On This Day In History
Did You Know?
1st “micro on a chip” patented by Texas Instruments
Today in History in 1978
Would You Believe?
Thomas J. Watson renames the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) as International Business Machines (IBM)
Today in History in 1924
February 15th
399 BC Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth of the city and for impiety
590 Khosrau II, the last great Sasanian king is crowned King of Persia
1763 Austria, Prussia & Saxony sign the Treaty of Hubertusburg, marking the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years’ War
1989 Soviet military occupation of Afghanistan ends as the last Soviet troops cross the Soviet-Afghan border
2001 First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal “Nature”
2003 An estimated 6-11 million people around the world take to the streets to protest against war with Iraq
Did You Know?
1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
Today in History in 1903
Would You Believe?
Longest dream (REM sleep) on record, Bill Carskadon, Chicago (2 hours and 23 minutes)
Today in History in 1967
February 16th
1659 1st known cheque written (£400), now on display at Westminster Abbey
1840 American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1923 Howard Carter opens the inner burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun‘s tomb and finds the sarcophagus
1959 Fidel Castro becomes the 16th Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista
2005 The Kyoto Protocol comes into force following its ratification by Russia committing industrialized nations to limit and reduce greenhouse gases
Did You Know?
Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying “God bless You” is the correct response to a sneeze
Today in History in 600
Would You Believe?
Abraham Lincoln stops his train at Westfield on his way to Washington to thank 11-year old Grace Bedell in person for her advice to grow a beard to gain more votes
Today in History in 1861
General events start around 8 minute mark.
February 17th
1568 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II agrees to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire for peace
1865 Columbia in South Carolina burns down during the American Civil War
1876 Sardines first canned by Julius Wolff in Eastport, Maine
1972 British Parliament votes to join the European Common Market
2017 Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent Zealandia in the South Pacific announced in research journal “GSA Today”
Did You Know?
The world’s first superhero, The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance in comics
Today in History in 1936
Would You Believe?
Oldest known case of human-Neanderthal sex (100,000 yrs ago) revealed by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig), 50,000 yr old Neanderthal woman’s remains from Altai mountains show traces of Homo Sapiens DNA
Today in History in 2016
Quote from Lana Anal on February 17, 2025, 6:31 amDid You Know?
The world’s first superhero, The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance in comics
Today in History in 1936
Would You Believe?
Oldest known case of human-Neanderthal sex (100,000 yrs ago) revealed by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig), 50,000 yr old Neanderthal woman’s remains from Altai mountains show traces of Homo Sapiens DNA
Today in History in 2016
I remember The Phantom in the comic section of the Sunday World many moons ago.
February 18th
1519 Hernán Cortés leaves Cuba for the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with 11 ships and 500 men
1678 John Bunyan‘s “Pilgrim’s Progress” is published in Holborn, London, by Nathaniel Ponder
1861 King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes first King of Italy
1885 Mark Twain publishes the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in the US
1917 1st major strike of the Russian “February Revolution” starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd [NS=Mar 3]
2014 Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 begins as protesters, riot police and unknown shooters take part in violent events in the capital, Kiev, culminating after five days in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych
Did You Know?
US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto
Today in History in 1930
Would You Believe?
Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
Today in History in 1685
February 19th
356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples
1600 Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in South American recorded history
1878 Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his gramophone (phonograph)
1942 About 150 Japanese warplanes attack the Australian city of Darwin
1945 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines
Did You Know?
W.K. Kellogg (after falling out with brother over development credit and wanting to add sugar to cereal) joins Charles D. Bolin in founding the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now the multinational food manufacturer Kellogg’s
Today in History in 1906
Would You Believe?
980 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days on Ramree Island, Burma
Today in History in 1945
February 20th
1792 US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance
1872 New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens
1873 British Naval Officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and claims it for the United Kingdom
1938 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany
1944 Battle of Eniwetok: US forces take Enewetak Atoll at the cost of 37 Americans killed or missing and 94 wounded, Japanese losses were 800 dead and 23 prisoners
1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence
1962 John Glenn becomes the 1st American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7
Did You Know?
Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment
Today in History in 1472
Would You Believe?
Scientists successfully regenerate the flowering plant, Silene stenophylla from a 31,800 year old piece of fruit, greatly surpassing the previous record of 2,000 years
Today in History in 2012