793
Vikings raid Britian at Lindisfarne
1789
James Madison proposes Bill of Rights
1949
George Orwell's 1984 is published
1995
US Marines rescue Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady in Bosnia
65
Jewish rebels capture fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem Beginning of the Jewish rebellion against Rome
410
Death of St. Melania the Elder
793
Norsemen sack Lindesfarne
1042
Harthacnut, King of England & Denmark, dies. He is succeeded in England by Edward the Confessor, in Denmark by Magnus, King of Norway
1154
Death of St. William of York
1191
Richard I, King of England, lands at Acre
1287
Revolt of Rhys ap Meredudd
1333
Edward III orders seizure of the Isle of Man
1374
Chaucer given the office of Controller of Customs
1492
Death of Elizabeth, wife of King Edward IV of England
1495
First written record of Scotch Whiskey
1504
Michaelangelo's "David" set in place in the Palazzo of Florence, Italy
1671
The Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni was born. born
1739
A very Baroque incident occurred. A sacred concert in Venice was marred by a fight between two castrati.
1786
1st commercially-made ice cream sold in New York.
1810
German composer Robert Schumann born
1845
Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tennessee.
1861
Tennessee seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy.
1869
Ives McGaffney of Chicago obtained a patent for a "sweeping machine, "the first vacuum cleaner.
1869
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright born
1915
Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement over US handling of the sinking of the "Lusitania."
1916
British geneticist Francis Crick, who helped determine the "double helix" structure of DNA born
1917
Retired Supreme Court Justice Byron White born
1921
President Suharto of Indonesia born
1925
Former First Lady Barbara Bush born
1926
There was a very special performance of "La Boheme." Mimi was sung by Nellie Melba at the age of 65. It was her last performance.
1930
Actress Dana Wynter born
1933
Comedian Joan Rivers born
1934
Actress Millicent Martin born
1936
Baseball great Lou Brock born
1936
Actor James Darren born
1937
Carl Orff's masterpiece was premiered when "Carmina Burana"
1939
Actor Bernie Casey born
1940
Singer Nancy Sinatra born
1942
Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) born
1944
Musician Boz Scaggs born
1947
Rock musician Mick Box (Uriah Heep) born
1950
Actress Sonia Braga born
1950
Actress Kathy Baker born
1951
Country musician Tony Rice born
1953
Singer Bonnie Tyler born
1955
Actor Griffin Dunne born
1958
Actor-director Keenan Ivory Wayans born
1960
Singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) born
1962
Musician Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) born
1965
Former Grammy winner Rob Pilatus (Milli Vanilli) born
1966
Rhythm-and-blues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) born
1967
Actor Dan Futterman born
1967
34 US servicemen were killed when Israeli forces raided the "Liberty," a Navy ship stationed in the Mediterranean. (Israel called the attack a tragic mistake.)
1967
Actress Julianna Margulies born
1968
Authorities announced the capture in London of James Earl Ray, the suspected assassin of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.
1970
Rhythm-and-blues singer Nicci Gilbert (Brownstone) born
1970
Actress Kelli Williams ("The Practice") born
1978
A jury in Clark County, Nevada, ruled the so-called "Mormon will," purportedly written by the late (B) billionaire Howard Hughes, was a forgery.
1982
President Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.
1987
Fawn Hall began testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she helped to shred some documents and spirit away others.
1988
The judge in the Iran-Contra conspiracy case ruled that Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim had to be tried separately.
1989
Chinese Premier Li Peng reappeared on TV, praising a group of army soldiers, apparently for their role in crushing the student-led pro-democracy movement.
1990
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir announced he had succeeded in forming a new right-wing coalition government, ending a three-month-old political crisis.
1991
A $12 million parade for the Persian Gulf War veterans, including 8,000 troops and military jets flying overhead, was held in Washington, D.C.
1991
Preakness winner "Hansel" won the Belmont Stakes.
1992
Secretary of State James A. Baker the Third and Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev met in Washington to try to pave the way for a new round of strategic arms cuts.
1993
The Chicago Symphony tour of Spain was in Valencia to do Haydn's 48th Symphony and Bruckner's Fourth.
1993
Los Angeles voters elected their first registered Republican mayor since 1961, choosing Richard Riordan over City Councilman Michael Woo.
1993
In New Jersey, Christie Todd Whitman defeated four other Republicans for the chance to face Governor Jim Florio in the November election.
1994
President Clinton returned to Oxford University, where he'd attended as a Rhodes scholar, to receive an honorary doctorate.
1994
Bosnia's warring factions agreed to a one-month cease-fire.
1995
Declaring racial hostility was behind recent church fires in the South, President Clinton said in his weekly radio address he would devote whatever resources were needed to "smother the fires of hatred."
1995
U.S. Marines rescued Captain Scott O'Grady, whose F16-C fighter jet had been shot down by Bosnian Serbs on June 2. Baseball's Mickey Mantle received a liver transplant at a Dallas hospital but died two months later.
1996
"Editor's Note" won the Belmont Stakes.
1996
Declaring racial hostility was behind recent church fires in the South, President Clinton said in his weekly radio address he would devote whatever resources were needed to "smother the fires of hatred."
1996
China set off an underground nuclear test blast.
1997
Irish Prime Minister John Bruton conceded narrow defeat in national elections to opposition leader Bertie Ahern.
1998
The National Rifle Association elected Charlton Heston its president.
