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

This website was down for all the other historical events. If you are interested in reading the rest of today’s historical happenings, please click on the link above and then on the links for the rest of the topics.

Today’s Important Historical Events

962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, 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

619 Boniface V begins his reign as Catholic Pope

962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, 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

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

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

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

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

1990 Comedy “Lettice & Lovage” closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 284 performances

Today’s Historical Music Events

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 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 1st telecast of a complete opera (Hansel & Gretel), Schenectady, NY

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 NYC for 38 performances

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

1974 Premier of Dmitri Shostakovich‘ Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti song cycle in Leningrad

 

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 New York Islanders end 15 games winless streak

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

1596 Ferryboat Meuniers crashes in Paris, 150 die

1642 Pope Urbanus VIII publishes decree In eminente

1666 The French Academy of Sciences, founded by Louis XIV with Jean-Baptiste Colbert first meets in the Kings Library

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

1967 “The Graduate” American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, is released (Best Director 1968)

Today’s Historical Music Events

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

Today’s Important Historical Events

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium

1968 Apollo 8: 1st manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders

1988 Lockerbie disaster: A terrorist bomb destroys Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air, over Scotland; kills all 259 passengers and crew on board, and 11 people on the ground [1]

1991 Soviet Union formally dissolves as 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States

Today’s Historical Events

1163 Hurricane hits villages in Holland/Friesland, causing floods

1561 Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Archbishop of Mechelen, made Cardinal

1582 Flanders adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days making the next day Jan 1, 1583

1598 Battle of Curalaba: the Mapuche people led by Pelentaru revolt and inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1650 Johan de Witt installed as Dutch Pensionary of Dordrecht

1784 John Jay becomes acting US Secretary of State (1789-90)

1788 Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1914 1st feature-length silent film comedy “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” released starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin

1925 “Battleship Potemkin”, Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, starring Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barksy and Grigori Aleksandrov, premieres in Moscow

1933 Fox Films signs Shirley Temple aged 5, to a studio contract

1934 French film “Zouzou” premieres in Paris, starring Josephine Baker; 1st black woman to star in a major motion picture

1937 The first full-length animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre

1949 “Samson and Delilah”, directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature, premieres in New York

1952 WSBT TV channel 22 in South Bend, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 KOMU TV channel 8 in Columbia, MO (NBC/PBS) begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Music Events

1920 Jerome Kern/BG DeSylva’s musical “Sally” premieres in NYC

1941 David Diamond’s 1st Symphony premieres

1945 “Billion Dollar Baby” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 219 performances

1946 “If the Shoe Fits” closes at Century Theater NYC after 20 performances

1950 Cole Porter‘s musical “Out of this World” premieres at New Century Theater NYC; runs for 157 performances

1960 Ornette Coleman records his influential album “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, establishes the name for the Free Jazz sound

1961 Beatles record “Sweet Georgia Brown” & “Ready Teddy”

1968 Glen Campbell‘s album “Wichita Lineman” goes to #1 in the US

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1891 1st game of basketball, based on rules created by James Naismith, played by 18 students in Springfield, Massachusetts

1918 Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore & Duffy Lewis to Yankees for Ray Caldwell & Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters & $15,000

1925 Test batsman Hunter “Stork” Hendry scores career best unbeaten 325 for Victoria against New Zealand in drawn tour match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1926 Soccer team DOS Struggle forms

1932 Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach

1936 Bradman‘s 2nd consecutive Test Cricket duck! Australia all out for 80

1937 O’Reilly completes 14-98 for cricket match, NSW v South Aust

1937 Chicago Black Hawks left wing Paul Thompson becomes first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother; scores on bro Cecil of the Boston Bruins with just 9 seconds left in regulation; Bruins win though, 2-1

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

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

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

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

Today’s Historical Music Events

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

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

1967 The Beatles release “Christmas Time is Here Again”

1969 Plastic Ono Band, play their only concert at London’s Lyceum Ballroom

1987 First National US Tour of “Les Miserables” opens at Shubert Theatre, Boston

1991 “Nick & Nora” closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 9 performances

1993 John Williams final appearance as conductor of Boston Pops

1994 “A Tuna Christmas” opens at Booth Theater NYC for 20 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sport

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, Montreal Canadiens 3, NY Americans 1

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

Today’s Important Historical Events

644 Uthman ibn Affan, companion of Muhammad, appointed 3rd Caliph of Islam

1287 During St. Lucia’s Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history

1542 Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old

1774 First incident of American Revolution – 400 New Hampshire militiamen successfully attack Fort William and Mary

1911 Norwegian Roald Amundsen‘s expedition is the 1st to each the South Pole

1995 The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments ending the conflict in the former Yugoslavia including Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović, Franjo Tuđman and Bill Clinton

Today’s Historical Events

557 Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, is significantly damaged by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake

644 Uthman ibn Affan, companion of Muhammad, appointed 3rd Caliph of Islam

835 Chinese Emperor Wenzong conspires with chancellor Li Xun and general Zheng Zhu to kill all the eunuchs, but the plot is foiled. Also known as the Sweet Dew Incident

