1690
Battle of Boyne commemorated in Ireland. The battle actually took place on July 1st.
1933
First US minimum wage 33¢ per hour
1979
Independence Day in Kiribati
1979
Chicago DJ Steve Dahl holds "Disco Demolition" at Comiskey Park
100
BC
Roman leader Gaius Julius Caesar (0102 BC by some calanders) born
526
Election of Felix III as Pope
1073
Death of St. John Gaulberto
1109
Crusaders capture Syria's harbor city of Tripoli
1153
Coronation of Anastasius IV as Pope
1174
William the Lion made prisoner at Alnwick
1174
King Henry II does penance at Canterbury for Becket's murder
1191
The armies of the Third Crusade (1189-92), led by England's King Richard ('TheLionhearted'), captured the Syrian seaport of Acre.
1221
Pelagius leads the 5th Crusade up the Nile
1290
Jews are expelled from England by order of King Edward I
1328
Marriage of David II, King of Scotland, to Joanna, sister of Edward III of England
1346
Landing of the English army at St. Vaast la Hogue, Cotentin, Normandy
1450
Death of Jack Cade
1536
Death of Desiderius Erasmus
1543
England's King Henry VIII marries Catharine Parr (his 6th & last wife), She outlived him.
1543
Henry VIII, King of England, marries Catherine Parr
1561
St Basil's Cathedral consecrated
1627
English troops under Buckingham land on the Isle of Rhe
1645
Death of Michael I, Czar of Russia
1690
Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeated the Roman Catholic army of James the Second at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
1730
Josiah Wedgewood , English potter, industrialist and writer. born
1757
Composer Christian Danner born
1789
Fire sweeps through Paris following 2 days of rioting.
1794
Russian zoologist Heinrich Christian Pander born
1812
US forces lead by Gen. Hull invade Canada (War of 1812).
1817
American writer Henry David Thoreau born
1843
Mormon church founder Joseph Smith announced that a divine revelation had been given him sanctioning polygamy among his newly-organized religious followers.
1849
Canada, physician/author William Osler. He studdied the circulatory system. born
1854
George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, was born. It was this man who in 1919 gave the 3-and-a-half Million dollars that made it possible to establish the Eastman School of Music. The Eastman School would become a hotbed of talented composers later in the century.
1862
Congress authorized a new award, the U.S. Medal of Honor, often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.
1878
Turkey cedes Cyprus to Britain.
1884
Amedeo Modigiani, Italian painter, sculptor, and draftsman. born
1884
Actor Joseph Crehan, Baltimore MD,(Charlie Chan-Meeting at Midnight) born
1895
Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist who worked with Richard Rodgers born
1895
R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome born
1895
Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian operatic soprano famous for her Wagnerian roles. born
1898
Peter Deyneka, missions pioneer. He founded the Slavic Gospel Association in 1934. This mission undertakes evangelistic work in Europe and South America. born
1908
Comedian Milton Berle "Uncle Miltie" born
1917
Artist Andrew Wyeth born
1920
The Panama canal, was officially opened by President Woodrow Wilson. The project began in 1881. The first ship actually sailed through on January 7, 1914.
1922
Hindemith's "Kammermusic for Winds" was premiered in Cologne. This witty piece, an early composition with traces of jazz here and there, is still popular with wind ensembles today.
1933
A new U.S. industrial code was established to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour. This was the first national minimum wage law passed by the U. S. Congress.
1934
US Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz Island abandoned.
1934
Pianist Van Cliburn born
1937
Comedian Bill Cosby born
1943
Singer-musician Christine McVie born
1944
Actress Denise Nicholas born
1944
The RAF becomes the first air force to use jet aircraft in operational service.
1948
Fitness guru Richard Simmons born
1948
Actor Jay Thomas born
1948
Singer Walter Egan born
1949
Rock singer-musician John Wetton (Asia; King Crimson) born
1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns from the army to begin his presidential campaign.
