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1773 - A skirmish at Grass Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound results in the deaths of two Māori and nine members of James Cook's expedition, New Zealand 1961 - For second consecutive year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year 1991 - DeForest Kelly (Dr McCoy on Star Trek) gets a star in Hollywood 1996 - The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "Ebonics" a language or dialect 2002 - Governor of California Gray Davis announces the state faces a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier 2012 - Six health workers dispensing polio vaccinations are gunned down in Pakistan 2020 - International body Covax, established to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle income countries, announces deals with vaccine manufacturers and method for countries to share excess vaccines 2022 - Cinderella's glass slipper is a witty literary joke by Charles Perrault, poking fun at French King Louis XIV's love of shoes and Versailles' Hall of Mirrors, according to Scottish professor Genevieve Warwick More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1898 - First automobile speed record set of 63 kph (39 mph) by French Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat of Paris 1968 - Musical-fantasy film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", co-written by Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes, with songs by Sherman and Sherman, premieres in NYC 1969 - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", 6th James Bond Film starring George Lazenby and Diana Rigg, premieres in London 1979 - Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial. 2018 - Nevada becomes the first US state with a female-majority legislature with new appointments taking it to 51% More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1927 - Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (1995-99), born in Memramcook, New Brunswick (d. 2009) 1939 - Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2014) 1963 - Karl Dorrell, American football coach, born in Alameda, California 1972 - Lawrence Wong, Singapore economist and politician, Prime Minister (2024-), born in Singapore 2001 - Billie Eilish, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), born in Los Angeles, California More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1633 - Theodoor Galle, Flemish engraver, buried at 62 1832 - Philip Freneau, American poet of the American Revolution (The American Village), dies at 80 1990 - Paul Tortelier, French concert cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 76 2002 - Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-Utah) (b. 1937) 2007 - Jack Linkletter, American TV host (Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny), dies at 70 More Famous Deaths »

1938 - Utrecht Central Station destroyed by fire 1989 - Brazil elects conservative Fernando Collor de Mello as president 1992 - "A Christmas Carol" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 22 performances 2007 - Republic of Lakotah asserts independence from the United States 2013 - Angela Merkel is elected Chancellor of Germany for a third term 2015 - Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals is arrested on fraud charges in New York by the FBI 2019 - Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death in absentia for high treason 2021 - Discovery of the first true millipede (Eumillipes persephone) with 1,000 legs found down a drill hole in Western Australia is published in "Scientific Reports" More Historical Events »

Historical Events 283 - St. Caius begins his reign as Catholic Pope 1843 - Henry Cole, founder of London's VandA Museum, commissions printing of the 1st Christmas card 1914 - Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv by Turkish authorities 1991 - Pittsburgh Penguins score team record 8 goals in one period in 2nd session of 10-2 win over NHL expansion San Jose Sharks 2019 - Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death in absentia for high treason More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1869 - Nikolai Ivanovich Kazanli, Russian composer, born in Tiraspol, Russian Empire (d. 1916) 1893 - Erwin Piscator, German stage director (Der Stellvertreter), born in Greifenstein-Ulm, German Empire (d. 1966) 1903 - Ray Noble, English jazz bandleader, songwriter ("The Very Thought of You"; "Goodnight, Sweetheart"), composer, and actor, born in Brighton, Sussex, England (d. 1978) 1914 - Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (prolific batsman of 30's and 40's), born in Indore, British India (d. 2005) 1923 - Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian of Christianity, born in Arkon, Ohio(d. 2006) More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1962 - Thomas Mitchell, American Academy Award-winning actor (Gone With The Wind; High Noon), dies of bone cancer at 70 1962 - Carl Diem, German sports executive (Sec Gen Organising Committee 1936 Berlin Olympics; creator Olympic torch relay), dies at 80 1982 - Big Joe Williams, American Delta blues singer-songwriter, and nine-string guitarist ("Baby, Please Don't Go"), dies at 79 2006 - Larry Sherry, American baseball pitcher (World Series MVP 1959, LA Dodgers), dies at 71 2022 - Manuel Muñoz, Chilean soccer striker (26 caps; CSD Colo-Colo), dies at 94 More Famous Deaths »

1767 - Van Ritter von Glucks opera "Alceste" premieres 1826 - Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia. 1838 - Battle of Blood River: Zulu impis defeated by Voortrekkers in South Africa (Great Trek) 1850 - Ships the Charlotte-Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand 1897 - 1st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated 1940 - WWII: British air raid on Mannheim, Germany 1989 - Protest breaks out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés. 2012 - Corinthians defeat Chelsea 1-0 to win the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1877 - Anton Bruckner reluctantly steps in to conduct the premiere of his "Symphony No. 3," dedicated to Richard Wagner; it is a critical disaster and undergoes many revisions 1923 - National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions 1962 - Nepal establishes its constitution and becomes a Constitutional Hindu Monarchy 1990 - Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected President of Haiti 1993 - Jule Styne, Norman and Bob Merrill's musical "Red Shoes", based on the 1948 film, opens at Gershwin Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1915 - Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), born in Fatezh, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1998) 1944 - N!xau [ǂToma], Namibian farmer and actor (The Gods Must Be Crazy), born in Tsumkwe, Namibia (d. 2007) 1946 - Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Promised Country), born in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands 1971 - Laurence Cottle, Welsh session rock, jazz, and jazz-fusion bass guitarist and composer (Earthworks; Alan Parsons Project; Black Sabbath), born in Swansea, Wales 1979 - Trevor Immelman, South African golfer (US Masters 2008), born in Cape Town, Western Cape More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 882 - John VIII, Italian Pope (872-82), dies 1921 - Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (Samson et Dalila; Organ Symphony), dies of a heart attack at 86 1984 - Debs Garms, American baseball utility (World Series 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 77 2006 - Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950) 2020 - Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), dies at 79 More Famous Deaths »

