On This Day In History
Did You Know?
Felix Mendelssohn‘s “Wedding March” first played, at wedding of Queen Victoria‘s daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia
Today in History in 1858
Would You Believe?
Journalist Nellie Bly beats the fictitious journey of Jules Verne‘s Phileas Fogg around the world by 8 days (72 days)
Today in History in 1890
January 26th
1482 “Pentateuch” the Jewish Bible is 1st printed as a book in Bologna, Italy
1531 Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die
1564 The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
1788 Captain Arthur Phillip and British colonists hoist the Union Flag at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, now celebrated as Australia Day. Referred to as Invasion Day by some First Nations people.
1998 President Bill Clinton says “I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky“
Did You Know?
175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro
Today in History in 1980
Would You Believe?
Serbian air stewardess Vesna Vulovic survives 10,160m fall without parachute – world’s highest fall without a parachute
Today in History in 1972
January 27th
1820 Russian Antarctic Expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discover the continent of Antarctica
1825 US Congress approves Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for the forced relocation of the Eastern Indian tribes via the “Trail of Tears“
1888 The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for “the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge”
1924 Lenin placed in Mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow
1944 Siege of Leningrad lifted by the Soviets after 880 days and more than 2 million Russians killed
1945 Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland
1973 US & North Vietnam’s William Rogers & Nguyen Duy Trinh sign cease-fire, ending longest US war and military draft
Did You Know?
Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp
Today in History in 1880
Would You Believe?
Peruvian ambassador Ricardo Rivera-Schreiber warns American Ambassador of Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor
Today in History in 1941
January 28th
1521 Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany which lasts until May 25th; Produced the “Edict of Worms” which denounced Martin Luther
1807 London’s Pall Mall is 1st street lit by gaslight
1813 Jane Austen‘s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom
1819 Sir Stamford Raffles lands in Singapore
1933 The name “Pakistan” is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian sub-continent who use it to push for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia
1986 Space shuttle challenger explodes 73 seconds after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, with all 7 crew members killed, including Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first teacher in space
January 29th
474 Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7)
661 Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.
1595 William Shakespeare‘s play “Romeo and Juliet” is thought to have been first performed. Officially published early 1597.
1886 Karl Benz patents the “Benz Patent-Motorwagen” in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world’s 1st automobile with a burning motor [1]
1892 The Coca-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia
1896 American Emile Grubbe is the first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer
2002 US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes “regimes that sponsor terror” an “Axis of Evil”, which includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea
Did You Know?
Victoria Cross established to acknowledge valour in the face of the enemy (United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries)
Today in History in 1856
Would You Believe?
Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban
Today in History in 1978
January 30th
1661 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years
1815 Burned US Library of Congress re-established with Thomas Jefferson‘s 6,500 volumes
1902 Britain and Japan sign a treaty after months of negotiating which commits each country to supporting an independent China and Korea, although it acknowledges Japan’s ‘special interest’ in Korea
1933 President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor of Germany who forms a government with Franz von Papen
1939 Adolf Hitler threatens Jews during his speech to the German Reichstag (Parliament)
1948 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse
1965 State funeral for Winston Churchill at St Paul’s Cathedral in London; at the time, the world’s largest ever state funeral
1972 Bloody Sunday: 27 unarmed civilians are shot (14 are killed) by the British Army during a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland; this is the highest death toll from a single shooting incident during ‘the Troubles’
Did You Know?
The Beatles perform their last live gig, a 42 minute concert on the roof of Apple Corps HQ in London, England
Today in History in 1969
Would You Believe?
8th (final) part of “Roots” is most-watched US entertainment show ever (100 million)
Today in History in 1977
January 31st
1865 Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of US Constitution, abolishing slavery in US [1]
1865 General Robert E. Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies during US Civil War
1943 Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad
1950 US President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb
1985 South African President P. W. Botha offers to free Nelson Mandela if he denounces violence
Did You Know?
Colonization of the America’s in the late 1500s killed so many people it cooled the planet and led to a “Little Ice Age”, according to a scientific report published in “Quaternary Science Reviews”
Today in History in 2019
Would You Believe?
The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital, London
Today in History in 1747