- 0250 Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
- 1156 According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Kylinjrvi in Finland.
- 1265 In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now also known as the "Houses of Parliament".
- 1265 The first English Parliament called into session by Earl of Leicester
- 1265 UK hist First elected English parliament (De Montfort's Parliament) conducts its first meeting, in the Palace of Westminster
- 1320 Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland
- 1356 Edward Balliol resigns as King of Scotland.
- 1356 Scottish king Edward Baliol resigns
- 1502 The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro first explored.
- 1503 Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) found (Spain) to deal with American affairs
- 1513 Christian II succeeds Johan I as Danish/Norwegian king
- 1523 Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- 1576 The Mexican city of Len is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martn Enrquez de Almansa.
- 1613 Peace of Knärod ends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
- 1648 Cornerstone of Amsterdam town hall laid
- 1649 Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes"
- 1667 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to Imperial Russia in the treaty of Andrusovo.
- 1667 The Treaty of Andrussovo ends a 13-year war between Russia and Poland which cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and the eastern Ukraine to Russia.
- 1778 The first American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge MA
- 1781 The first edition of Pieter It Hoens "Post of Neder-Rhijn" published
- 1783 Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War
- 1783 The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the Revolutionary War.
- 1783 U.S. and British representatives signed a preliminary Cessation of Hostilities, which ended the fighting in the Revolutionary War.
- 1785 Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island (Ellis Island), no takers
- 1788 Pioneer African Baptist church organizes in Savannah GA
- 1788 Third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides Botany Bay is unsuitable for location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
- 1800 Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries King Joachim Murat of Naples
- 1801 John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 1807 Napoleon convenes the great Sanhedrin, Paris
- 1809 The first US geology book published by William Maclure
- 1839 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance.
- 1840 Dumont D'Urville discovers Adlie Land, Antarctica.
- 1840 Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
- 1841 Hong Kong Island occupied by the British.
- 1850 Investigator, first ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England
- 1860 Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
- 1866 Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
- 1868 Florida constitutional convention meets in Tallahassee
- 1869 Elizabeth Cady Stanton becomes first woman to testify before Congress
- 1870 "City of Boston" vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard
- 1870 Hiram R Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis
- 1872 California Stock Exchange Board organized
- 1879 British troops under Lord Chelmsford set camp at Isandlwana
- 1879 The Schooner Janet Wignall, in passage from Liverpool to Creetown, Scotland, in ballast stranded at Bargue near Dumfries with the loss of all hands.
- 1881 Visitor posting - Newcastle-upon-Tyne draper's is first shop in World lit by electric light - United Kingdom
- 1883 Billy Barnes takes a hat-trick, England vs Australia MCG
- 1885 L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- 1886 UK hist Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales
- 1887 US Senate approves the naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
- 1892 At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played.
- 1892 The first officially recognized basketball game was played at the YMCA gym in Springfield, Mass.
- 1902 The Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed, it ends the "splendid isolation" of Britain and recognizes Japan's interests in Korea
- 1920 American Civil Liberties Union founded.
- 1920 Dutch 2nd Chamber passes school laws
- 1921 Dagestan ASSR forms in RSFSR
- 1921 Mountain Autonomous Republic established in RSFSR
- 1921 The first Constitution of Turkey was adopted, which made fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
- 1921 Turkey declared in remnants of the Ottoman Empire
- 1925 USSR & Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to USSR
- 1926 2nd German government of Luther begins
- 1928 Visitor posting - joyce tibbitts born. my pet was Bufff - USA
- 1929 In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released.
- 1929 The first feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, "In Old Arizona"
- 1934 Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
- 1936 Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- 1936 UK hist George V dies; Edward VIII king
- 1937 -45ºF (-43ºC), Boca CA (state record)
- 1937 The first Inauguration day on Jan 20th, (held every 4th years thereafter)
- 1939 Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews
- 1940 Visitor posting - Craig Estee Born - USA
- 1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain
- 1942 Japanese invade Burma
- 1942 Nazi officials decide on their "final solution" that calls for the extermination of Jews.
- 1942 Wannsee Conference: Details of plan to murder 11,000,000 European Jews are drafted.
- 1942 World War II: Nazis at the Wannsee conference in Berlin decide the "final solution to the Jewish problem".
