1303 The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII.
1453 The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurs, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fight their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet and into the Golden Horn.
1494 Johannes Agricola (born), German reformer (died 1566)
1517 Bogdan III the One-Eyed (died), Romanian son of Stephen III of Moldavia (born 1470)
1534 Jacques Cartier begins the voyage during which he discovers Canada and Labrador.
1646 Charles Plumier (born), French botanist (died 1704)
1657 Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
1745 Philippe Pinel (born), French physician (died 1826)
1748 Georg Michael Telemann (born), German composer and theologian (died 1831)
1769 Chief Pontiac (died), American tribal leader (born 1720)
1775 American Revolutionary War: the Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
1808 Napoleon III (born), French politician, 1st President of France (died 1873)
1818 The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
1831 John Abernethy (died), English surgeon (born 1764)
1836 Eli Whitney Blake, Jr. (born), American scientist (died 1895)
1836 U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
1861 American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
1862 Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment falsifying the theory of spontaneous generation.
1865 Astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
1871 The Civil Rights Act of 1871 becomes law.
1884 Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum Genus.
1889 Adolf Hitler (born), Austrian-German politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1945)
1893 Joan Miró (born), Spanish painter (died 1983)
1902 Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
1908 Lionel Hampton (born), American pianist, bandleader, and actor (died 2002)
1908 Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
1912 Opening day for baseball’s Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
1913 Willi Hennig (born), German biologist (died 1976)
1918 Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
1926 Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.
1927 Phil Hill (born), American race car driver (died 2008)
1937 George Takei, (born) American actor
1939 Billie Holiday records the first Civil Rights song “Strange Fruit”.
1941 Ryan O’Neal (born), American actor
1946 The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
1948 Craig Frost (born), American pianist and songwriter (Grand Funk)
1949 Jessica Lange (born), American actress
1951 Dan Gavriliu performs the first surgical replacement of a human organ.
1951 Luther Vandross (born), American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (died 2005)
1961 Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
1965 Adrián Fernández (born), Mexican race car driver
1966 David Filo (born), American businessman and the co-founded Yahoo!
1972 Carmen Electra (born), American model, actress, and singer
1972 Stephen Marley (born), American singer, guitarist, and producer (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
1982 Archibald MacLeish (died), American poet (born 1892)
1986 Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
1991 Don Siegel (died), American director and producer (born 1912)
1991 Steve Marriott (died), English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Small Faces and Humble Pie) (born 1947)
1992 Benny Hill (died), English comedian and actor (born 1924)
1993 Cantinflas (died), Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1911)
1999 Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
1999 Señor Wences (died), Spanish ventriloquist and comedian (born 1896)
2008 Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
2010 The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
2013 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan last reactor is shut down at 00:00 Midnight.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
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