867 Adrian II begins his reign as Catholic Pope

872 John VIII elected as Catholic Pope

1124 Theobald Buccapecus elected Pope Coelestinus II (he refuses)

1287 During St. Lucia’s Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history

1542 Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1952 KROD (now KDBC) TV channel 4 in El Paso, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 WOAY TV channel 4 in Oak Hill-Beckley, WV (ABC) begins broadcasting

1969 Jackson Five make their 1st appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”

1971 U.S. premiere of “Nicholas and Alexandra”, film adaptation of Robert K. Massie’s best selling novel

1974 Disaster film “The Towering Inferno” is released, starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman

1988 CBS’ $1.1 B bid wins exclusive 1990-94 major-league baseball rights

1993 “Philadelphia” one of the first mainstream films about AIDS, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington premieres in Century City, California

1996 12th Soap Opera Digest Awards – Days of Our Lives wins

Today’s Historical Music Events

1849 1st chamber music group in US gives their 1st concert in Boston

1918 Giacomo Puccini‘s opera “Il Trittico” premieres in NYC

1924 Respighi’s symphony “Pini di Roma” premieres in Paris

1925 Alban Berg’s first opera, “Wozzeck” premieres at the Berlin State Opera.

1933 Josephine Baker performs in Amsterdam

1946 “Three to Make Ready” closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 323 performances

1950 Musical “Bless You All” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 84 performances

1957 “Most Happy Fella” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 678 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1894 Day One 1st Test Cricket Aus v Eng Aust 5-346 (Giffen 161, Gregory 85)

1894 Test cricket debut of future Australian captain Joe Darling, great all-rounder Ernie Jones and outstanding England batsman Archie MacLaren; England wins 1st Test in Sydney by 10 runs

1901 1st table tennis tournament is held at the London Royal Aquarium

1920 Jack Dempsey KOs Bill Brennan in 12 for heavyweight boxing title in NYC

1930 NY Giants defeat Notre Dame 22-0 in a charity game

1930 National Football League Championship: Green Bay Packers (10-3-1) repeat with best record in first past the post title

1935 Test Cricket debut of “Chuck” Fleetwood-Smith v South Africa, Durban

1938 Major League Baseball agrees on use of a standard ball; disagrees on increasing rosters from 23 to 25 players, although Commissioner Judge Landis eventually decides on 25

Today’s Important Historical Events

1577 Francis Drake sets sail from England on a circumnavigation of the world

1636 The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. Recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island of present day New Zealand; initially he calls it Staten Landt and changes it a year later to Nieuw Zeeland [1]

1920 League of Nations establishes the International Court of Justice in The Hague

2002 The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004

2003 Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit, during Operation Red Dawn by US forces

Today’s Historical Events

1294 Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.

1545 Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council) opened by Pope Paul III

1570 Sweden and Denmark signs Peace of Stettin

1572 Spanish army beats Geuzen fleet (confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under admiral Lumey

1577 Francis Drake sets sail from England on a circumnavigation of the world

1621 Emperor Ferdinand II delegates 1st anti-Reformation decree

1636 The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. Recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island of present day New Zealand; initially he calls it Staten Landt and changes it a year later to Nieuw Zeeland [1]

1 From nzhistory.govt.nz

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1950 James Dean begins his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial

1953 KOAM TV channel 7 in Pittsburg-Joplin, KS (CBS) begins broadcasting

1956 “Anastasia” comeback film for Ingrid Bergman is released in the US, role wins Bergman Academy Award for Best Actress.

1957 “Peyton Place” film based on the novel by Grace Metalious, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lana Turner and Hope Lange is released

1961 “The Young Ones” directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Cliff Richard, Robert Morley and Carole Gray premieres in London

1970 Neil Simon‘s “Gingerbread Lady” premieres in NYC

1975 1st time “Saturday Night Live” uses a time delay, Richard Pryor hosts

1978 CBS’ premiere of “Lovey: A Circle of Children Part II”, sequel to “A Circle of Children”, which is also based on Mary Mac Cracken

Today’s Historical Music Events

1759 First music store in America opens (Philadelphia)

1823 Gioachino Rossini arrives in London

1895 First complete performance of Gustav Mahler’s 2nd Symphony

1928 George Gershwin‘s “An American In Paris” premieres at Carnegie Hall, NYC, performed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Walter Damrosch

1947 “Caribbean Carnival” closes at International Theatre, NYC, after 11 performances

1950 “Let’s Make an Opera” opens at John Golden Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances

1961 The Beatles sign a formal agreement to be managed by Brian Epstein

1963 Capital records signs right of first refusal agreement with The Beatles

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1901 Test debut of English cricketer Sydney Barnes vs Australia at the SCG, took 5-65 in 1st innings

1930 George Sisler’s career ends when Boston Braves release him

1931 National Football League Championship: Green Bay Packers (12-2-0) win 3rd straight first past the post title

1936 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Green Bay Packers beat Boston Redskins, 21-6; Packers 4th title; Redskins move to Washington, D.C. for 1937 season

1942 National Football League Championship, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins upset Chicago Bears, 14-6

1952 NFL Dallas Texans (former Boston Yanks) play last game, losing to the Lions in Detroit, finish with record of 1-11

1956 Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield & $35,000. Robinson will retire rather than be traded.

