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

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

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

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

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

Today’s Important Historical Events

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [NS: Dec 21]

1792 France’s King Louis XVI goes on trial, accused of high treason and crimes against the state

1913 “Mona Lisa” recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum

1931 Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland (Free State), and Newfoundland (not then part of Canada)

1946 United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established by resolution 57(I) of the UN General Assembly

1997 Delegates from 150 industrial nations attending a UN climate conference in Kyoto, Japan, reach agreement to control heat-trapping greenhouse gases

Today’s Historical Events

359 Honoratus, first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office, after the Emperor Constantius creates a new senate for the East

384 St Damasus I dies and ends his reign as Catholic Pope. Began reign 366

1282 Llywelyn ab Gruffydd/Llywelyn the Last, last native Prince of Wales is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales. Reigned from 1259.

1395 John “Eleanor” Rykener, a male cross-dressing prostitute, is brought to court in London for “committing that detestable unmentionable and ignominious vice” in late medieval England’s only recorded case on same-sex intercourse (verdict unknown)

1419 Heretic Nicolaas Serrurier exiled from Florence

1477 Duchess Maria of Burgundy ends the ‘Great Privilege’ in states of The Netherlands

1572 Spanish troops begin siege of Haarlem

1602 Surprise attack by forces of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain repelled by citizens of Geneva. Commemorated since as Fête de l’Escalade.

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1882 Victorien Sardous play “Fedora” with Sarah Bernhardt premieres in Paris

1909 Colored moving pictures demonstrated at Madison Square Garden, NYC

1948 WHEN (now WTVH) TV channel 5 in Syracuse, NY (CBS) begins broadcasting

1948 WMC TV channel 5 in Memphis, Tennessee (NBC) begins broadcasting

1949 WOAI (now KMOL) TV channel 4 in San Antonio, TX (NBC) 1st broadcast

1953 KTVA TV channel 11 in Anchorage (CBS) becomes Alaska’s 1st TV station

1960 Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh’s musical “Wildcat” with Lucille Ball premieres in New York City

1967 “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in NYC (Hepburn – Academy Award for Best Actress 1968)

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1882 Boston’s Bijou Theatre, 1st American playhouse lit exclusively by electricity, 1st performance, Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Iolanthe”

1946 Hank Williams begins to record on Sterling label

1947 Bob Hilliard and Sigman’s musical “Angel in the Wings” opens at Coronet Theater NYC for 308 performances

1950 Paul Hindemith‘s Concerto for Clarinet premieres with Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, and Benny Goodman as soloist, at the Academy of Music

1951 “The Wild Side of Life” single recorded by Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys (Billboard Song of the Year, 1952)

1961 Elvis Presley‘s “Blue Hawaii” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 20 wks

1965 “Anya” closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 16 performances

1965 Michael Leonard and Herbert Martin’s musical “The Yearling” closes at Alvin Theater, NYC, after 3 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1866 1st yacht race across Atlantic Ocean; schooners Fleetwing, Vesta and the Henrietta, with NY playboy Gordon Bennett on board, leave Sandy Hook for the Scilly Isles (the Henrietta wins)

1926 Leo O’Connor is unbeaten on 143 as Queensland wins their first Sheffield Shield match by 5 wickets vs NSW at the Sydney Cricket Ground

1934 1st Toronto Maple Leaf penalty shot, Conacher unsuccessful vs Rangers

1934 Ford C. Frick becomes president of baseball’s National League

1934 NL votes to permit night baseball (up to 7 games per home team)

1937 25th CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Argonauts claim their 4th Championship; beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 4-3

1938 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants beat Green Bay Packers, 23-17; record title game attendance 48,120

1941 Australian state cricket associations, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales decide at meetings with new Prime Minister John Curtin to abandon all interstate first class matches for the duration of WWII

Today’s Important Historical Events

1520 Martin Luther publicly burns papal edict demanding he recant

1684 Isaac Newton‘s derivation of Kepler’s laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley

1799 Metric system first adopted in France

1901 First Nobel Peace Prizes awarded to Red Cross founder Jean Henri Dunant and peace activist Frederic Passy

1936 Edward VIII signs Instrument of Abdication, giving up the British throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson

1964 Nobel Peace Prize presented to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Oslo, Norway

Today’s Historical Events

741 Pope Zachary elected

1041 Michael IV, Paphlagonicus, Byzantium Emperor dies of results of dropsy. His wife Empress Zoe elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V.

