This Day In History
532- Nika riots begin in Constantinople, a revolt against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I that leaves half the city burned and thousands dead. The riots were prompted by the failed execution of chariot racing supporters and only stopped after Empress Theodora refused to flee, forcing her husband to act decisively.
888- Odo (Eudes), Count of Paris, succeeds Charles III the Fat to become King of West Francia (888898)
1099- Crusaders set fire to Mara, Syria
1610- Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, 4th satellite of Jupiter
1865- Second Battle of Fort Fisher: A force of 58 Union ships and over 8,000 troops converge on Fort Fisher, North Carolina
1874- Battle between jobless and police in NYC leaves 100s injured
1874- US troops land in Honolulu to protect the king 1888- The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]
1893- British Independent Labour Party forms (Keir Hardie as its leader)
1894- Revolution in Sicily crushed by government troops
1911- South Africa cricket team's 1st win over Australia, at Adelaide
1915- Earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800 1915- Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, presents plan for assault on Dardanelles
1917- Ammunitions ship explosion at Ekonomiia port near Archangel, Russia kills many and injures hundreds
1917- Train at Ciurea station in Romania catches fire and explodes, between 800-1,000 die, making it the third worst rail accident in history
1927- US & Mexico battle over oil interests
1935- Plebiscite in Saar indicates a desire (90.3%) to join Nazi Germany
1938- The Church of England accepts the theory of evolution
1939- The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
1942 - World War II: First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He
280 jet fighter
1958 - 9,000 scientists of 43 nations petition UN for nuclear test ban
1964 - Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta - now Kolkata – resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
1975 - Henry Kissinger hints at military action against oil countries in case of "actual strangulation of the industrialized world" in the wake of oil shock
1976 - Future undisputed world middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler suffers his first career loss in a controversial 10-round majority decision to Bobby Watts at the Philadelphia Spectrum
1978 - NASA select its first American women astronauts
1991 - UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar meets with Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein
1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II
1993 - STS-54 (Endeavour) launches into orbit 1993 - French, British, and US fighter jets launch bombing raids in southern Iraq
2000 - Microsoft chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes company president Steve Ballmer to the position
2001 - Earthquake measuring magnitude 7.6 strikes El Salvador, killing more than 840 people
2002- In a controversial move, Marty Schottenheimer is fired as head coach of the Washington Redskins after just one season
2009- Global shipping experiences a drop in trade, as exports from South Korea dropping an annualised 30%, with Taiwan and Japan experiencing a 42% and 27% drop respectively