Today In The Past
Events
303 - Emperor Diocletian orders general persecution of Christians
1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints 1st book, Bible (estimated date)
1574 - France begins 5th holy war against Huguenots
1672 - Joan Blaeus publishers destroyed by fire in Amsterdam
1689 - Dutch prince William III proclaimed king of England
1778 - Baron von Steuben joins Continental Army at Valley Forge
1792 - Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners)
1813 - 1st US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Mass
1821 - College of Apothecaries organized in Phil; 1st US pharmacy college
1822 - Boston is incorporated as a city
1836 - Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed
1847 - Battle of Buena Vista Mexico; Zachary Taylor defeats Mexicans
1861 - Pres-elect Lincoln arrives secretly in Wash DC to take office
1870 - Mississippi is readmitted to US
1883 - Alabama becomes 1st US state to enact an antitrust law
1883 - American Anti-Vivisection Society organized (Phila)
1886 - Aluminum manufacturing process developed
1892 - 1st college student government forms at Bryn Mawr Penn
1895 - Jaap Eden skates world record 10km (17:56)
1896 - Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield
1898 - In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his “J’accuse” letter accusing government of anti-Semitism & wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus
1900 - Battle at Hart’s Hill, South-Africa (Boers vs British army)
1903 - Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA
1904 - US acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million
1905 - Rotary Club International formed by 4 men in Chicago
1906 - Tommy Burns beats Marvin Hart in 20 for heavyweight boxing title
1915 - Germany sinks US ships Carib & Evelyn & torpedoes Norwegian ship Regin
1916 - Congress authorizes McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin
1916 - French artillery kills entire French 72nd division at Samogneux Verdun
1917 - February revolution begins in Russia
1918 - First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser’s German troops near Narva and Pskov. Since 1923 this date become the Day of Red Army in honour of this victory.
1919 - Fascist Party forms in Italy by Benito Mussolini
1921 - 1st US transcontinental air mail flight arrives in NYC from SF
1927 - Pres Calvin Coolidge creates Federal Radio Commission (FCC)
1936 - 1st rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake, NY
1938 - Joe Louis KOs Nathan Mann in 3 for heavyweight boxing title
1940 - Walt Disney’s animated movie “Pinocchio,” released
1941 - Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1942 - Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood, Calif
1943 - German troops pull back through Kasserine-pass Tunisia
1944 - Forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people to Central Asia.
1945 - Operation Grenade: Gen Simpsons 9th Army crosses Ruhr
1945 - US Marines raise flag on Iwo Jima, famous photo & statue
1947 - Gen Eisenhower opens drive to raise $170M in aid for European Jews
1954 - 1st mass inoculation with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh)
1958 - 5-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels
1960 - Demolition begins on Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field (opened in 1913)
1966 - Aldo Moro forms Italian government
1967 - 25th amendment (presidential succession) declared ratified
1967 - US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain becomes 1st NBAer to score 25,000 points
1971 - Lt Calley confessed & implicates Captain Medina
1973 - Gold goes up $10 overnight to record $95 an ounce in London
1974 - Patty Hearst, daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by SLA
1974 - Teri Garr appears on Bob Newhart Show in “Confessions of an Orth”
1979 - Frank Peterson Jr named 1st black general in Marine Corps
1980 - 13th Winter Olympic games close at Lake Placid, NY
1980 - Eric Heiden wins all 5 speed skating golds at Lake Placid Olympics
1980 - Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-mil-gallon spill
1981 - People mag features drug ordeal of Mackenzie & Papa John Phillips
1983 - USFL NJ Generals sign Heisman winner Herschel Walker (3 years-$5 mil)
1983 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
1987 - Supernova 1987A in LMC 1st seen; 1st naked-eye supernova since 1604
1988 - Yvonne van Gennip skates female record 3k (4:11.94)
1992 - 16th Winter Olympic games closes in Albertville, France
1995 - Dow Jones closes above 4,000 for 1st time (4,003.33)
1997 - Ali Abu Kamal opens fire in Empire State Building & kills 1
1997 - NBC TV shows “Schindler’s List,” completely uncensored, 65M watch
1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced they succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named “Dolly”
1998 - Tornadoes in Florida kills at least 31
1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.
1999 - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
2006 - Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.
2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
2008 - a B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed.
2010 - Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster.