- 1943 Lead SD, temp is 52ºF, while 1.5 miles away Deadwood SD records -16ºF
- 1943 Operation-Weiss Assault of German, Italian, Bulgarian & Croatian
- 1943 The Coast Guard Air Station, Floyd Bennett Field had experimented with a helicopter used as an airborne ambulance
- 1944 RAF drops 2300 ton bombs on Berlin
- 1945 FDR sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as President
- 1945 Hungary drops out of the Second World War, agreeing an armistice with the Allies.
- 1946 F Gouin follows De Gaulle as temporary leader of French government
- 1947 Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
- 1948 Visitor posting - Timothy Allen Moore born - not sure if either he or mom will survive-both do
- 1949 J Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
- 1949 President Truman announces his point 4 program
- 1950 "Dance Me a Song" opens at Royale Theater New York City NY for 35 performances
- 1950 Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
- 1952 British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone
- 1953 The first US telecast transmitted to Canada-from Buffalo NY
- 1954 -70ºF (-57ºC), Rogers Pass, Montana (state 48 record)
- 1954 Dmitri Shostakovich's "Concertino opus 94" premieres
- 1954 The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1956 Buddy Holly records "Blue Days Black Night" in Nashville
- 1957 Gomulka wins Poland's parliamentary election
- 1960 Hendrik Verwoerd announced a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
- 1960 Patrice Lumumba sentenced to 6 months in Belgian Congo
- 1961 Arthur M Ramsay becomes archbishop of Canterbury
- 1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his presidency with inauguration ceremonies on the newly renovated east front of the Capitol.
- 1961 Robert Frost recites "The Gift Outright" at JFK's inauguration
- 1961 UK hist John F Kennedy becomes US President
- 1961 Yugoslav ex-Vice-President Milovan Djilas flees
- 1964 "Meet The Beatles" album released in US
- 1965 Alan Freed, Cleveland disk jockey who coined the phrase "rock and roll," dies in Palm Springs, California.
- 1965 Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain
- 1965 JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return
- 1965 The Beatles appear on Shindig (ABC-TV)
- 1965 The Byrds record "Mr Tambourine Man"
- 1966 Number one hit on UK music charts - The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
- 1968 Game of the Century, influential in college sports broadcasting.
- 1969 Richard M Nixon inaugurated as President
- 1969 The first pulsar is discovered, in the Crab Nebula.
- 1969 U of Arizona reports first optical id of pulsar (in Crab Nebula)
- 1971 John Lennon meets Yoko Ono's parents in Japan
- 1971 Visitor posting - Daniel J. Swantek ( the great ) is born - USA
- 1974 4th NFL Pro Bowl AFC beats NFC 15-13
- 1974 7th ABA All-Star Game East 128 beats West 112 at Virginia
- 1975 5th NFL Pro Bowl NFC beats AFC 17-10
- 1976 29th NHL All-Star Game Wales beat Campbell 7-5 at Philadelphia
- 1977 George Bush, ends term as 11th director of CIA
- 1977 Mr Knoche, serves as acting director of CIA through March 9
- 1978 Columbia Pictures pays $9.5 million for movie rights to "Annie"
- 1980 Visitor posting - Sachin Golechha, The King of Future, was born at Kharagpur, India
- 1981 Admiral Stansfield Turner, USN (Retired), ends term as 12th director of CIA
- 1981 Iran releases 52 American hostages twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
- 1981 Ronald Reagan inaugurated as President
- 1982 7 miners killed in an explosion in Craynor KY
- 1982 Honduras constitution goes into effect
- 1982 Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament
- 1985 Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27ºF (-33ºC) in Chicago)
- 1986 Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under English Channel)
- 1986 England and France announce plans to build a tunnel under the English Channel, affectionately called the "Chunnel."
- 1986 Military coup in Lesotho under General-Major Lekhanya & premier Leabua Jonathan
- 1986 The U.S. observes the first federal holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1986 The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
- 1986 The first federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr
- 1987 Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon
- 1987 Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
- 1987 Rhino Records first #1-Billy Vera & the Beaters' "At This Moment"
- 1988 Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham
- 1989 Bush inaugurated as 41st President & Quayle becomes 44th Vice President
- 1989 Wayne Holdsworth takes a wicket first ball in 1st-class cricket
- 1990 Actress Barbara Stanwyck dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 82.