1998
The shuttle Discovery pulled away from Mir, ending America's three-year space partnership with Russia.
1998
Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha died at age 54.
1999
President Clinton announced new restrictions aimed at making it tougher for teens to sneak into R-rated movies.
1999
The United States, Russia and six leading democracies authorized a text calling for a peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
2000
Two gunmen shot to death Brigadier Stephen Saunders, a British defense attache, in Athens, Greece; the elusive terrorist group November 17 claimed responsibility, saying it killed Saunders because of his role in NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia.
2000
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jeff MacNally died in Baltimore, Maryland, at age 52.
2005
Pelé cries as his son admits to marijuana addiction
2005
Britain's deadly bug possibly imported from U.S. or Canada
2005
Danish Integration Minister's car burned
2005
Google now worth over $80 billion
2005
30 travelers from Rwanda die in Ugandan bus crash
2005
California IT company to create 100 new jobs in Dublin
2005
Republic of Ireland beat Faroe Islands to top Group 4 for Football World Cup 2006
2005
Michael Jackson fate in hands of jurors
2005
Stowaway killed by aircraft landing gear; leg lands in homeowner's backyard
2005
Canadian provinces brace for more flooding
2005
Pittsburgh Pirates win three-game series over Baltimore Orioles
2005
President Lula opens U.N. forum to combat corruption
2006
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi killed in airstrike
2006
Oil falls $1.19 on news of al-Zarqawi death
2006
Five kidnapped South Korean natural gas plant workers released
2006
International forces in Dili reach agreement
2006
Congressional Candidate Raj Bhakta challenges Schwartz to debates
2006
Five South Korean workers kidnapped from Nigerian natural gas facility
2006
Auckland man convicted of sedition
2007
G8 reaches deal on African aid for health issues
2007
National Park Service covers donation box at United Airlines Flight 93 memorial
2007
Journalists for U.S. government radio admit past communist spy links
2007
Caught in Thailand for e-mail threats to Tesco, Briton issues apology
2007
Eleven HIV/AIDS patient-protestors detained in Myanmar
2007
Spain arrests Basque leader Otegi
2007
Judge orders Paris Hilton to return to jail
2007
One killed, 28 injured in south Thailand bombing
2007
Worst storm in thirty years hits Newcastle, Australia
2007
US President George W. Bush falls ill during G8 Summit
2008
Eight dead and two missing after cargo ship fire in Kaliningrad, Russia
2008
Man attacks people, kills 7 in Akihabara, Tokyo
2008
ITRI to challenge the infrastructure of WiMAX on High Speed Rails in Taiwan
2008
South Africa defeats Wales 43-17 in rugby test match
2008
New Zealand defeats Ireland 21-11 in rugby test match
2008
Buildings destroyed to slow flooding in China lake
2008
Argentina defeats Scotland 21-15 in rugby test match
2008
Large earthquake shakes Greece
2008
Dani Pedrosa wins Catalan MotoGP
2008
Robert Kubica wins Canadian Grand Prix
2008
Woman robs pawn shop by swallowing stolen goods
2008
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft having trouble analyzing soil samples
2009
Tourists evacuated following shootout between Mexican army and drug hitmen
2009
Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, Netherlands all qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup
2009
Gunmen kill ten people in Thai mosque
2009
Gabonese president Omar Bongo dies at age 73
2009
Suicide bomber kills three people in Afghanistan
2009
Minibus bombing in Iraq kills nine, injures 24
2009
Coal mine blast in Ukraine kills two; ten still missing
2009
Europeans go to the polls to elect Members of the European Parliament
2009
United Kingdom elects first British National Party members of European Parliament
2009
Jenson Button wins Turkish Grand Prix
2009
Tail from Air France jet recovered from Atlantic Ocean
2010
China says North Korea border patrol killed three Chinese
2010
Urban fox 'mauls' two babies in London, England
2010
Apple unveils iPhone 4, iOS 4 at Worldwide Developers Conference 2010
2010
UCLA basketball coach John Wooden dies at age 99
2010
US White House correspondent Helen Thomas retires
2010
Nurseries not harmful to children, says new UK study
2010
Portugal holds first same-sex marriage
2010
Eight injured after train derails in Argyll, Scotland
2010
Containment capsule captures 10,000 oil barrels a day in Gulf of Mexico
2010
Strike ballot to go ahead despite British Telecom's belated new pay offer
2010
Human trafficking trial starts in Clearwater, Florida
2011
New Internet addresses tested on World IPv6 Day
2011
Trump criticizes media bias towards Obama, especially during UK state visit
2012
Putin signs law increasing fines for illegal protestors
2012
Kosmala's Games inclusion highlights Australian Paralympians' longevity
In the early days of Unix, a date-tagged list of historical events was used by system administrators to add some interest to the system's Message of the Day. Whenever users logged in they would be presented with the latest system notices, perhaps some mildly amusing quotes and one or two lines of historical events, based on the current date.
Today in History (UNIX calendar) uses some of the entries from the original library but is updated with current events as well. Instead of plain text, each entry is now formatted in HTML and each day may include one or more icons of historical figures or celebrities.
Other things unique to the UNIX calendar are references to dates found in fictional literature such as Lord of the Rings, perhaps undue emphasis on people and events that were part of popular culture in the 70's and technical minutiae about computers and operating systems that might not be found in other places.
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