Our History
September 22 - Bilbo and Frodo Baggins' Birthdays
Also, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues "The Emancipation Proclamation".
September 17, 1944 - Operation Marketgarden Fails (WWII)
September 11, 2001 - Al Qaeda attacks the United States of America
September 8, 1966 - Star Trek premieres to television audiences across america.
September 3, 1939 - England and France declare war on Germany.
Also, in 2004, More than 200 died after a three-day siege of a Russian school in Beslin by Chechen Terrorists.
In 1998, Swiss Air flight SR-111 crashes off the coast of Nova Scotia killing all 229 passengers aboard.
In 1943, Allied troops invade mainland Italy by crossing the Straight of Messina from the island of Sicily.
In 1189, Richard the Lion-Hearted was crowned the King of England.
September 2, 1945 - Japanese leaders surrendered unconditionally to General Douglas MacArthur and the victorious allies on the American battleship Missouri thereby ending the Second World War.
September 1, 1939 - Germany invades Poland thereby inciting World War II. BBC
July 30, 1908 - Tunguska Blast of 1908.
July 17, 1996 - TWA Flight 800 departed Kennedy International Airport in New York bound for Paris but exploded in mid-air 12 minutes after takeoff then crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island about 8:45 p.m. All 212 passengers and 17 crew members on board the Boeing 747 were killed. The exact cause of the disaster has not been determined, although investigators have ruled out terrorism and know that the center fuel tank exploded. NTSB Photos
May 27, 1941 - British Navy Sinks the German battleship Bismark (WWII).
Click here for Roger's review of William L. Shirer's account of the sinking of this powerful warship.
May 22, 1960 - 9.5 Magnitude earthquake struck Chile at 19:11 UTC.
April 20, 1889 - Adolf Hitler was born.
April 18, 1775 - Paul Revere rode to alert the Minute Men that "The British are coming, the British are coming".
Also, in 1942, The Doolittle raid took place wherein 16 bombers flew off from the Aircraft Carrier Hornet to bomb Tokyo, Japan.
March 28, 1964 - 9.2 Magnitude earthquake struck Prince William Sound, Alaska. The earthquake struck at 5:36 P.M. local time and the ground motion lasted between four to five minutes.
FEBRUARY
December 27, 1831 - Charles Darwin set out from Plymouth, England, aboard the ship HMS Beagle on his five-year global scientific expedition. Darwin collected fossils and studied plants and animals, gradually beginning to doubt that many diverse species of living things had sprung into existence at one moment (creationism). In 1859, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
December 25 - Christmas Day, commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, it has been celebrated on December 25 by the Western (Roman Catholic) Church since 336 A.D.
December 25, 1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned king of England after he had invaded England from France, defeated and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, then marched on London.
Birthday - The founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was born in Karachi.
December 13, 2003 - Saddam Hussein's capture was announced to the world and America relished the day - a day long-awaited for.
Also, in 2002, Star Trek: Nemesis premiered across North America. Check out Jammer's review on this movie.
December 11, 1845 - The first Anglo-Sikh War in India began as the Sikhs attacked British colonial forces. The Sikhs were defeated after four battles. Part of the Punjab region of northwestern India was then annexed by the British
December 6, 1492 - The island of Hispaniola was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Today the island is divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Also, in 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country premiered across North America. Check out Gadget's review on the novel here.
November 29, 1989 - Forty one years of Communist rule came to an end in Czechoslovakia following a twelve day revolution sparked by the beating of protesters. The Czech parliament voted unanimously to repeal constitutional clauses granting the Communist Party sole power. This brought a wave of reform headed by playwright Vaclav Havel, who later became president in the first free elections since World War II.
November 23, 1890 - Ten year old Princess Wilhelmina became Queen of the Netherlands upon the death of her father William III. Her mother Queen Emma acted as Regent until 1898.
November 22, 1497 - Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama, leading a fleet of four ships, became the first to sail round the Cape of Good Hope, while searching for a sea route to India.
Also, in 1996, Star Trek VIII: First Contact premiered across North America. Roger reviews the movie here.
November 21, 1992 - The Anglican Church of Australia voted to allow women to become priests. The largest of the dioceses voted against the bill, however, it still received the required two-thirds approval.
November 20, 1992 - Fire erupted inside Queen Elizabeth's residence at Windsor Castle causing extensive damage.
