| 942:
|
The Benedictine monk who named the notes of the scale "A" to "G" died. "Odo," as he was known, wrote a musical textbook. It begins with a foreword that says his brothers told him to keep it simple so anyone could understand the rules
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| 1095:
|
The Council of Clermont begins
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| 1188:
|
Richard,"the Lion Hearted," heir to England, does homage to Philip Augustus, King of France, for his French possessions
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| 1210:
|
Excommunication of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
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| 1247:
|
Death of Robin Hood, according to Bulfinch
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| 1307:
|
William Tell shoots the apple off his son's head? Did it happen? No one know for sure. The origin of the story is even unknown. It is of either Swiss, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic or Persian origin
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| 1414:
|
Coronation of Sigsimund as King of Germany
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| 1441:
|
Roger Bolingbroke, astrologer, hanged, drawn and quartered
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| 1477:
|
"The Sayings of the Philosophers" was published, the earliest known book printed in England to carry a date
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| 1518:
|
Cortez sets out from Cuba to conquer Mexico
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| 1531:
|
Roberto Ridolfi - Florentine conspirator who attempted in 1570-71 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England in favour of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. born
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| 1557:
|
John Hallingdale, William Sparrow and Richard Gibson tortured and executed for heresy
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| 1618:
|
Sir George Yardley is appointed as Governor of Virgina
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| 1626:
|
Consecration of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican
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| 1779:
|
The theatre at Prince Esterhazy's country estate burned down. The Prince decided to go to Paris while it was rebuilt, giving Haydn and his musicians a much-needed vacation
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| 1785:
|
British portrait painter and printmaker Sir David Wilkie born
|
| 1786:
|
English composer Sir Henry Rowley Bishop ("Home, Sweet Home", "Lo, Here the Gentle Lark.") born
|
| 1786:
|
German composer and opera director Carl Maria von Weber born
|
| 1789:
|
French physicist Louis Daguerre, inventor of daguerreotype photography born
|
| 1820:
|
US Navy Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer discovered the frozen continent of Antarctica
|
| 1836:
|
Comic opera libretto writer Sir W.S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) born
|
| 1836:
|
Professor of psychiatry and founder Criminology Cesare Lombroso born
|
| 1848:
|
French painter of rustic outdoor scenes Jules Bastien-Lepage. born
|
| 1860:
|
Polish pianist, composer, and statesman Ignacy (Jan) Paderewski (prime minister of Poland in 1919). born
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| 1870:
|
Dorthea Dix, pseudonym for Elizabeth Gilman, who wrote syndicated advice born
|
| 1874:
|
American writer Clarence (Shepard) Day (Life with Father). born
|
| 1874:
|
Women's Christian Temperance Union is formed
|
| 1883:
|
The United States adopted Standard Time and set up four zones - Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific
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| 1886:
|
The 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, died in New York at age 56
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| 1894:
|
The "New York World" published the first regular Sunday comic section on this day
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| 1897:
|
Patrick M(aynard) S(tuart) Blackett Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1948 for his discoveries in the field of cosmic radiation. born
|
| 1899:
|
Hungarian-born American conductor Eugene Ormandy born
|
| 1900:
|
Dr. Howard Thurman, theologian and first African American to hold a full time position at Boston University. born
|
| 1900:
|
W. Wallace Smith American religious leader, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints born
|
| 1901:
|
Pollster George Gallup born
|
| 1901:
|
Golfer Craig Wood born
|
| 1908:
|