1294 Pope Coelestinus V becomes Pope (until Dec 13th)

1508 League of the kingdom signed (covenant against Venice)

1510 Muslim ruler of Goa, Yusuf Adil Shah and his Ottoman allies surrender to Portuguese forces led by Afonso de Albuquerque who puts the Muslim population to the sword

1520 Martin Luther publicly burns papal edict demanding he recant

1582 France begins use of Gregorian calendar

1652 Sea battle at Dungeness: lt-admiral Maarten Tromp beats English fleet

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1899 Frank Wedekind‘s play “Der Kammersänger” premieres in Berlin

1926 1st radio broadcast in the Sprinfield area (WCBS)

1952 WSLS TV channel 10 in Roanoke, VA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 KOMO TV channel 4 in Seattle, WA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1953 WSTV (now WTOV) TV channel 9 in Steubenville-Wheeling, OH (CBS) begins

1962 David Lean‘s film “Lawrence of Arabia”, based on life of T. E. Lawrence and starring Peter O’Toole, premieres at Odeon Leicester Square (Academy Awards Best Picture 1963)

1963 6-year old Donny Osmond’s singing debut on Andy Williams Show

1967 CBS officially renames CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York (built in 1927 as Hammerstein’s Theatre), as “The Ed Sullivan Theater” in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his program

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1854 Hector Berlioz premieres his oratorio “L’enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ)”, conducting musicians and soloists from the Opéra-Comique, at the Salle Herz, Paris

1882 Johannes Brahms‘ choir and orchestra piece “Gesang der Parzen” (Song of the Fates) premieres in Basel

1927 “Grand Ole Opry” first named as such during Barn Dance radio broadcast, in Nashville, Tennessee

1953 “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” opens at Imperial NYC for 229 performances

1963 Leonard Bernstein premieres his Third Symphony “Kaddish” with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv, Israel

1965 Michael Leonard and Herbert Martin’s musical “The Yearling” opens at Alvin Theater, NYC; runs for 3 performances

1978 “Platinum” closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 33 performances

1991 “Crucible” opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 32 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1810 English bare-knuckle boxer Tom Cribb beats African-American Tom Molineaux in 33rd of 40 round bout at Copthall Common, England; first interracial boxing match

1831 “Spirit of the Times” begins publishing in New York City, the premier sports journal of the 19th century

1918 John Heyder becomes president of baseball’s National League for the 2nd time

1919 NL votes to ban the spitball’s use by all new pitchers

1919 NY, Boston, & Chicago, oppose AL resolution accusing Ban Johnson of overstepping his duties

1922 1st National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (10-0-2) named inaugural champions

1922 Pete Henry makes longest known NFL drop-kicked field goal, 45 yards

1924 Agreement reached on permanent rotation of World Series with each league, getting games 1, 2, 6, 7 in alternating years

Today’s Important Historical Events

43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae

1909 Inventor Leo Baekeland patents the first thermo-setting plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry

1941 Imperial Japanese Navy with 353 planes attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people

1965 Pope Paul VI & Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously lift mutual excommunications that led to split of 2 churches in 1054

1988 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless

1988 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time

Today’s Historical Events

43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae

185 Emperor Lo-Yang, China sees supernova (MSH15-52)

1354 Margaretha van Bavarian’s son earl Willem V signs peace treaty

1696 Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the U.S. is completed to Trumbull.

1703 Great storm of 1703 hits Southern England – thousands killed, Royal Navy losses 13 ships and around 1,500 seamen

1703 The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703

1724 Tumult of Thorn – religious unrest was followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.

1727 Physician Sir Hans Soane becomes President of the Royal Society, succeeding Sir Isaac Newton [1]

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1925 Noël Coward‘s “Easy Virtue” premieres in NYC

1952 KKTV TV channel 11 in Colorado Spgs-Pueblo, CO (CBS) 1st broadcast

1953 WCCB TV channel 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina (IND/ABC) begins broadcasting

1954 KCTS TV channel 9 in Seattle, WA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1956 Helen O’Connell joins Today Show panel (NBC)

1963 First use of the instant replay machine invented by CBS in a US Army vs Navy football game

1979 “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

1986 NBC premiere of miniseries “Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna” (Part 1)

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1732 The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England

1842 New York Philharmonic’s 1st concert

1911 Leslie J Stuart’s musical “Betsy” premieres in NYC

1939 William Walton’s Violin Concerto premieres in Cleveland; Ohio, with Jascha Heifetz as soloist and the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński

1959 “Saratoga” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 80 performances