November 19, 1863 - President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address during ceremonies dedicating 17 acres of the Gettysburg Battlefield as a national cemetery. Famed orator Edward Everett of Massachusetts preceded Lincoln and spoke for two hours. Lincoln then delivered his address in under two minutes. Although many in attendance were at first unimpressed, Lincoln's words have come to symbolize the definition of democracy itself.
November 18, 1477 - William Caxton printed the first book in the English language, The Dictes and Sayengis of the Phylosophers.
November 17, 1800 - The U.S. Congress met for the first time in the new capital at Washington, DC President John Adams then became the first occupant of the Executive Mansion, later renamed the White House
November 15, 1777 - The Articles of Confederation were adopted by Continental Congress.
November 14, 1666 - The first experimental blood transfusion took place in England, utilizing two dogs.
November 13, 1942 - The five Sullivan Brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, were lost in the sinking of the cruiser USS Juneau by a Japanese torpedo off Guadalcanal during World War II in the Pacific. Following their deaths, the U.S. Navy changed regulations to prohibit close relatives from serving on the same ship.
November 12, 1867 - A major eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy began, lasting several months.
November 12, 1923 - Adolf Hitler was arrested in Germany after the failed Beer Hall Putsch.
November 12, 1942 - During World War II in North Africa, Tobruk was captured by the British Eighth Army under General Bernard Montgomery.
November 1 - All Hallows Day, also known as All Saints Day among Roman Catholics, commemorating those who have no special feast day.
November 1, 1993 - The new European Union came into existence as a result of the Maastricht Treaty.
November 1, 1995 - The first all-race local government elections took place in South Africa, marking the end of the apartheid system.
October 18, 1685 - The Edict of Nantes was revoked by King Louis XIV of France thus depriving Protestant Huguenots of all religious and civil liberties previously granted to them by Henry IV in 1598.
October 17-25, 1944 - The Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, took place off the Philippine Islands. The battle involved 216 U.S. warships and 64 Japanese ships and resulted in the destruction of the Japanese Navy including the Japanese Battleship Musashi, one of the largest ever built.
Check out Roger's review on the Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
October 17, 1989 - San Francisco, California is rocked by a 6.9 at 5:04 P.M. Many people witnessed this earthquake live on television as the highlights to game two were being shown and Al Michaels uttered the phrase: "We're having an earthquake."
The BBC has a page of memories, check it out here.
October 16, 1853 - The Crimean War began after the Turkish Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. Britain, France and portions of Italy allied with the Turks against Russia. It became the first war observed up close by newspaper reporters and photographers. One of the battles was immortalized in Tennyson's poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade. Amid poor sanitary conditions, disease killed many wounded French and British troops. English nurse Florence Nightingale then pioneered modern-style sanitation methods, saving many lives.
October 15, 1946 - Nazi leader Hermann Goering committed suicide by swallowing poison in his Nuremberg prison cell just hours before his scheduled hanging for war crimes.
October 14, 1066 - The Norman Conquest began with the Battle of Hastings in which King Harold II of England, the last of the Saxon kings, was defeated and killed by William of Normandy's troops.
October 13, 54 A.D. - Roman Emperor Claudius died after eating mushrooms poisoned by his wife, the Empress Agrippina.
October 13, 1775 - The U.S. Navy was born after the Second Continental Congress authorized the acquisition of a fleet of ships.
October 13, 1792 - The cornerstone of the White House was laid by George Washington. The building, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is three stories tall with over 100 rooms, and was designed by James Hoban. In November of 1800, President John Adams and his family moved in. The building was first known as the "Presidential Palace," but acquired the name "White House" about 10 years after its completion. It was burned by British troops in 1814, then reconstructed, refurbished and reoccupied in 1817.
October 12, 1492 - After a 33 day voyage, Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the New World in the Bahamas. He named the first land sighted as El Salvador, claiming it in the name of the Spanish Crown. Columbus was seeking a western sea route from Europe to Asia and believed he had found an island of the Indies. He thus called the first island natives he met, 'Indians.'
October 11, 1521 - King Henry VIII of England was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X following the publication of the King's book against Martin Luther.
Birthday - Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was born in New York City. She was the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President. As First Lady, she led an unprecedented independent life, striving to improve the lives of people all over the world. In 1933, she became the first wife of a president to give her own news conference in the White House. She traveled extensively on her own and was affectionately called "First Lady of the world." She served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for many years and helped write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
October 3, 1944 - Polish Home Army Uprising (WWII)
Mohammed Terrorist or Prophet?
We wish to thank HistoryPlace.com for a great deal of the information contained herein. Also deserving credit: BBC and our resident arm-chair-historian: Roger D. Noriega.