Actress-comedian Imogene Coca (Your Show of Shows, Sid Caesar Invites You, It's about Time, Grindl, Admiral Broadway Revue, National Lampoon's Vacation) born
|
| 1909:
|
American lyricist, vocalist, and composer Johnny Mercer (On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening [w/Hoagy Carmichael] , Moon River , Days of Wine and Roses , Autumn Leaves, One for My Baby, Charade, Satin Doll, You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Come Rain or Come Shine, Hooray for Hollywood, Jeepers Creepers, I'm An Old Cowhand, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive; wrote or co-wrote over a thousand songs) born
|
| 1912:
|
Cholera breaks out in Constantinople
|
| 1914:
|
Expressionist painter Ibere Bassanti Camargo born
|
| 1916:
|
Opera soprano Amelita Galli-Curci born
|
| 1919:
|
Actress Jocelyn Brando (A Question of Love, The Big Heat) born
|
| 1921:
|
New York City considers varying work hours to avoid long traffic jams
|
| 1921:
|
Washington DC hosted the first international fencing championships to be held in America. The competition with light swords was sponsored by the Racquet Club
|
| 1923:
|
Former astronaut Alan Shepard (First American in space) born
|
| 1923:
|
Senator Ted Stevens (Republican, Alaska) born
|
| 1925:
|
Baseball manager Gene Mauch born
|
| 1926:
|
Singer (Marjorie Chandler) Dorothy Collins (My Boy Flattop, Your Hit Parade) born
|
| 1926:
|
Baseball outfielder Roy Sievers (Rookie of the Year 1949) born
|
| 1928:
|
The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie," starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York at the Colony Theater
|
| 1928:
|
George Gershwin finished "An American in Paris". It is the best-known piece of music scored for taxi horns
|
| 1932:
|
For the first time, a tie occurred for the Best Actor Academy Award. Wallace Beery and Fredric March were only one vote apart so the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ruled it a tie. Both received an Oscar. March thought it rather funny that the two were honored for "best male performance of the year" when they each had adopted a child that year
|
| 1936:
|
Singer Hank Ballard (The Twist, Finger Poppin' Time, Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go, Work with Me Annie, Sexy Ways, Annie Had a Baby) born
|
| 1936:
|
Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco
|
| 1936:
|
The main span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is joined
|
| 1939:
|
Canadian poet, novelist, and critic, Margaret (Eleanor) Atwood (Cat's Eye, Dancing Girls & Other Stories) born
|
| 1939:
|
Actress Brenda Vaccaro (The Shape of Things, Once is Not Enough, Cactus Flower, The Goodbye People, How Now Dow Jones, Midnight Cowboy, Airport '77, Ten Little Indians) born
|
| 1939:
|
The Irish Republican Army explodes three bombs in Picadilly Circus
|
| 1941:
|
Auto racer Gary Bettenhausen (fastest Indy 500 qualifying time ever: 224.468 mph 1991) born
|
| 1942:
|
Actress Linda (Evanstad) Evans (Dynasty, The Big Valley, Standing Tall, Hunter, North and South, Book II) born
|
| 1942:
|
Thornton Wilder's play, "The Skin of Our Teeth" opened in New York City. The play was Wilder's sequel to "Our Town". "The Skin of Our Teeth" starred Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March, Montgomery Clift and E.G. Marshall. One critic wrote, "As of last evening, the theatre was looking up."
|
| 1944:
|
Actress Susan Sullivan (It's a Living, Falcon Crest, Rich Man Poor Man Book II, Having Babies, The George Carlin Show, The Dark Ride, The Incredible Hulk, Deadman's Curve) born
|
| 1946:
|
Country singer Jacky Ward born
|
| 1947:
|
Actor Jameson Parker born
|
| 1948:
|
Actress-singer Andrea Marcovicci born
|
| 1948:
|
Alben W. Barkley married Elizabeth J. Rucker in St. Louis. It was the first time a U.S. Vice President married while in office
|
| 1949:
|
Rock musician Herman Rarebell (The Scorpions) born
|
| 1949:
|
The U.S. Air Force grounds B-29s after two crashes and 23 deaths in three days
|
| 1949:
|
Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers was named the National League's Most Valuable Player
|
| 1950:
|
Singer Graham Parker born
|
| 1953:
|
Comedian Kevin Nealon (Saturday Night Live, All I Want for Christmas, Roxanne) born
|
| 1960:
|
Actress Elizabeth Perkins born
|
| 1960:
|
Singer Kim Wilde born
|
| 1962:
|
Rock musician Kirk Hammett (Metallica) born
|
| 1965:
|
Rock singer Tim DeLaughter (Tripping Daisy) born
|
| 1966:
|
US Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays
|
| 1967:
|
Lulu's "To Sir with Love", from the movie of the same name, started its fifth and final week at number one on the "Billboard Hot 100."