1791 - First US law school is established at the University of Pennsylvania 1914 - Serbian troops retake Belgrade in Austria-Hungary 1969 - San Francisco Fire Department replaces leather helmets with plastic ones 1980 - ZBZ Sangha registered after 5 yrs of administrative hassles in Warsaw 1986 - CIA director William J. Casey suffers a cerebral seizure 1993 - Y-12 crashes at Phonesavanh, Laos: 18 killed 2024 - Five members of the "Bali Nine", arresting for smuggling drugs out of Indonesia in 2005, return to Australia after serving nearly 20 years in prison 2024 - More than 50 people are killed in Gaza in Israeli airstrikes as the death toll for Palestinians killed in the Israel-Gaza War surpasses 45,000 More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1930 - Occasional leg-spin bowler Don Bradman takes his 1st of only 2 Test cricket wickets when he traps West Indian batsman Ivan Barrow lbw for 27 in the 1st Test in Adelaide 1984 - USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet 2011 - ESPN and the NCAA extend their TV rights deal through 2023-24, giving the network worldwide multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships for various sports; deal worth $500m 2015 - 1,000 schools closed in Los Angeles after a email threat, supposedly from jihadists 2019 - Raiders play their final NFL game in Oakland conceding 17 unanswered 2nd half points to go down 20-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars; team to play out of Las Vegas in 2020 More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 130 - Lucius Verus, Roman emperor, born in Rome, Italy (d. 169) 1925 - Jack Rothstein, British concert violinist (London Czech Trio), conductor (Viennese Orchestra of London), and session player (The Beatles - "I Am the Walrus"; "Within You Without You"; Paul McCartney - “Here Today”), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2001) 1938 - Bob Foster, American boxer (world light-heavyweight champion 1968-74), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2015) 1939 - Dave Clark, British rock drummer, singer-songwriter, and producer (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"), born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England 1948 - David Gwillim, English actor (Island at Top of the World), born in Plymouth, Devon, England More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1924 - T. Frank Appleby, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives - (R) New Jersey, 1921-23), dies at 60 1947 - George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology), dies after an operation at 50 1994 - Hans de Jong, Dutch conductor (De Damrakkertjes; Amsterdams Vrouwenkoor), dies at 86 2001 - Russ Haas, American professional wrestler, dies of a heart attack at 27 2003 - Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (NHL All Star 1971, 72; Chicago Black Hawks), dies in a motor vehicle accident at 56 More Famous Deaths »

1575 - Polish Parliament selects Istvan Bathory as king of Poland 1702 - The Forty-seven Ronin (leaderless samurai), under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master in Japan 1977 - Test Cricket debut of Pakistan spin bowling great Abdul Qadir v England in 1st Test at Lahore 1983 - Biographical drama film "Silkwood", directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher premieres 1984 - Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from Monday Night Football 1993 - Muslim fundamentalists murder 12 Croats and Bosnians in Algeria 1997 - Revival of Arthur Miller's dramatic play "A View From the Bridge", starring Anthony LaPaglia, Allison Janney, and Brittany Murphy. opens at the Criterion Theater, NYC; runs for 239 performance, wins 2 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards 2017 - The Walt Disney Company buys most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1925 - Alban Berg's first opera "Wozzeck" premieres with the Berlin State Opera in Berlin, Germany 1944 - Beginning of Liese-Aktion: Germany tries to recruit Dutch men for the Germany labor force 1969 - "Leaving on a Jet Plane" single sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, written by John Denver, hits #1 on US Billboard's Hot Top 100 1975 - WCPR (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM 1988 - Spanish General strike to protest austerity measures More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1895 - George VI, King of the United Kingdom (1936-52), born in Norfolk, England (d. 1952) 1901 - Paul I, King of Greece (1947-64), born at Tatoi Palace in Parnitha, Kingdom of Greece (d. 1964) 1927 - Koss Rietkerk, Dutch internal minister (VVD) (1982-86), born in Boskoop, Netherlands (d. 1986) 1927 - Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998) 1975 - Tamecka Dixon, American WNBA guard (LA Sparks), born in Linden, New Jersey More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1417 - John Oldcastle, English nobleman and pro-protestant Lollard leader, whom Shakespeare based his Falstaff character on, hanged for heresy at 39 1998 - Annette Strauss, American philanthropist, dies at 74 2012 - Kenneth Kendall, British broadcaster (BBC News, Treasure Hunt), dies from a stroke at 88 2017 - Lones Wigger, American competitive rifle shooter (Olympic gold/silver-1964, 72), dies at 80 2017 - Yú Guāngzhōng [Yu Kwang-chung], Taiwanese poet, essayist, and translator (Nostalgia), dies from respiratory failure at 89 More Famous Deaths »

