On This Day In History
September 28th
935 Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia
1066 William the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy, lands at Pevensey Bay in Sussex, beginning the Norman conquest of England
1781 9,000 American and 7,000 French troops begin the siege of Yorktown
1887 Yellow River or Huáng Hé floods in China, killing between 900,000 and 2 million people, one of the deadliest natural disasters in history
1939 German-Soviet Frontier Treaty is signed by Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov; redraws German and Soviet spheres of influence in central Europe and transfers most of Lithuania to the USSR
Did You Know?
The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice
Today in History in 1889
Would You Believe?
Napoléon Bonaparte, aged 16, graduates from the elite École Militaire in Paris (42nd in a class of 51)
Today in History in 1785
September 29th
522 BC Darius I of Persia kills Magian usurper Gaumâta, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire
480 BC Battle of Salamis: The Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I
1567 War of Religion breaks out in France – Huguenots try to kidnap King Charles IX
1829 The first units of the London Metropolitan Police appear on the streets of the British capital, the city’s 1st modern police force
2008 Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, its largest single-day point loss, following the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual
Did You Know?
American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world’s first billionaire
Today in History in 1916
Would You Believe?
Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of Defense, is almost thrown overboard on a ferry by an artist wanting to confront him on his role in escalating US involvement in the Vietnam war (no charges pressed)
Today in History in 1972
September 30th
1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566)
1846 Anesthetic ether is used for the 1st time, by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth
1862 Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck delivers his famous “Blood and Iron” speech on the unification of German territories
1938 Treaty of Munich signed by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany. Chamberlain infamously declares “Peace for our time” on his return to London.
1946 Twenty-two Nazi leaders, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Goering, are found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death or prison at the Nuremberg war trials
1980 Ethernet specifications published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation [1]
Did You Know?
Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US)
Today in History in 1659
Would You Believe?
“The Flintstones” the first animated sitcom created by Hanna-Barbera premieres on ABC in the US
Today in History in 1960
October 1st
331 BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela
1688 Prince Willem III of Orange accepts invitation of take up the British crown
1814 Opening of the Congress of Vienna, redraws Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte
1867 Karl Marx publishes “Das Kapital” in Berlin, a description of the capitalist system, its instability and tendency to self-destruction
1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T car (costs $825)
1918 World War I: Combined Arab and British force under the Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence captures Damascus from the Turks
1988 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of state of the Soviet Union
Did You Know?
National Geographic magazine publishes for the 1st time
Today in History in 1888
Would You Believe?
Winston Churchill calls Russia a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”
Today in History in 1939
October 2nd
1187 Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders
1492 King Henry VII of England invades France
1789 George Washington transmits the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification
1928 “Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God”, known as Opus Dei, founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá
1944 Polish resistance fighters capitulate in the Warsaw Uprising, with some 250,000 people killed
2007 President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
Did You Know?
Beatrix Potter‘s “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” is published by Frederick Warne & Co. in London
Today in History in 1902
Would You Believe?
Homing pigeon averages a record 133kph in an 1100km race in Australia
Today in History in 1971
October 3rd
2333 BC State of Gojoseon (Modern-day Korea) founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Yao
52 BC Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and battle of Alesia
1283 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, becomes the first person executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered
1922 1st facsimile photo sent over city telephone lines, Washington, D.C.
1935 Italy invades Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
1990 Reunification of East and West Germany. West German flag is raised above the Brandenburg Gate on the stroke of midnight.
Did You Know?
Pravda newspaper founded by Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles in Vienna
Today in History in 1908
Would You Believe?
Adolf Hitler says Russia is “already broken and will never rise again” in a broadcast to the German people
Today in History in 1941
October 4th
1537 The 1st complete English-language Bible, the “Matthew Bible” is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale
1582 Last Julian calendar day in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states. To sync to the Gregorian calendar, 10 days are skipped and the next date is Oct 15.
1883 The Orient Express departs on its first official journey from Paris to Istanbul
1900 In a final confrontation, around 4,000 Ashantis are defeated by the British in the Gold Coast (Ghana)
1957 Soviet Union launches Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite into elliptical low Earth orbit
1993 Troops and tanks of President Boris Yeltsin shell and occupy the Russian White House in Moscow, the house of government of the Russian Federation
2006 WikiLeaks is launched, created by internet activist Julian Assange
Did you Know?
Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mt. Rushmore (works on till 1941)
Today in History in 1927
Would You Believe?
End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, one of the largest naval battles in history with 850,000 taking part (approx.)
Today in History in 1363