1956
Gospel singer Sandi Patti born
1957
Actress Mel Harris born
1962
Rock guitarist Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) born
1965
Rock singer Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) born
1969
Actress Lisa Nicole Carson born
1971
Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi born
1972
George McGovern won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach.
1973
Rapper Magoo born
1974
John Ehrlichman, a former aide to President Nixon, and three others were convicted of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg's former psychiatrist.
1976
Singer Tracie Spencer born
1976
Hans Werner Henze got a Marxist opera staged in London. It was called "We Come to the River" and was a revolution manifesto.
1977
President Carter defended Supreme Court decisions limiting government payments for poor women's abortions, saying, "There are many things in life that are not fair."
1978
Actor Topher Grace ("That 70's Show") born
1981
For the first time a woman in the United States was ordered to pay alimony to her husband.
1982
The last of the distinctive looking Checker taxicabs rolled off the assembly line in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company had produced those cabs since 1922.
1984
Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced he'd chosen US Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.
1985
Doctors discovered what turned out to be a cancerous growth in President Reagan's large intestine, prompting surgery the following day.
1986
Protestants paraded through Northern Ireland to observe the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, and to protest the Anglo-Irish accord giving Ireland a role in running the British-ruled province.
1987
For the first time in 20 years, a delegation of Soviet diplomats arrived in Israel for what was described as a "technical mission" to document Soviet citizens and make an inventory of Soviet property.
1988
Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis tapped Sen. Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate.
1989
President Bush continued his visit to Hungary, where he held talks with officials and made a speech at Karl Marx University in Budapest.
1989
A farmer in eastern France went on a shooting rampage, killing 14 people before being captured.
1990
Russian republic president Boris N. Yeltsin shocked the 28th congress of the Soviet Communist Party by announcing he was resigning his party membership. Saying he wanted to concentrate on his duties as president of the Russian republic.
1991
Actor Erik Per Sullivan ("Malcolm in the Middle") born
1991
A Japanese professor who had translated Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" was found stabbed to death, nine days after the novel's Italian translator was attacked in Milan.
1992
In an emotional farewell speech, Benjamin Hooks, outgoing executive director of the NAACP, urged the group's convention in Nashville, Tennessee, to show the world that it remained vital.
1993
196 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck northern Japan.
1993
In Somalia, a mob avenging a deadly United Nations attack on the compound of Mohamed Farrah Aidid killed an Associated Press photographer and three Reuters employees.
1994
Confirmation hearings began for Supreme Court nominee Stephen G. Breyer.
1994
Germany's highest court ruled the country's combat troops could be sent on U.N. missions abroad with parliamentary approval.
1994
The National League won the All-Star Game, defeating the American League 8-to-7.
1994
President Clinton, visiting Germany, went to the eastern sector of Berlin, the first American president to do so since Harry Truman.
1995
President Clinton spelled out school-prayer guidelines, asserting the First Amendment already guaranteed adequate freedom of religion.
1996
The House voted overwhelmingly to define marriage in federal law as a legal union of one man and one woman -- no matter what states might say.
1996
Hurricane "Bertha" slapped North Carolina's Cape Fear, then moved on to batter a string of coastal towns.
1997
In Copenhagen, the last stop of an eight-day European tour, President Clinton said political divisions in Europe were closing.
1997
In Spain, kidnapped Basque politician Miguel Angel Blanco was found mortally wounded shortly after a deadline set by his militant Basque captors.
1998
France beat Brazil, 3-to-0, for its first World Cup soccer championship.
1998
In Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, three young brothers who had been asleep in their beds burned to death in a sectarian attack.
1999
President Clinton and Republican congressional leaders held their first face-to-face budget meeting of the year; the talk was described afterward as positive.
2000
In Philadelphia, a WPVI TV news helicopter videotaped about a dozen police officers kicking and punching Thomas Jones, a black carjacking suspect. (Jones later pleaded guilty to carjacking and other crimes, and was sentenced to 18 to 36 years in prison)
2000
New Hampshire Chief Justice David Brock was impeached by the Legislature, the first such action against an official in the state since 1790. (He was later acquitted in a state Senate trial.)
