Today in History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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1170 - St. Thomas à Becket, the 40th archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights acting on Henry II's orders.

1812 - The USS Constitution won a battle with the British ship HMS Java about 30 miles off the coast of Brazil. Before Commodore William Bainbridge ordered the sinking of the Java he had her wheel removed to replace the one the Constitution had damaged during the battle.

1813 - The British burned Buffalo, NY, during the War of 1812.

1835 - The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

1837 - Canadian/British forces destroyed the Caroline, a U.S. steamboat docked on an island near Buffalo, NY. The boat had been used by Canadian independence fighters and when it landed on the island in the Niagara River American citizens supported the crew. British forces seized the boat and killed a US citizen. The boat was burned and sent over the falls. Retaliation followed. This caused an international incident that was smoothed over in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 in which both the US and Great Britain admitted to wrongdoing.

1845 - U.S. President James Polk and signed legislation making Texas the 28th state of the United States.

1848 - U.S. President James Knox Polk turned on the first gas light at the White House. He then celebrated with the James Knox Polka. Sorry.

1860 - The HMS Warrior, Britain's first seagoing first iron-hulled warship, was launched.

1890 - The U.S. Seventh Cavalry massacred over 400 men, women and children at Wounded Knee Creek, SD. This was the last major conflict between Indians and U.S. troops.

1895 - The Jameson Raid from Mafikeng into Transvaal, which attempted to overthrow Kruger's Boer government, started.

1911 - Sun Yat-sen became the first president of a republican China.

1934 - Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

1940 - During World War II, Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London.

1975 - A bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport. 11 people were killed.

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1460 - At the Battle of Wakefield, in England's Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated and killed by the Lancastrians.

1703 - Tokyo hit by Earthquake; about 37,000 lives are lost.

1853 - The United States bought about 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.

1887 - A petition to Queen Victoria with over one million names of women appealing for public houses to be closed on Sundays was handed to the home secretary.

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 & Transcaucasian SSR.

1924 - Edwin Hubble announced the existence of other galactic systems.

1935 - Italian bombers destroyed a Swedish Red Cross unit in Ethiopia.

1940 - California's first freeway was officially opened. It was the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena. Some of those first cars are still stuck in traffic.

1947 - King Michael of Romania abdicated in favor of a Communist Republic. He claimed he was forced from his throne.

1972 - The United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.

1993 - Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations.

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406 - 80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia. Gallia or Gaul at this time comprised modern day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, and parts of Germany and the Netherlands.

1687 - The first Huguenots set sail from France for the Cape of Good Hope, where they would later create the South African wine industry with the vines they took with them on the voyage.

1695 - The window tax was imposed in Britain, which resulted in many windows being bricked up.

1711 - The Duke of Marlborough was dismissed as commander of forces of England.

1775 - The British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec. Montgomery was killed in the battle.

1857 - Britain's Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada.

1862 - U.S. President Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.

1891 - New York's new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island, to provide improved facilities for the massive numbers of arrivals.

1897 - Brooklyn, NY, spent its last day as a separate entity before becoming part of New York City.

1929 - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played "Auld Lang Syne" as a New Year's Eve song for the first time.

1946 - U.S. President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

1955 - General Motors became the first U.S. corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year.

1961 - In the U.S., the Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.

1974 - Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.

1978 - Taiwanese diplomats struck their colors for the final time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, DC. The event marked the end of diplomatic relations with the U.S.

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45 BC - The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time.

404 - The last gladiator competition was held in Rome.

630 - Muhammad sets out with his army towards Mecca, capturing it bloodlessly.

1622 - The Papal Chancery adopted January 1st as the beginning of the New Year (instead of March 25th).

1772 - The first traveler's checks were issued in London.

1797 - Albany became the capital of New York state, replacing New York City.

1801 - Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi became the first person to discover an asteroid. He named it Ceres.

1808 - The U.S. prohibited import of slaves from Africa.

1863 - U.S. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in the rebel states were free.