1964 George Harrison changes his company’s name from Mornyork to Harrisongs

1967 Elmer Bernstein and Carolyn Leigh’s musical “How Now, Dow Jones”, starring Tony Roberts, and directed by George Abbott, opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC; runs for 220 performances

1967 Otis Redding records his song “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”, co-written and produced by guitarist Steve Cropper at Stax Studios in Memphis Tennessee

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1907 Eugene Corri becomes 1st referee in a boxing ring

1929 PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Hillcrest CC: Defending champion Leo Diegel defeats Johnny Farrell, 6 & 4 in the final

1930 PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Fresh Meadows CC: American based Scotsman Tommy Armour defeats Gene Sarazen 1 up in the final for the 2nd of his 3 major titles

1931 After scoring 226 in 1st Test in Brisbane, Don Bradman belts 219 for NSW against the visiting South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground

1935 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Winnipeg Pegs (later Blue Bombers) defeat Hamilton Tigers, 18-12

1937 Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams

1937 Russian chess player Alexander Alekhine recaptures his final world title from Dutch grand master Max Euwe by a large margin (+10−4=11)

1939 Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame

Today’s Important Historical Events

1913 Ford Motor Company institutes world’s 1st moving assembly line for the Model T Ford

1934 Leningrad mayor Sergey Kirov is assassinated, Joseph Stalin uses it as an excuse to begin his Great Purge of 1934-38

1955 Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama

1988 Benazir Bhutto named Prime Minister of Pakistan, the 1st female leader of a Muslim country

Today’s Historical Events

772 Pope Adrian I [Hadrian I] elected

800 Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican.

1167 Northern Italian towns form Lombardi League

1420 Henry V of England enters Paris

1566 Spanish King Philip II names Fernando Alvarez, duke of Alva

1626 Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, tyrannical governor of Jerusalem, driven out

1640 Portugal regains independence after 60 years of Spanish rule following a revolution by Portuguese nobility; the Portuguese Restoration War begins and lasts until 1668 with recognition by Spain of the country’s independence

1641 Massachusetts becomes the first colony to give statutory recognition to slavery

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1903 “The Great Train Robbery” the 1st Western film, released starring Justus D. Barnes and G. M. Anderson

1919 AA Milne’s comedy play “Mr Pim Passes By” premieres in Manchester

1949 WBNG TV channel 12 in Binghamton, NY (CBS) begins broadcasting

1949 WKTV TV channel 2 in Utica, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 Hugh Hefner publishes 1st edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine’s 1st centerfold

1953 WAIM (now WAXA) TV channel 40 in Anderson, SC (IND) 1st broadcast

1953 WCSH TV channel 6 in Portland, ME (NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 Musical comedy film “The Girl Can’t Help It” starring Jayne Mansfield with cameos by rock ‘n’ roll stars Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent premieres

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1822 Franz Liszt, aged 11, debuts as a pianist in Vienna

1924 George and Ira Gershwin‘s musical “Lady Be Good” premieres in NYC

1944 Béla Bartòk’s Concerto for orchestra, premieres in Symphony Hall, Boston, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

1951 Benjamin Britten‘s opera “Billy Budd” premieres in London

1956 Leonard Bernstein‘s musical “Candide” opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC; runs for 73 performances

1958 “Flower Drum Song” opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 602 performances

1960 British rocker Paul McCartney and drummer Pete Best arrested and then deported from Hamburg, Germany accused of attempted arson

1967 Track Records releases the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 2nd studio album “Axis: Bold as Love” in the UK, just seven months after their debut release

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1653 An athlete from Croydon is reported to have run 20 miles from St Albans to London in less than 90 minutes

1912 Boston Braves MLB franchise owner James Gaffney buys the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston with a plan to construct a ball park there; ground breaking for Braves Field starts on March 20, 1915

1923 Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Queen’s University retains title with 54-0 win over Regina Rugby Club; biggest Grey Cup victory margin ever

1924 The Boston Bruins beat fellow expansion Montreal Maroons, 2-1 at Boston Arena; first NHL game to be played in the United States

1928 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Hamilton Tigers win 3rd Cup with 30-0 shutout of Regina Roughriders

1928 National League President John Heydler first to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or ‘designated hitter’, to bat in place of the pitcher; ironically, the NL vote in favour of proposal, but the American League turn it down

1930 NHL drops 20 minute slashing-about-the-head penalty

1934 Toronto Maple Leafs beat St. Louis Eagles, 4-3 to set an NHL record for the most wins to start the season with 8; Leafs do it again 59 years later; won 10 in a row to start 1993-94 season