On This Day in History II

15 BCE
A Roman general was born – Germanicus, son of Drusus and Antonia Minor, daughter of the triumvir Mark Antony. According to Tacitus. Germanicus had outstanding physical and spiritual qualities that endeared him the recognition and love of the Romans. He was the beloved brother of Claudius, and also a favorite figure of the Roman people. From an early age he participated in war campaigns. He won many victories, leading the army in Pannonia and Dalmatia. He was considered an outstanding leader, and at the same time he was liked by the legionaries.

1218
The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.

1487
The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII’s reign.

1626
Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.

1689
The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded.

1738
John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.

1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.

1844
Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland to inaugurate the first telegraph line.

1846
Mexican-American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.

1856
John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.

1861
American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.

1901
Seventy-eight miners die in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales.

1915
World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

1921
The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.

1935
The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field.

1940
Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.

1941
World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks the then pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.

1960
Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.

1962
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.

1980
The International Court of Justice calls for the release of United States embassy hostages in Tehran, Iran. The hostages would not be freed until the following January.

1883
Brooklyn Bridge is opened by President Arthur and NY Governor Cleveland.

1862 - Chatham Roberdeau Wheat with 150 of his battalion pitch into the last third of a retiring union army cutting off its trailing reargaurd and scattering the lot to the four winds west of Newton VA.

567 BC
Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.

240 BC
First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.

1085
Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain back from the Moors.

1659
Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.

1738
A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.

1798
United Irishmen Rebellion: The Carnew massacre, Dunlavin massacre and Carlow massacre takes place.

1837
The Rebels of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for freedom.

1865
In Mobile, Alabama, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.

1925
Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

1926
Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the Paris-based government-in-exile of Ukrainian People’s Republic.

1936
The Remington Rand strike, led by the American Federation of Labor, begins.

1938
Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante takes place, with 313 deaths.

1953
Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conduct their first and only nuclear artillery test.

1955
In the United States, a night time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.

1961
Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of the Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.

1962
The Old Bay Line, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, goes out of business.

1862 - Battle of Winchester VA

The beginnings of the Mother’s Day date back to the times of ancient Greece and Rome. At that time the cult surrounded mother-goddesses, symbols of fertility. In Rome took place the celebration of Hilaria (in March), dedicated to the goddess Cybele. The goddess was then offered sacrifices for three days. There were also various games, plays and masquerades.

17 CE
The triumphant march of Germanicus took place in Rome to celebrate his merits in the fightings over the Rhine. He succeeded, incl. recover Varrus’ legion eagles.

451
Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place. The Empire defeats the Armenians militarily but guarantees them freedom to openly practice Christianity.

1293
An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.

1538
Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.

1637
Pequot War: A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Native Americans.

1647
Alse Young, hanged in Hartford, Connecticut, becomes the first person executed as a witch in the British American colonies.

1736
Battle of Ackia: British and Chickasaw soldiers repel a French and Choctaw attack on the Chickasaw village of Ackia, near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi. The French, under Louisiana governor Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, had sought to link Louisiana with Acadia and the other northern colonies of New France.

1783
A Great Jubilee Day held at Trumbull, Connecticut celebrated end of fighting in American Revolution.

1805
Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Duomo di Milano, the gothic cathedral in Milan.

1865
American Civil War: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.

1868
The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote.

1896
Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

1896
Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia.

1897
Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.

1917
Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689.

1938
In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.

1940
World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.

1969
Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.

47 BCE
Julius Caesar reached Tarsus (today’s Turkey) on the way to Pontus, where he found people general acceptance and enthusiasm[sic].

366 CE
The usurper and commander, Proccopius, died. During the battle of Nacolia in Phrygia, which he declared to Valens, he was abandoned by his officers and then executed by a legitimate ruler. His children were kept alive, and one of his descendants, Antemius, was to be emperor in the future.

927
Battle of the Bosnian Highlands: the Croatian army, led by King Tomislav, defeats the Bulgarian Army.

1120
Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.

1153
Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.

1703
Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.

1798
The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland.

1812
Bolivian War of Independence: In Bolivia, the Battle of La Coronilla, in which the women from Cochabamba fight against the Spanish army.