1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months, hoping to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit 1570 - Sweden and Denmark signs Peace of Stettin 1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire. 1895 - First complete performance of Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony ("Resurrection"), in Berlin, Germany, conducted by the composer 1979 - Strikes against price increases in Gdańsk, Poland 1982 - Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins 2nd straight Australian title; repeats previous year's win over American Steve Denton 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 1990 - Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green's musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC; runs for 45 performances 2023 - COP28 in Dubai ends with agreement from 190 counties to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, a compromise but still the first to directly address an end to fossil fuels More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1930 - French government of André Tardieu falls for the second time 1997 - 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB) 2013 - "Beyoncé" 5th studio album by Beyoncé is released 2014 - Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, criticizes UN Security Council for its lack of action over war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan 2018 - Apple announces new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas and expansion in other US cities More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1941 - Elizabeth Pochoda, American journalist who helped revitalize Vanity Fair magazine, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2025) 1950 - Heather North, American actress (The Barefoot Executive; voice of Velma in "Scooby-Doo"), born in Pasadena, California (d. 2017) 1961 - Irene Sáez, Venezuelan beauty queen crowned Miss Universe 1981 and politician, born in Chacao, Miranda, Venezuela 1967 - NeNe Leakes (née Linnethia Johnson), American television personality (The Real Housewives of Atlanta), actress, and fashion designer, born in Queens, New York City 1991 - Dermot Kennedy, Irish singer-songwriter ("Power Over Me"; "Giants"), born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1204 - Maimonides [Moses Ben Maimon], Sephardic Jewish philosopher, astronomer and physician (Mishneh Torah), dies in Cairo at 69 1978 - Frits Slomp, Dutch pastor and resistance fighter (aided people in hiding during WWII), dies at 80 1987 - Peter Birch, American dancer, choreographer (Jane Froman's USA Canteen), and director (Captain Kangaroo), dies of a heart attack at 65 1997 - Harry Glaß, German ski jumper (Olympic bronze 1956), dies at 67 2007 - Mark Partridge, Rhodesian politician More Famous Deaths »

1822 - Mexico officially recognized as an independent nation by US 1932 - USSR and China resume diplomatic relations 1955 - The first prototype of the hovercraft is patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell 1961 - Nazi German army officer Adolf Eichmann is found guilty of war crimes in Israel 1963 - Kenya (formerly British East Africa) declares independence from the United Kingdom 1982 - $9,800,000 in cash stolen from money transport car in NYC 1988 - PLO leader Yasi Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist 2016 - Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo claims award for the 4th time; record winning margin of 429 from Lionel Messi More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1969 - Comedy film "The Magic Christian", starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr premieres in London, England 1991 - Tampa Bay Buccaneer Dexter Manley retires after failing drug test 2000 - US Supreme Court releases its 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush's favor, thus handing him the presidency over Al Gore 2020 - Chinese leader Xi Jinping says the country will reduce its carbon intensity by 65% by 2030 2021 - Dutchman Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 Drivers' C'ship for Red Bull with a controversial last lap win over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1887 - Kurt Magnus Atterberg, Swedish composer, born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1974) 1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-Kyrgyz author and best-known figure in Kyrgyzstan's literature (Jamila), born in Kirghiz ASSR, Soviet Union (d. 2008) 1941 - Terry Kirkman, American rock vocalist, songwriter, and keyboardist (The Association - "Windy"; "Cherish"), and later substance abuse counselor, born in Salina, Kansas (d. 2023) 1952 - Ajit De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket spin bowler (4 Tests), born in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka 1959 - Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer (big-hitting Indian opener), born in Madras, India More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1788 - Joseph Gibbs, English composer and organist, dies at 88 1912 - Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (regent for nephews King Ludwig II and King Otto), dies at 91 1965 - Johnny Lee, American actor (Song of the South, The Amos 'n' Andy Show), dies from a heart attack at 67 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (Member of the Australian Parliament for Bourke), dies at 81 1998 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida (1971-89) and Governor of Florida (1991-98), dies at 68 More Famous Deaths »

1572 - Spanish troops begin siege of Haarlem 1688 - King James II captured in Kent, after trying to flee to France upon the arrival of William of Orange 1941 - Japanese occupy Guam 1941 - Axis powers Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy declare war against the United States 1970 - Start of the 1st Test match at the WACA, Australia v England 1987 - Test debut of Carl Hooper, WI v India at Bombay 1993 - 59th Heisman Trophy Award: Charlie Ward, Florida State (QB) 2017 - Six wildfires in Southern California now cover area larger than New York City and Boston combined More Historical Events »