2005
Former Sudanese rebel leader John Garang sworn in as vice president of Sudan
2005
Abreu smashes records, wins Home Run Derby
2005
Padraig Harrington withdraws from British Open
2005
Tropical Storm Emily forms in mid Atlantic, threatens North and Central America
2005
False security alarm in Bradford, England
2005
Four explosions at Spanish power station
2005
Intel's offices across the EU raided
2005
London bombing: Police search houses in Leeds
2005
Building in Barcelona damaged by explosion
2005
Suicide attack hits mall in Netanya, Israel
2005
Cuba declines American help for damage caused by Hurricane Dennis
2005
Police make significant progress in London bombings investigation
2005
UK Defence Minister alludes to possible Iraq troop reduction
2005
Arrest over London bombing
2005
White House refuses to comment on Karl Rove as source of leak
2005
Ft. Wayne, Indiana burn center treats Afghan child
2005
TD Financial to acquire Hudson United Bancorp
2005
Fire in Hospital in Costa Rica kills 18 persons
2005
Palestinian radio station broadcasts praise for London terror attacks
2005
Rebel leader says he will run for president in Haiti
2005
PRIDE Critical Countdown results
2006
Man arrested for mutilating NZ body
2006
Microsoft launches classified listings site
2006
UK to get new nuclear power stations
2006
Iraqi group claim deaths of U.S. soldiers avenge rape, murder of Iraqi girl
2006
Blair ally Lord Levy arrested
2006
Zidane apologises for headbutt
2006
China and Russia counter resolution against North Korea
2006
Psilocybin induces mystical and spiritual experiences: study
2006
EU fines Microsoft €280.5 million
2006
Canadian media company Bell Globemedia to acquire rival CHUM
2006
Hezbollah attack Israel; Israeli forces cross over into southern Lebanon
2006
Dozens arrested in leadup to St Petersburg G8 Summit
2006
Sex scandal rocks Scottish politics
2007
Illinois man named person of interest in wife's disappearance
2007
NASA says water found on exoplanet
2007
Plane from Los Angeles to London diverted
2007
Australian radio personality Stan Zemanek dies aged 60
2007
US stocks surge, Dow Jones index reaches record
2007
FIFA U20 World Cup: Austria, Czech Republic, Spain and US make it to quarters
2007
IAEA: North Korea to begin shutting down nuclear reactor next week
2007
Two British girls arrested for smuggling in Ghana
2007
Tour de France: Filippo Pozzato wins stage 5
2007
Tour de France: Thor Hushovd wins stage 4
2007
AFC Asian Cup: Lights fail as Korea draw with Saudi Arabia, Iran defeat Uzbekistan
2007
European football: Benayoun, Babel move to Liverpool
2007
Well-preserved baby mammoth found in Siberia
2008
United Kingdom will compensate Iraqi victims of abuse
2008
Chaotic first day for iPhone 3G
2008
IndyMac Bank placed into conservatorship by US Government
2008
Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary and "Fox News Sunday" anchor, dies at age 53
2008
American surgeon Michael E. DeBakey dies at age 99
2008
Six die as bus carrying Polish tourists crashes in Serbia
2008
Van Halen singer impersonated in Canadian medical scare
2009
Former president Rafsanjani to lead Friday Iran prayers
2009
Firefighter killed while tackling pub blaze in Edinburgh, Scotland
2009
Daisy Dick wins Barbury International Horse Trials
2010
Spain defeat the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time to win FIFA World Cup
2010
Bomb blasts in Uganda kill dozens
2010
Rosetta spacecraft passes Lutetia asteroid
2010
Reutimann 'earns' second career NASCAR Sprint Cup race win
2010
Australian rules football: Gippsland Football League round 13 - Traralgon defeat Sale
2012
Nine die in French Alps avalanche at Mont Maudit
2013
Moldovan premier invites Romanian counterpart to pipeline start
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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