2012 - A series of bomb attacks across 12 Iraqi cities kills 60 and injures 200
Births
1417 - Pope Paul II [Pietro Barbo], Venice, Republic of Venice, Pope (1464-71)
1583 - Jean-Baptiste Morin, French scientist (d. 1656)
1614 - Jacob Colijn(s), Dutch coat of arms painter
1615 - Cornelis Galle II, Flemish engraver/illustrator, baptised
1633 - Samuel Pepys, London England, navy expert/composer (Diary, Memoirs)
1646 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (d. 1709)
1685 - George Friedrich Handel, Halle Germany, organist/composer (Messiah)
1723 - Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)
1729 - Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (d. 1809)
1734 - Mayer Amschel Rothschild, Frankfurt, founder (House of Rothschild)
1787 - Emma Willard, US, opens school for young ladies (Hall of Fame)
1818 - Jeremy F Gilmer, Maj Gen/Chief Engineer Confederate War Dept
1824 - Lewis Cass Hunt, Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1838 - Gilbert Moxley Sorrel, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1840 - Carl Menger, Austrian economist
1842 - Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)
1868 - William E B Du Bois, Mass, civil rights activist and writer (Souls of Black Folk)
1869 - Nadezhda Konstantinova Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary (Soc-Dem)
1883 - Karl Jaspers, Oldenburg Germany, existentialist philosopher
1889 - Victor Fleming, American director (Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind), (d. 1949)
1889 - Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
1904 - Leopold Trepper, Polish/Israeli spy/founded (CP Palestina)
1904 - William L Shirer, historian (Rise & Fall of 3rd Reich)
1911 - G Mennen Williams, Detroit, Sup Court Justice/(Gov-D-Mich, 1949-60)
1913 - Charles Leonard, US, pentathelete (Olympic-1936)
1915 - Paul Tibbets, US Air Force retired Brigadier General and Pilot of B-29 “Enola Gay” over Hiroshima (d. 2007)
1928 - Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev, Siberia USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, 18A)
1929 - Elston Howard, Yankee catcher (1st black NY Yankee/1963 AL MVP)
1930 - Harry Boldt, German Fed Rep, equestrian dressage (Olympic-gold-1976)
1933 - Lee Calhoun, Laurel Miss, hurdler (Olympics-gold-56, 60)
1933 - Lee Quencey Calhoun, Laurel MS, 110m hurdler (Olympic-gold-1956, 60)
1939 - Josef Feistmantl, Austria, lugeist (Olympic-gold-1964)
1940 - Peter Fonda, actor (Easy Rider, Lilith, Wild Angels, Trip)
1944 - Johnny Winter, [John Dawson], Leland Miss, guitarist (Silver Train)
1944 - John Sandford, American novelist
1946 - Rusty Young, California, rock steel guitarist (Poco-Heat of the Night)
1947 - Shakira Caine, Guyana, actress (Man Who be King)/Miss Guyana (1967)
1950 - Steve Priest, London, rock bassist (Sweet Hayes)
1951 - Ed “Too Tall” Jones, NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys)
1951 - Patricia Richardson, Bethesada Md, actress (Double Trouble, Home Imp)
1952 - Brad Whitford, Mass, rock guitarist (Aerosmith-Jamie Got a Gun)
1953 - Sallie L Baliunas, astrophysicist
1953 - Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
1955 - Howard Jones, rock pianist/vocalist (Things Can Only Get Better)
1962 - Michael Wilton, rock guitarist (Queensrijche-Warning)
1963 - Bobby Bonilla, NYC, outfielder (NY Mets, Balt Orioles, Marlins)
1963 - Debbie Kruck, Danbury CT, Ms Fitness USA (1994)
1965 - Helena Sukova, Prague Czech Rep, tennis star (1985 US Open’s Double)
1965 - Kristin Davis, actress (Melrose Place)
1965 - Michael Dell, American computer manufacturer
1967 - Chris Vrenna, American musician, producer and sound engineer Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker
1968 - Stephanie Seymour, SD California, actress/model (Sunny Side Up)
1973 - Robert Pipkins, Staten Island NY, luger (Olympics-1994)
1979 - D-Roc, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)
1983 - Aziz Ansari, Indian American Comedian
1983 - Emily Blunt, British actress
1986 - Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese pop star (KAT-TUN)
1994 - Dakota Fanning, American actress
Deaths
155 - Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John, arrested & burned at stake
943 - Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
1011 - Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz
1100 - Emperor Zhezong of China (b. 1076)
1447 - Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
1464 - Zhengtong, Emperor of China (b. 1427)
1468 - John Gutenberg, German inventor (boekdrukkunst), dies
1526 - Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies
1554 - Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey’s father, executed
1603 - Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
1781 - George Taylor, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (bc. 1716)
1821 - John Keats, Romantic poet, dies of tuberculosis at 25 in Rome
1848 - John Quincy Adams, 6th US pres (1825-1829), dies of a stroke at 80
1855 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician, dies
1884 - Tambo Tambo, Australian aboriginal/US circus attaction, dies at 23
1902 - Samuel R Gardiner, British historian (Oliver Cromwell), dies at 72
1922 - Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)
1930 - Horst Wessel, German nazi lyricist (Fahne Hoch), dies at 22
1930 - Mabel Normand, actress/director (Extra Girl), dies at 35
1934 - Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan patriot, assassinated by National Guard
1935 - Jan Duiker, Dutch architect (Hotel Gooiland), dies at 44
1944 - Leo Hendrick Baekeland, inventor (Bakelite), dies
1945 - Aubrey Cousins, Canadian sergeant (Victoria Cross), dies in battle
1946 - Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (hanged) (b. 1885)
1948 - John Robert Gregg, Irish-born publisher and inventor (b. 1866)
1960 - Arthur Legat, Belgian racing driver (b. 1898)
1965 - Stan Laurel, comedian (Laurel & Hardy), dies of heart attack at 74
1968 - Fannie Hurst, US author (Anatomy of Me), dies at 78
1970 - Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)
1971 - King Lockwood, dies of stroke at 73
1973 - Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
1990 - James Gavin, commandant US 82nd Airborn Div (Normandy), dies at 82
1990 - Jose Napoleon Duarte, president of Salvador (1984-89), dies at 62
1994 - Stuart Berger, doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40
1995 - Art Kane, photographer, dies at 69
1995 - James Herriot [Alfred Wight], Scottish author (All Creatures Great & Small), dies at 78
1995 - Peter Guy Wykeham Fighter Pilot-Barnes, dies at 79
1996 - George Alan Dawson, jazz drummer/teacher, dies at 66
1999 - Carlos Hathcock, USMC Sniper, 93 Confirmed Kills (b. 1942)
2000 - Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)
2003 - Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
2003 - Howie Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (b. 1955)
2004 - Don Cornell, American singer (b. 1919)
2008 - Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)
2008 - Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot, first to land at Newfoundland Airport on January 11, 1938 (b. 1916)
2012 - Bruce Surtees, American cinematographer, dies at 74
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