1960 Italy beats US in Davis cup (1st time in 24 years US not in finals)

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

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

1677 Brandenburgs army occupies Stettin

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 ‘n Roll Circus”-never aired

1977 “Saturday Night Fever“, a film starring John Travolta, premieres in NYC

Today’s Historical Music Event

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 National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice & Sing”, composed

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

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

Today’s Important Historical Events

536 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire

1212 Frederick II (later also Holy Roman Emperor) crowned King of Germany in Mainz

1968 NLS (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco.

1990 Lech Wałęsa wins Poland’s 1st direct presidential election in Poland

1992 Operation Restore Hope: US Marines land in Somalia

Today’s Historical Events

536 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire

656 Battle of Kameel: Kalief Al ibn Abu Talib beats rebellion

730 Battle of Marj Ardabil, Turkic Khazar army led by Barjik defeats Umayyad force, with 20,000 killed including general al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah, whose head is mounted on a throne

1212 Frederick II (later also Holy Roman Emperor) crowned King of Germany in Mainz

1315 Swiss Woudsteden renews Eternal Covenant (Oath Society)

1425 Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven

1570 The Geuzen (a confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under Herman de Ruyter occupies Loevestein

1625 Netherlands & England sign military treaty

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1960 1st broadcast of “Coronation Street” on British ITV

1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the first Peanuts animated special premieres on CBS in the US

1968 KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting

1968 Terence O’Neill, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, makes a television appeal for moderate opinion in what became known as the ‘Ulster stands at the Crossroads’ speech

1988 NY Yankees sign 12-year television contract with MSG for $500M

1988 Premiere of fact based crime drama film “Mississippi Burning”

1990 23rd NAACP Image Awards: “Coming to America” wins Outstanding Motion Picture

1997 “Tomorrow Never Dies“, 18th James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh, premieres in London

Today’s Historical Music Events

1842 Mikhail Glinka’s opera “Russlan and Ludmilla” premieres at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia

1905 Richard Strauss‘ opera “Salome” premieres in Dresden

1954 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honored guest of Royal Swedish Academy of Music

1961 “From the Second City” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 87 performances

1961 “Let It Ride” closes at Eugene O’Neill Theater NYC after 68 performances

1964 John Coltrane‘s Quartet records their greatest work “A Love Supreme” at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

1967 Jim Morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace at the New Haven Arena, Connecticut, making him the 1st rock star to be taken into custody during a performance

1973 “Pajama Game” opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 65 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1892 English football club Newcastle United founded

1913 Heavyweight Jack Johnson-Jim Johnson fight to no decision in Paris

1913 John K Tener becomes president of baseball’s National League

1922 1st Australasian Championships Women’s Tennis, Sydney: Margaret Molesworth wins inaugural title; beats fellow Australian Esna Boyd 6-3, 10-8

1922 Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis, Sydney: James Anderson wins 1st of 3 Australasian titles; beats fellow Australian Gerald Patterson 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

1925 AL extends Ban Johnson‘s contract to 1935 & raise to $40,000

1926 USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs

1931 Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers

Today’s Important Historical Events

1863 Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South

1941 US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II

1941 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers “Day of Infamy” speech to US Congress a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

1965 Pope Paul VI signs 2nd Vatican council

1966 US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space

2004 Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the Union of South American Nations

Today’s Historical Events

1326 Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi

1609 Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan opens its reading room, second public library in Europe

1659 Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco.

1710 Battle of Brihuega in the War of the Spanish Succession: British General James Stanhope captured by French & Spanish forces

1776 George Washington‘s retreating army crosses Delaware River from NJ

1777 Captain James Cook leaves Society Islands

1792 1st cremation in US: Henry Laurens

1794 1st issue of Herald of Rutland, VT published

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1857 1st production of Dion Boucicault‘s play “Poor of New York”

1949 “On the Town”, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen, is released

1954 WPTZ TV channel 5 in Plattsburgh, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting

1955 Black Ealing comedy “The Ladykillers”, directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK

1960 Musical “Peter Pan”, starring Mary Martin broadcast, for a 3rd time, on NBC as a special event, videotaped in color for future rebroadcasts

1978 “The Deer Hunter”, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)

1980 “Bravo” network premieres on cable TV

Today’s Historical Music Events

1813 Ludwig van Beethoven‘s 7th Symphony in A, premieres in Vienna with Beethoven conducting

1846 Hector Berlioz‘s “La Damnation de Faust” premieres

1849 Giuseppe Verdi‘s opera “Luisa Miller” premieres in Naples

1914 Irving Berlin‘s musical “Watch your Step” premieres in NYC

1915 Jean Sibelius‘ 5th Symphony in E premieres

1930 Cole Porter‘s musical “The New Yorkers” opens at B. S. Moss’s Broadway Theatre, NYC; runs for 169 performances

1947 “Caribbean Carnival” opens at International Theater NYC for 11 performances

1948 “Marinka” closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 168 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports