On This Day In History
December 30th
1460 Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield (Northern England), Duke of York killed and his forces soundly defeated by forces for King Henry VI
1703 Tokyo hit by Earthquake; about 37,000 die
1906 The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, later laid down the foundations of Pakistan
1922 Creation of the USSR formally proclaimed in Moscow from the Bolshoi Theatre, Soviet Union organized as a federation of RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belorussian SSR and Transcaucasian SSR
1924 Astronomer Edwin Hubble formally announces existence of other galactic systems at meeting of the American Astronomical Society
1950 Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia become Independent states within the French Union
Did You Know?
Abraham Mills' commission declares Abner Doubleday invented baseball
Would You Believe?
Dinner party held inside life-sized model of an Iguanodon (ornithopod dinosaur), created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in South London
This day 1022 years ago – 30 December 999 – the Battle of Glenn Máma, or Glenmama, took place, in which Brian Boru, the King of Munster, successfully defeated a revolt by King Máel Mórda of Leinster.
As a result, Boru seized Dublin and married Máel Mórda's sister, Gormflaith. pic.twitter.com/cBVPDh8v4k
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 30, 2021
In 1887 Bertha Wegmann became the first woman to hold a chair at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. She had trained in Copenhagen and in Munich, where she shared a studio with Jeanne Bauck. She was also a board member for the Drawing and Art Industrial School for Women. pic.twitter.com/oOnbolUguG
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 30, 2021
On this day in 1767, slave traders trafficked 90 kidnapped Africans through Savannah, Georgia, after subjecting them to a Transatlantic journey that killed at least 20 people. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Eb2pYK1NwT
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 30, 2021
December 31st
406 80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia
1744 English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's nutation motion (wobble)
1775 Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold
1861 22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record
1958 Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country
Did You Know?
First New Year's Eve celebration held in Times Square, New York City
Would You Believe?
This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively.
This day 262 years ago – 31 December 1759 – a brewery in the St James's Gate area of Dublin was leased to Arthur Guinness… for 9,000 years.
To read more, pick up a copy of This Day in Irish History. Perfect for those with an interest in Ireland's past!https://t.co/Y4VENustgB pic.twitter.com/3VtbJNkxZo
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 31, 2021
TODAY Susan Arnold becomes the first woman to chair the board of the Walt Disney Company. She previously worked for Proctor & Gamble and McDonalds, and also served on the exec committee of Catalyst, a nonprofit org for the advancement of women in business. https://t.co/JHM3Qw62md
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 31, 2021
On this day in 1907, depicting Black men as violent and subhuman, a former U.S. Senator argued for the death penalty as punishment for interracial relationships. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/f9qa2ast1a
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 31, 2021
January 1st
45 BC The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time
630 Prophet Muhammad sets out with an army 10,000 strong to conquer Mecca
758 The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature establish the "starting point" for standardized species names across the animal kingdom, based on the binomial nomenclature by Carolus Linnaeus 10th edition of Systema Naturae
1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in US confederate states
1892 Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station - it would go on to be the gateway to the US for more than 12 million people
1896 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays
1958 European Economic Community, better known as the European Common Market starts operation
Did You Know?
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline, covering the 18 mile distance 23 minutes. Service ceased after three months.
Would You Believe?
Paris merchant Jean Marius obtains 5-year royal privilege for his invention of a folding umbrella – first in Europe
This day 130 years ago – 1 January 1892 – Annie Moore, aged 17, became the first ever immigrant to pass through Ellis Island.
She had left Cobh (known as Queenstown at the time), Co Cork, with her brothers Anthony (12) and Philip (15), travelling 3,000 miles to New York. (1/6) pic.twitter.com/NL57veIyA8
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) January 1, 2022
#OTD in 1909, Dr Sara J Baker became Director of the new Bureau of Child Hygiene in New York City, created to tackle infant mortality. Baker set up milk stations, deployed trained nurses & educated mothers in hygiene. She saved c.90K lives over 30 years. https://t.co/0MAJQ8IKqy pic.twitter.com/53L10kQh4X
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) January 1, 2022
On this day in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that made no attempt to free enslaved Black people in non-rebelling states. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/4Kb3s7rRVe
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) January 1, 2022
Our Woman of the Day is computer scientist & US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, died OTD 1992 aged 85. Inventor of 1st universal programming language leading to COBOL. Coined the word “debugging” after using tweezers to remove a moth from a relay. Known as Amazing Grace. She was. pic.twitter.com/tPlYi4esmT
— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) January 1, 2022
January 2nd
366 The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire
1492 Muhammad XII, the last Emir of Granada, surrenders his city to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile, ending both the Reconquista and centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula
1570 Tsar Ivan the Terrible's march to Novgorod begins
1905 American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms
1942 World War II: the 28 nations at war with Axis powers pledge to make no separate peace deals
1947 Mahatma Gandhi begins march for peace in East Bengal
Did You Know?
Willis Carrier receives a US patent for the world's first air conditioner
Would You Believe?
Record 19.2 feet alligator shot in Louisiana by American businessman Edward Avery McIlhenny
In 1898, Florence Boot set up the Boots Book-Lovers' Library in @BootsUK. She also designed shops and improved employee welfare—free breakfasts, sports clubs, a school. In 1928 she founded the first all-female hall of residence at the Uni of Nottingham. https://t.co/JqCXWmoejh pic.twitter.com/psCTUeI3CG
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) January 2, 2022
On this day in 1944, three white men in Florida lynched a Black 15-year-old named Willie James Howard for sending a love note to a white girl. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/m4pvk5nMnU
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) January 2, 2022