter O’Toole, is released in the United States

1967 “Playtime”, French film directed by Jacques Tati, starring himself, is released

1968 KFIZ TV channel 34 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1767 Van Ritter von Glucks opera “Alceste” premieres

1877 Anton Bruckner‘s 3rd Symphony in D, premieres

1893 Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 – “New World Symphony” premieres at Carnegie Hall, New York

1926 Darius Milhaud‘s opera “Le Pauvre Matelot” premieres in Paris

1948 “Lend an Ear” opens at National Theater NYC for 460 performances

1950 “Let’s Make an Opera” closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 5 performances

1956 “Fanny” closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 888 performances

1960 “Wildcat” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 172 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1892 Commencement of 1st Sheffield Shield cricket game, SA v NSW

1899 Italian football club A.C. Milan founded as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club by Englishmen Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin (disputed possibly 13 Dec)

1918 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds

1922 Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Baseball Clubs formally organizes

1922 NSW all out for 786 against South Australia Cricket

1923 National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions

1926 MLB owners renew contract with Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for a second 7-years term

1927 Australian cricket’s batting maestro Don Bradman makes his 1st-class debut for NSW v South Australia at the Adelaide Oval finishing Day 1 on 65 not out

December 15 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

533 Byzantine General Belisarius defeats the Vandals, under King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron

1256 Hulagu Khan captures and destroys Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut, in present-day Iran, part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia

1488 Bartolomeu Dias returns to Portugal after becoming 1st known European to sail round the Cape of Good Hope

1612 German Astronomer Simon Marius is 1st to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope

1791 US Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gives its approval, becomes amendments 1-10 of the US constitution

1840 Napoleon Bonaparte receives a French state funeral in Paris 19 years after his death

1915 WWI: ANZAC forces begin their withdrawal from the Gallipoli Peninsula after Ottoman forces successfully defend access to Constantinople

1973 American Psychiatric Association declares homosexuality is not a mental illness

Today’s Historical Events

533 Byzantine General Belisarius defeats the Vandals, under King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron

687 St Sergius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Conon

1124 Chancellor Haimeric selects pope (Lamberto becomes Honorius II)

1167 Sicilian chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.

1256 Hulagu Khan captures and destroys Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut, in present-day Iran, part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia

1467 Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia

1488 Bartolomeu Dias returns to Portugal after becoming 1st known European to sail round the Cape of Good Hope

1569 Hunted by Queen Elizabeth I for treason in “The Rising of the North”, Charles Neville, Earl of Westmorland, escapes to Scotland.

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1939 “Gone With The Wind”, drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, premieres in Atlanta (Best Picture 1940, inflation not adjusted highest-grossing film of all time)

1952 KHON TV channel 2 in Honolulu, HI (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 WJHG TV channel 7 in Panama City, FL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

1956 KGW TV channel 8 in Portland, OR (NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 WRAL TV channel 5 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (CBS) begins broadcasting

1961 Equal access rule, political parties get TV broadcasting time

1962 Vaughn Meader‘s “1st Family” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 12 weeks

1973 Pirates of Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1815 Gioachino Rossini gets assignment for Il barbiere di Siviglia

1893 Preview performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 – “New World Symphony” draws a crowd to Carnegie Hall, New York [1]

1944 Bandleader Major Glenn Miller, lost over the English Channel

1952 “Two’s Company” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 90 performances

1955 “Folsom Prison Blues” single released by Johnny Cash (Billboard Song of the Year 1968)

1959 Everly Brothers record “Let It Be Me”, an English translation of by Gilbert Bécaud’s French song “Je t’appartiens”; reaches No. 7 on the charts

1965 D Heneker & J Taylor’s musical “Charlie Girl” premieres in London

1966 “Joyful Noise” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 12 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1894 Day 2 of first cricket test between Australia and England, Australia 586 runs (Gregory 201) England 3-130

1909 Thomas J. Lynch becomes president of baseball’s National League

1925 1st hockey game at Madison Square Garden, NYC: Montreal Canadiens 3, NY Americans 1

1929 National Football League Championship: Green Bay Packers (12-0-1) win first past the post title

1930 Occasional leg-spin bowler Don Bradman takes his 1st of only 2 Test cricket wickets when he traps West Indian batsman Ivan Barrow lbw for 27 in the 1st Test in Adelaide

1933 Baseball owners agree to ban Sunday doubleheaders until after June 15

1935 In major upset, Dutch grand master Max Euwe becomes World Chess Champion beating Russian Alexander Alekhine (9 wins, 13 draws, 8 losses) in Zandvoort, Netherlands

1935 National Football League Championship, University of Detroit Stadium: Detroit Lions beat New York Giants, 26-7; Lions first title

December 12 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

627 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War

1901 Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, Canada

1925 Last Qajar Shah of Iran deposed; Rezā Shāh Pahlavi takes over

1946 UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

2000 US Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida’s 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush‘s favor and thus handing him the presidency

2015 COP21 climate change summit in Paris reaches a deal between 195 countries to limit the rise in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels

2019 British General Election won by Boris Johnson‘s Conservative Party in landslide win with 80 seat majority. Scottish National Party also wins 48 of 59 seats in Scotland

Today’s Historical Events

627 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War

1098 1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara, Syria

1279 Discovery of a sarcophagus supposedly containing the body of Mary Magdalene in the crypt of the church of Saint-Maximin, southeastern France

1408 Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.

1474 Isabella crowns herself queen of Castile & Aragon

1479 Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III

1524 Pope Clement VII approves Organization of Jewish Community of Rome

1653 English “Barebones” Parliament ends

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1897 Rudolph Dirks’ 1st “The Katzenjammer Kids” cartoon strip appears in NY Journal

1928 Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne’s play “Wings over Europe” premieres in New York City

1937 NBC & RCA sends 1st mobile-TV vans onto the streets of NY

1955 Film adaptation of “The Rose Tattoo”, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster, premieres at the Astor Theatre in Times Square, NYC

1964 Shooting starts for “Star Trek” pilot “The Cage” (Menagerie)

1966 “A Man for All Seasons” based on the play by Robert Bolt, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Paul Scofield premieres in New York (Best Picture 1967)

1968 Rolling Stones film TV show “Rock and Roll Circus”- guest performers include The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono; the program never airs aired

1969 Comedy film “The Magic Christian”, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr premieres in London, England

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1527 Composer Adrian Willaert moves from Milan to Venice

1792 In Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (22) receives 1st lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn

1900 James Weldon Johnson’s poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, is set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson; the hymn becomes known as the Black national anthem [1] [2]

1912 Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach’s musical “Firefly” premieres in New York City

1920 Maurice Ravel‘s ballet “La Valse” premieres in Paris

1926 Dmitri Shostakovich‘s 1st Piano concert premieres in Leningrad

1965 The Beatles’ last concert in Great Britain at Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales

1981 “1st” closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 37 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1898 1st first-class cricket game between Australian states NSW and Tasmania

1899 George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee

1908 Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis, Sydney: American Fred Alexander beats Alfred Dunlop of Australia 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3

1930 Baseball Rules Committee greatly revises the rule book, ball bouncing into stands not a HR, now a double

1933 Eddie Shore hits Toronto Maple Leaf star Ace Bailey from behind, fracturing his skull and ending his career

1936 1937 NFL Draft: Sam Francis from University of Nebraska first pick by Philadelphia Eagles

1937 1938 NFL Draft: Corbett Davis from University of Indiana first pick by Cleveland Rams

1937 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Washington Redskins beat Chicago Bears, 28-21