This Day in History

• 310 - St Eusebius begins his reign as Catholic Pope

• 387 - Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptizes Augustinus

• 1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland

• 1506 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid in the Vatican

• 1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned queen consort of Poland

• 1521 - Diet of Worms: Cardinal Alexander questions Martin Luther

• 1552 - Mauritius of Saksen occupies Linz

• 1663 - Osman declares war on Austria

• 1666 - Peace of Kleef: Netherlands & bishop Von Galen of Munster

• 1676 - Sudbury, Massachussetts, attacked by Indians

• 1688 - "Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery": Francis Daniel Pastorius authors 1st formal written protest against African-American slavery in English colonies in Germantown, Pennsylvania

• 1738 - Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") founded in Madrid

• 1775 - Paul Revere and William Dawes ride from Charlestown to Lexington warning the "regulars are coming!"

• 1783 - Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day when it began • 1797 - France & Austria sign ceasefire

• 1809 - First run of 2,000 guineas horse race at Newmarket, England

• 1848 - American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

• 1861 - Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, part of the Maryland Campaign (US Civil War)

• 1869 - 1st international cricket match, held in SF, wins by Californian

• 1902 - Denmark is first country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals

• 1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 while destroying 75% of the city

• 1912 - Tripolitan War: in continuing hostilities, Turkey closes the Dardanelles Straits after an Italian naval bombardment of the coastline

• 1915 - French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.

• 1916 - US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop

• 1922 - Netherlands soccer team defeats Denmark 2-0

• 1924 - 1st crossword puzzle book published (Simon & Schuster)

• 1925 - World's Fair opens in Chicago

• 1927 - Chiang Kai-shek forms anti-government in China

• 1945 - Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia are established.

• 1946 - League of Nations dissolves (3 months after UN starts)

• 1946 - US recognizes Tito's Yugoslavia government

• 1948 - International Court of Justice opens at Hague Netherlands

• 1951 - France, West Germany & Benelux form European Steel & Coal Community

• 1954 - Colonel Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power & becomes Prime Minister of Egypt

• 1956 - Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire

• 1958 - Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra Indonesia

• 1961 - CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.

• 1979 - Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent

• 1980 - Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from UK

• 2013 - 27 people are killed and 65 are injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq

• 2013 - Two earth-like planets are discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62