On This Day In History
December 17th
1398 Tamerlane captures and sacks Delhi, defeating Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud’s armies by setting camels loaded with hay alight and charging them at the Sultan’s armored elephants
1531 Pope Clemens VII publishes decree “Cum ad nihil magis”- introduces Inquisition into Portugal at Evora, Coimbra, and Lisbon
1788 Russian army of Grigory Potemkin occupies Ocharov
1903 The Wright brothers make the 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight at 10:35 AM, piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1986 Mrs Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the 1st heart, lung & liver transplant at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England
Did You Know?
1st prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy.
Today in History in 1900
Would You Believe?
Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, vanishes in mysterious circumstances while swimming near Melbourne
Today in History in 1967
December 18th
218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil
1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China
1603 First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen departs for the East-Indies
1642 Abel Tasman‘s expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay, first sighting local Māori in New Zealand
1917 The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification
1957 World’s 1st full scale nuclear power plant, for peacetime use only, begins to generate electricity at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania
1979 Stanley Barrett 1st to exceed land sonic speed (739.666 MPH)
2019 US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)
Did You Know?
Thomas Fleet publishes “Mother Goose’s Melodies For Children” in Boston, Massachusetts
Today in History in 1719
Would You Believe?
Project SCORE, world’s 1st communications satellite launched from Cape Canaveral
Today in History in 1958
December 19th
1776 Thomas Paine publishes his 1st “American Crisis” essay beginning “These are the times that try men’s souls” (date disputed)
1783 William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister at age 24
1932 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins transmitting overseas
1958 1st radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower Christmas message “to all mankind, America’s wish for peace on Earth and goodwill to men everywhere”
1984 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997
Did You Know?
”A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens is published, 6,000 copies sold
Today in History in 1843
Would You Believe?
Theresa Vaughn, 24, confesses in court in Sheffield, England, to being married 61 times over 5 years in 50 cities in three countries
Today in History in 1922
December 20th
1522 Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1803 French flag lowered in New Orleans to mark the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase from France to USA, purchased for $15M
1812 “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” or “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is first published
1917 Cheka formed – Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Lenin
1960 The National Liberation Front, better known as the Viet Cong, is officially formed in South Vietnam
Did You Know?
Elvis Presley receives his draft notice to join the US Army for national service
Today in History in 1957
Would You Believe?
Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men aged between 21 & 50
Today in History in 1820
December 21st
1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium
1968 Apollo 8: 1st manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders
1988 Lockerbie disaster: A terrorist bomb destroys Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air, over Scotland; kills all 259 passengers and crew on board, and 11 people on the ground [1]
1991 Soviet Union formally dissolves as 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States
Did You Know?
1st crossword puzzle (with 32 clues) printed in NY World
Today in History in 1913
Would You Believe?
“Gangnam Style” by Psy becomes the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube
Today in History in 2012
December 22nd
1790 Supposedly impenetrable Turkish fortress of Izmail stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92)
1877 Thomas Edison‘s Phonograph is announced by Scientific American
1885 Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan
1989 After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
1990 Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland’s 1st popularly elected president
2010 Repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy”, a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama
Did You Know?
Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, Ohio
Today in History in 1956
Would You Believe?
The execution of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky by firing squad is called off at the last second
Today in History in 1849
December 23rd
962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist
1688 King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch flees to France from William of Orange
1783 US General George Washington resigns his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to Congress
1888 Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor, after argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and sends to a sex worker for safe keeping
1920 Government of Ireland Act / Home Rule Act passed partitioning Ireland
1954 The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
Did You Know?
Four women ordained priests in Jamaica, 1st in 330-year Anglican history
Today in History in 1996
Would You Believe?
A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and a modern unmanned drone had engaged in combat
Today in History in 2002