|
| 1969:
|
Singer Duncan Sheik born
|
| 1969:
|
Financier-diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy died in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at age 81
|
| 1970:
|
Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling declared that large doses of Vitamin C could ward off the common cold
|
| 1974:
|
Actress Chloe Sevigny born
|
| 1974:
|
Frank Sinatra, emerged from retirement to do a TV special with dancer, Gene Kelly. The show was a smash hit and revived Sinatra's career
|
| 1975:
|
John Denver received a gold record for his song, "I'm Sorry". When he, like all artists do, took the gold single out of the frame and tried to play it, he heard "I'm Sorry" - by Brenda Lee - instead
|
| 1976:
|
Spain's parliament approved a bill to establish a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship
|
| 1978:
|
California Congressman Leo J. Ryan and four other people were killed in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide by 912 cult members
|
| 1986:
|
For the first time since his departure from his own late-night TV show, Jack Parr was a guest of Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show." One of TV's great lines came from the show, when Carson quipped (after one of Parr's long, long spiels), "Why is it that I feel I'm guesting on your show?"
|
| 1986:
|
Roger Clemens was named the American League's Most Valuable Player. He was the first American League starter to be so named in 15 years. The Boston Red Sox hurler won the honor one week after earning the Cy Young Award
|
| 1987:
|
The congressional Iran-Contra committees issued their final report, saying President Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides
|
| 1987:
|
Thirty-one people died in a fire at King's Cross, London's busiest subway station
|
| 1987:
|
CBS Incorporated announced it had agreed to sell its records division to Sony Corporation for about two billion dollars
|
| 1988:
|
President Reagan signed major legislation creating a Cabinet-level drug czar and providing the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill
|
| 1989:
|
Longshoreman Buck Helm, who had initially survived the northern California earthquake, died at a hospital in Oakland, almost a month after he was pulled from a flattened section of the Nimitz Freeway
|
| 1990:
|
President Bush began a series of meetings in Paris with Allied leaders aimed at solidifying support for his Persian Gulf policies
|
| 1990:
|
Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev met at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II, who said all possible efforts should be made to avoid war in the Persian Gulf
|
| 1991:
|
Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon freed Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and educator Thomas Sutherland
|
| 1992:
|
President-elect Clinton began a two-day whirlwind visit to the nation's capital by meeting with President Bush
|
| 1992:
|
Roman Catholic bishops defeated a controversial document on women in the church, with the issue of women's ordination at the center of their disagreement
|
| 1993:
|
The US House of Representatives joined the Senate in approving legislation aimed at protecting abortion facilities, staff and patients
|
| 1993:
|
American Airlines flight attendants went on strike; they ended their job action four days later
|
| 1993:
|
Representatives of 21 South African political parties approved a new constitution
|
| 1994:
|
15 people were killed and more than 150 wounded when Palestinian police opened fire on rioting worshipers outside a mosque in the Gaza Strip
|
| 1994:
|
The Commerce Department reported that America's trade deficit worsened to $10.3 billion dollars in September
|
| 1994:
|
Bandleader Cab Calloway died in Hockessin, Delaware, at age 86
|
| 1995:
|
With no relief in sight from a budget impasse that forced a partial government shutdown, the House rebelled against Republican leaders during a raucous Sunday session and voted to oppose formally adjourning the chamber until Monday
|
| 1995:
|
Bob Dole won a major Florida straw poll, cementing his status as the Republican presidential front-runner
|
| 1996:
|
Onetime CIA station chief Harold J. Nicholson was charged with selling top secrets to the Russians for more than 120-thousand dollars. (Nicholson later pleaded guilty to espionage and was sentenced to 23 and a-half years in prison; he was spared a life sentence for cooperating with investigators.)