- 1990 47th Golden Globes Born on 4th of July, Driving Miss Daisy win
- 1990 At least 62 civilians were killed and more than 200 wounded when the Soviet army stormed into Baku to end what Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called fratricidal killing between Moslem Azerbaijanis and Christian Armenians.
- 1990 Black January - bloody crackdown of Azerbaijani peaceful pro-independence demonstrations by Soviet army in Baku.
- 1990 US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space
- 1991 "Black & Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater New York City NY after 829 performances
- 1991 "Shogun - The Musical" closes at Marquis Theater New York City NY after 72 performances
- 1991 Iraq pardes captured Allied airmen on TV
- 1991 Seven men identified as allied airmen captured during the Persian Gulf War were put on Iraqi television in Baghdad.
- 1991 Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
- 1991 US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles
- 1992 Score begins selling international soccer cards
- 1993 Admiral Studeman, serves as acting director of CIA
- 1993 Bill Clinton inaugurated as 42nd President
- 1993 Movie actress Audrey Hepburn dies of color cancer in Tolochenaz, Switzerland.
- 1993 Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn died of cancer at her home in Switzerland. She was 63.
- 1993 Visitor posting - Liam Liburd born. - United Kingdom
- 1993 Visitor posting - melvin hernandez born - USA
- 1994 Shannon Faulkner becomes the first woman to join the cadet corps at The Citadel military academy in South Carolina.
- 1994 Visitor posting - Ariannah C Wilder was born. I will be famous..... so remember me! - USA
- 1995 1994-95 NHL Season begin after a lengthy strike
- 1995 A strike-shortened National Hockey League season opened, with teams playing a 48-game schedule instead of the usual 84.
- 1995 Russian ruble drops to 3,947 per dollar (record)
- 1995 Visitor posting - Jordan Wright was born - USA
- 1995 The United States announced it was easing the trade embargo in effect against North Korea since the Korean War.
- 1995 Visitor posting - Laura Parent was born
- 1995 Visitor posting - My beautiful daughter was born and made me smile.
- 1996 Australia defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 to win World Series Cup
- 1996 Yasser Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian Authority, with 88 percent of the vote.
- 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit
- 1997 Millionaire Steve Fossett landed in northern India after a record-setting bid to become the first person to circle the globe in a hot-air balloon.
- 1997 Pakistan defeats West Indies 2-0 to win Australia one-day Series
- 1997 President Clinton was inaugurated for his second term in office.
- 1997 Visitor posting - klein luka holt was born - United Kingdom
- 1998 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts Mama & Papas, Eagles
- 1998 Warner Brothers TV Network begins Tuesday night programming
- 1999 On day two of U.S. President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, his lawyers argue their case before the Senate, calling the House-passed articles of impeachment "flawed and unfair."
- 1999 The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafs.
- 2000 Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., warned the U.N. Security Council that the United States would withdraw from the world body if it failed to respect American sovereignty.
- 2001 George W. Bush is sworn in as President of the United States.
- 2001 Just hours before leaving office, President Clinton issued 176 pardons -- a number of them controversial.
- 2001 Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in the EDSA II Revolution, succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
- 2003 Britain said it was sending 26,000 troops to the Gulf for possible deployment to Iraq but France said it would not support a United Nations resolution for military action.
- 2005 Republic of Ireland completes metrication with the conversion of speed limits to km/h.
- 2006 High School Musical is released on the Disney Channel.
- 2006 Visitor posting - Akula Satish Kumar got married to Aswini in Tirupati
- 2007 A Black Hawk was apparently shot down in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, killing 12 soldiers aboard.
- 2008 Israel closed off all the crossings into Gaza and cut off humanitarian relief and the delivery of oil. The power plant in Gaza was shut down, and the power is almost completely off in Gaza.
- 2009 Inaugeration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. This was a historical event in that he is the first African-American president of the United States.
- 2010 Visitor posting - Craig Estee is turning 70 years old - USA
- 2010 Visitor posting - Our beautiful baby boy was born John Peter Buchanan Gleave at 5:01pm weighing 2.830kg. - United Kingdom
- 2011 Visitor posting - Elizabeth Jenkins turns 100 - Canada
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