On This Day In History
February 8th
1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle aged 44 after being convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot
1672 Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London
1807 Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon‘s forces and Russian Empire – 1st battle Napoleon isn’t victorious
1960 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name “Mountbatten-Windsor”.
1971 Nasdaq Composite stock market index debuts with 50 companies and a starting value of 100
Did You Know?
Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio becomes Walt Disney Studios
Today in History in 1926
Would You Believe?
The Devil’s Footprints, hoof-like marks mysteriously appear for over 60km after a snowfall in southern Devon, England
Today in History in 1855
February 9th
1775 British Parliament declares Massachusetts colony in rebellion
1897 Invasion of Benin City by British Expedition force, the city is burnt and looted, marks the end of Nigerian Kingdom of Benin formed in the 11th century
1904 Japanese torpedo boats make a surprise attack on Russian ships Port Arthur naval base, Manchuria, beginning the Russo-Japanese War. Japanese also land troops at Chemulpo (Inchon), near Seoul, Korea; in 3 weeks they advance to the Yalu River, the border of Manchuria.
1943 Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, ending the epic World War II battle on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific
1972 British government declares state of emergency after month-long coal miners’ strike
Did You Know?
William Morgan presents his new sport “Mintonette” to the world at Springfield College, Massachusetts, later renames it “Volleyball”
Today in History in 1895
Would You Believe?
Fastest yodeler-22 tones/15 falsetto in 1 sec by Thomas School of Germany
Today in History in 1992
February 10th
60 St Paul thought to have been shipwrecked at Malta
1720 Edmond Halley appointed as the second Astronomer Royal at the Greenwich Observatory
1763 Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, surrendering Canada to Britain
1824 Simón Bolívar named dictator by the Congress of Peru
1879 Henry Morton Stanley departs for the Congo
1906 British battleship HMS Dreadnought launches after only 100 days, renders all other capital ships obsolete with its revolutionary design
1952 India holds its first general election: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru remains in power
Did You Know?
“Tom & Jerry” cartoon created by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera debut by MGM
Today in History in 1940
Would You Believe?
IBM computer Deep Blue becomes the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning (human) chess champion, Gary Kasparov
Today in History in 1996
February 11th
1858 First vision of the Virgin Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes, France
1929 Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, is made an enclave of Rome
1990 Nelson Mandela released after 27 years imprisonment in South Africa
2011 Egyptian Revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 18 days of protests (Arab Spring)
Did You Know?
Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu
Today in History in 660
Would You Believe?
Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation from February 28, the first pope to resign since 1415
Today in History in 2013
February 12th
1700 The Great Northern War begins in Northern Europe between Denmark–Norway, Saxony and Russia and the Swedish Empire.
1912 The last Qing Emperor of China, Puyi (age 6) abdicates after losing the support of the Chinese people and thus the “mandate of heaven”
1947 French fashion designer Christian Dior presents his first influential collection, named the “New Look”
1999 US President Bill Clinton acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial
2001 NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
2013 North Korea allegedly conducts its third nuclear test, saying it was a nuclear device that could be weaponized
Did You Know?
Henry Highland Garnet becomes the 1st African American minister to preach to the US House of Representatives, he talks about the end of slavery
Today in History in 1865
Would You Believe?
Pope Francis meets Patriarch Kirill in Havana – first meeting between Catholic and Russian Orthodox church heads for nearly 1,000 years
Today in History in 2016
February 13th
1258 Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age
1601 1st British East India Company voyage departs from London, lead by John Lancaster
1689 Parliament of England adopts the Bill of Rights which establishes the rights of parliament and places limits on the crown
1942 Hitler‘s Operation Sealion, the invasion of England, is cancelled
1945 Allied planes begin bombing Dresden, Germany; a firestorm results and over 22,000 die
1945 USSR captures Budapest, after a 49-day battle with Nazi Germany in which 159,000 die
1960 France becomes the 4th nuclear nation by exploding the 70 kilo-ton “Gerboise Bleue” atomic bomb in the French Algerian Sahara desert [1]
Did You Know?
Jesse James holds up his first bank, stealing $15,000 from the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri
Today in History in 1866
Would You Believe?
Pink Floyd‘s album “Dark Side of the Moon” marks 402 weeks in the album charts
Today in History in 1982
February 14th
1014 Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry II Holy Roman Emperor
1076 Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (for the 1st time)
1797 Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. Captain Horatio Nelson distinguishes himself.
1876 Alexander G. Bell & Elisha Gray apply separately for telephone patents Supreme Court eventually rules Bell rightful inventor
1929 St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago, 7 gangsters killed, allegedly on Al Capone‘s orders
1971 Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in the White House