|
| 1997:
|
The FBI officially pulled out of the probe into the TWA Flight 800 disaster, saying the explosion that destroyed the Boeing 747, killing all 230 people aboard, was not caused by a criminal act
|
| 1997:
|
In the biggest banking deal in US history, First Union Corporation announced the purchase of CoreStates Financial Corporation for $16.1 billion
|
| 1998:
|
House Republicans endorsed US Representative Bob Livingston of Louisiana to be their next speaker, succeeding Newt Gingrich. (However, Livingston later resigned from the House before he could take over the speakership after admitting to marital infidelities.)
|
| 1999:
|
Twelve people were killed when a bonfire under construction at Texas A&M University collapsed
|
| 1999:
|
A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted Shawn Allen Berry of murder for his role in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., but spared him the death penalty
|
| 1999:
|
American author and composer Paul Bowles, best known for "The Sheltering Sky" and other novels set in North Africa, died in Morocco at age 88
|
| 2005:
|
British policewoman shot dead
|
| 2005:
|
At least 60 killed in Iraq suicide bombings
|
| 2005:
|
U.S. government proposes removing Yellowstone grizzlies from endangered species list
|
| 2005:
|
Haiti postpones presidential elections until December
|
| 2006:
|
New Zealand National party rejects waterfront stadium
|
| 2006:
|
Indian Army to preserve British-era architecture
|
| 2006:
|
New Zealand Qantas Television Awards announced
|
| 2006:
|
Anant Gupta returns after spending 5 days with his abductors
|
| 2006:
|
Islamic Jihad considers halting rocket-fire into Israel
|
| 2006:
|
Brad and Angelina's bodyguards arrested after allegedly saying racial slurs to parents
|
| 2006:
|
Socialist Ségolène Royal launches campaign for French presidency
|
| 2006:
|
Blair agrees Iraq is a disaster
|
| 2006:
|
Chinese Wikipedia publishes 100,000th article
|
| 2006:
|
"Darfur a powder keg" says UN Head of Humanitarian Affairs
|
| 2007:
|
Baseball World Cup Quarter Final: A brand new semi-finalists except the host team
|
| 2007:
|
Baseball World Cup Semi Final: Cuba meets USA 8 times
|
| 2007:
|
Athletes from 2009 Summer Deaflympics participate the Warming Up Challenge of Taipei 101 Run Up
|
| 2007:
|
Lula: Venezuela "does not lack democracy"
|
| 2007:
|
Australia defeat Nigeria in international football (soccer) friendly
|
| 2008:
|
ETA chief arrested in southern France
|
| 2008:
|
Pakistan wins Fortune Cup defeating West Indies by 3-0
|
| 2008:
|
Japan enters recession
|
| 2009:
|
Russia may delay launch of "Angara" rocket due to funding cuts
|
| 2009:
|
Illinois tollway worker jailed for stealing fines
|
| 2009:
|
Czechs and Slovaks celebrate twenty years since Velvet Revolution
|
| 2009:
|
British army bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan
|
| 2009:
|
New poll indicates Barack Obama's approval rating under 50%
|
| 2009:
|
European Union to train Somali security forces
|
| 2010:
|
Vettel becomes youngest Formula One champion
|
| 2010:
|
'Criminal in a police uniform' given eleven years jail for role in English drugs gang
|
| 2011:
|
Philippine court issues arrest warrant for former President Arroyo
|
History
Icons
Dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator, WS Gilbert born in London, England
Comedian and Emmy Award winning actress, Imogene Coca born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mickey Mouse debuts in Steamboat Willie
Golden Globe award winning stage, television and film actress, Brenda Vaccaro born in Brooklyn, New York
Golden Globe Award winning actress, Linda Evans born in Hartford, Connecticut
Owen Wilson (Shanghai Knights, Zoolander, Royal Tenenbaums, Cars) born in Dallas, Texas