1895 - In Battle Creek, MI, C.W. Post created his first usable batch of Monks Brew (later called Postum). It was a cereal-based substitute for caffeinated drinks. Interestingly, as bad as this sounds it tastes even worse.

1900 - Hawaii asked for a delegate to the Republican national convention.

1934 - Alcatraz Island officially became a Federal Prison.

1939 - The Hewlett-Packard partnership was formed by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.

1942 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued a declaration called the "United Nations." It was signed by 26 countries that vowed to create an international postwar World War II peacekeeping organization. I wonder what they would think of their creation today?

1959 - Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and seized power in Cuba.

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366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire. This is rife with historical irony.

1492 - Muhammad XII. (Boabdil) last Nasird ruler of Moorish fortress Alhambra surrenders to the Catholic Monarchs.

1570 - Tsar Ivan the Terrible's march to Novgorod begins.

1788 - Georgia became the 4th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1842 - In Fairmount, PA, the first wire suspension bridge was opened to traffic.

1872 - Brigham Young, the 71-year-old leader of the Mormon Church, was arrested on a charge of bigamy. He had 25 wives. 25 wives is big of anyone.

1882 - The Standard Oil Trust agreement was completed and dated. The document transferred the stock and property of more than 40 companies into the control of nine trustees lead by John D. Rockefeller. This was the first example of what became known as a holding company.

1900 - U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China.

1905 - American anarchy-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World is formed.

1929 - The United States and Canada reached an agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.

1935 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann went on trial for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby. Hauptmann was found guilt and executed. The way this case was investigated left more questions than answers.

1942 - The Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.

1942 - World War II: the 28 nations at war with Axis powers pledge to make no separate peace deals.

1960 - U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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1496 - References in Leonardo da Vinci notebooks suggested that he tested his flying machine. The test didn't succeed and he didn't try to fly again for several years.

1521 - Martin Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church.

1777 - The Battle of Princeton took place in the War of Independence, in which George Washington defeated the British forces, led by Cornwallis.

1815 - By secret treaty, Austria, Britain, and France formed a defensive alliance against Prusso-Russian plans to solve the Saxon and Polish problems.

1823 - Stephen F. Austin received a grant from the Mexican government and began colonization in the region of the Brazos River in Texas.

1833 - Britain seized control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. About 150 years later, Argentina seized the islands from the British, but Britain took them back after a 74-day war.

1868 - The Shogunate was abolished in Japan and Meiji dynasty was restored.

1924 - English explorer Howard Carter discovered the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.

1925 - Benito Mussolini dissolves the Italian parliament and proclaims himself dictator of Italy, taking the title "Il Duce" (the Leader).

1959 - Alaska became the 49th state.

1961 - The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.

1962 - Pope John XXIII excommunicated Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro.

1967 - Jack Ruby died in a Dallas, TX, hospital.

1988 - Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.

1990 - Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission. Hes was actually blasted out by US Troops playing non-stop heavy metal music at an incredibly high volume. The troops' playlist came care of the Southern Command Network, the US military radio in central America. It featured hits picked for their irony value, including I Fought The Law by The Clash, Panama by the stadium rock band Van Halen, U2's All I Want Is You, and Bruce Cockburn's If I Had A Rocket Launcher.

1993 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in Moscow.

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1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. 1947 saw the first large scale US purchase but prior to this Paterson Colt revolvers had been purchased in smaller numbers for service in the Seminole Wars. There were of course private purchases by individual soldiers since the invention of the revolver in 1836.

1865 - New York Stock Exchange opens its 1st permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad St, near Wall Street in New York City.

1896 - Utah became the 45th U.S. state.

1935 - Bob Hope was heard for the first time on network radio as part of "The Intimate Revue."

1944 - The attack on Monte Cassino was launched by the British Fifth Army in Italy.

1948 - Britain granted independence to Burma.

1951 - During the Korean conflict, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul.

1958 - The Soviet satellite Sputknik I fell to the earth from its orbit. The craft had been launched on October 4, 1957.