1813
War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.

1863
American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.

1896
The F4-strength St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri and East Saint Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing $2.9 billion in damage (1997 USD).

1905
Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.

1907
Bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco, California.

1927
The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.

1930
The 1046 ft Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.

1933
New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.

1933
The Century of Progress World’s Fair opens in Chicago, Illinois.

1937
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.

1940
World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops. Two survive.

1941
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.

1941
World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”.

1958
The F-4 Phantom II makes its first flight.

1965
Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.

1997
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Paula Jones can pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he is in office.

1998
Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.

585 BC
A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.

1503
James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor are married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England signed on that occasion results in a peace that lasts ten years.

1533
The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.

1588
The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).

1644
Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of the Earl of Derby.

1754
French and Indian War: in the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.

1892
In San Francisco, California, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.

1905
Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Togo Heihachiro and the Imperial Japanese Navy.

1937
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.

1940
World War II: Belgium surrenders to Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.

1940
World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.

1942
World War II: in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis in Czechoslovakia kill over 1,800 people.

1958
Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26 July movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.

1977
In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.

1982
Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.

1996
U.S. President Bill Clinton’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, James McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.

1998
Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.

363 CE
Victory of the Romans in the battle of Ctesiphon, during the Roman-Persian wars (Persian campaign of Julian the Apostate). In the morning, the Persians attacked, wanting to push the Romans into the river. Legionaries were struck by the heavy cavalry behind which the infantry was walking. At the end of the formation there were elephants. There was a fierce battle that lasted many hours. The Romans finally managed to fend off the Persian cavalry. Then the legionaries attacked the enemy troops, who – with no cavalry – escaped. In pursuit of the defeated opponent, the Romans reached the walls of the capital. However, due to the exhaustion of [sic] the fight, the attempt to conquer the city was abandoned. As soon as Julian found out about the approaching Persian army of King Shapur II, he gave the order to retreat. Loaded with spoils, the Romans on June 16 headed to the north of the country where they fought with Persians.

1167
Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.

1453
Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire. Although the date of May 29, 1453, is that of the Julian Calendar, the event is commemorated in Istanbul on this day of the present Gregorian calendar.

1660
English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the throne of Great Britain.

1677
Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Natives.

1727
Peter II becomes Tsar of Russia.

1733
The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld at Quebec City.

1780
American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Waxhaws Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton massacres Colonel Abraham Buford’s continentals allegedly after the continentals surrender. 113 Americans are killed.

1790
Rhode Island becomes the last of the original United States’ colonies to ratify the Constitution and is admitted as the 13th U.S. state.

1886
Chemist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, the ad appearing in the Atlanta Journal.

1918
Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarapat.

1942
Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra record Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, the best-selling Christmas single in history, for Decca Records in Los Angeles.

1953
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay’s (adopted) 39th birthday.

1954
First of the annual Bilderberg conferences.

1985
Heysel Stadium disaster: At the European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium, 39 association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses after Liverpool F.C. fans breach a fence separating them from Juventus F.C. fans.

1988
U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

1999
Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.

2004
The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

70 CE
During the siege of Jerusalem, Roman troops broke through the second of three defensive walls. After capturing the second wall, the Roman commander – Titus guaranteed the amnesty to the insurgents, but his offer was rejected.

1416
The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.

1431
Hundred Years’ War: in Rouen, France, 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. Because of this the Catholic Church remember this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.

1536
King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.

1539
In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.

1574
Henry III becomes King of France.

1588
The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.

1806
Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson had accused Jackson’s wife of bigamy.

1814
Napoleonic Wars: War of the Sixth Coalition – the Treaty of Paris (1814) is signed returning French borders to their 1792 extent. Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to Elba.

1834
Joaquim António de Aguiar issue a law extinguishing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses of the regular religious orders”, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.

1842
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill, London with Prince Albert.

1854
The Kansas-Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Nebraska and Kansas.

1859
Westminster’s Big Ben rang for the first time in London.

1868
Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time (By “Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic” John A. Logan’s proclamation on May 5).

1879
New York, New York’s Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.

1883
In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede that crushes twelve people.

1899
Female Old West outlaw Pearl Hart robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.

1911
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.

1922
In Washington, D.C. the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated.

1958
Memorial Day: the remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

1971
Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.