1959 - Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes 1st craft to leave Earth's gravity. This Soviet built probe was intended to impact the Lunar surface but a malfunctioning guidance system caused it to miss the Moon. I'm reasonably sure that the designer of the guidance system did not miss out on an all expenses paid tour of the Siberian Gulag circuit.

1965 - In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Johnson proclaimed the building of the "Great Society."

1974 - U.S. President Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.

2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi as the 1st female Speaker of the House. Providing positive proof that generally speaking people tend not to learn from history and frequently repeat terrible mistakes.

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1477 - Battle of Nancy, Burgundy vs Switzerland. This was the final and definitive battle of the Burgundian Wars. Charles Duke of Burgundy was killed and his army was decimated by Lorraine and the Swiss Confederacy. This battle helped cement the reputation of the Swiss Pikemen a priemier fighting force.

1781 - Richmond, VA, was burned by a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold.

1885 - The Long Island Railroad Company became the first to offer piggy-back rail service which was the transportation of farm wagons on trains.

1896 - It was reported by The Austrian newspaper that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered the type of radiation that became known as X-rays.

1900 - In Ireland, Nationalist leader John Edward Redmond called for a revolt against British rule.

1914 - Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.

1919 - German Farmers' Party is formed in Germany. Many Historians point to this as the birth of what would become the NAZI party.

1933 - In California, construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began.

1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio.

1949 - US President Harry Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal".

1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle.

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871 - England's King Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown. Alfred is the only English monarch to ever be called "The Great".

1205 - Philip of Swabia was crowned as King of the Romans.

1453 - Frederick III erected Austria into an Archduchy.

1540 - King Henry VIII of England was married to Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife.

1649 - The English Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial for treason and other "high crimes".

1720 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings. As interesting as this sounds it was simply an investigation into the business and financial practices of a British trading company and not an actual bubble in the ocean.

1912 - Alfred Wegener, geophysicist and meteorologist, presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at a the Geological Association (Geologischen Vereinigung) at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt.

1912 - New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state.

1941 - US President Franklin Roosevelt makes his "Four Freedoms" speech (freedom of speech and worship; freedom from want and fear) during his US State of Union address.

1945 - The Battle of the Bulge ended with 130,000 German and 77,000 Allied casualties.

1967 - U.S. and South Vietnamese forces launched a major offensive, known as Operation "Deckhouse V", in the Mekong River delta.

1987 - Astronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy.

1998 - The spacecraft Lunar Prospect was launched into orbit around the moon. The craft was crashed into the moon, in an effort to find water under the lunar surface, on July 31, 1999.

1999 - The 106th U.S. Congress opened. The first item on the agenda was the impeachment proceedings of U.S. President Bill Clinton. The trial was set to begin January 7, 1999.

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1558 - Calais, the last English possession on mainland France, was recaptured by the French.

1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa & Ganymede.

1782 - The Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia. It was the first commercial bank in the United States.

1785 - French aeronaut/balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries successfully made the first air-crossing of the English Channel from the English coast to France. Near the French coast the balloon was dangerously descending toward the channel. The crew quickly jettisoned non essential equipment and slowed the decent but it wasn't until MR Blanchard and MR Jeffries also tossed their trousers and other clothing overboard that the balloon retained enough altitude to complete the crossing. The trouser part has been confirmed but the rumor of three moons over France is thought to be just that, a rumor.

1789 - Americans voted for the electors that would choose George Washington to be the first U.S. president.

1904 - The distress signal "CQD" was established. Two years later "SOS" became the radio distress signal because it was quicker to send by wireless radio.

1927 - Transatlantic telephone service began between New York and London. 31 calls were made on this first day.

1932 - Chancellor Heinrich Brüning declared that Germany cannot, and will not, resume reparations payments.

1935 - French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed the Italo-French agreements.

1942 - The World War II siege of Bataan began.

1949 - The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

1953 - U.S. President Harry Truman announced the development of the hydrogen bomb.

1954 - Georgetown-IBM experiment, 1st public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM's head office in New York.

1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that authorized $1.5 billion in loans for the bail out of Chrysler Corp.