Events558 - In
Constantinople, the dome of the
Hagia Sophia collapses.
Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt. 1274 - In
France, the
Second Council of Lyons opens to regulate the election of the
Pope.1298 - Colocation of the first stone of Barcelona's Cathedral.1429 -
Joan of Arc ends the
Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning wounded to lead the final charge. The victory marks a turning point in the
Hundred Years' War.1664 -
Louis XIV of France inaugurates The
Palace of Versailles.
1697 -
Stockholm's royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed in a huge fire (in the 18th century, it is replaced with the current
Royal Palace).
1763 -
Indian Wars:
Pontiac's Rebellion begins -
Chief Pontiac begins the "Conspiracy of Pontiac" by attacking British forces at
Fort Detroit.
1824 - World premiere of
Ludwig van Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony in
Vienna,
Austria. Work was conducted by
Michael Umlauf, under the
deaf composer's supervision.
1832 -
Greece is recognised independent by the
Treaty of London.
Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen
King.
1836 - The settlement of
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is elevated to the royal status of
villa by the government of
Spain.
1840 - The
Great Natchez Tornado strikes
Natchez, Mississippi, killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest
tornado in
U.S. history.
1847 - In
Philadelphia, the
American Medical Association (AMA) is founded.
1864 -
American Civil War: The
Army of the Potomac, under General
Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the
Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
1895 - In
Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist
Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention - the first in the world radio receiver. In the former
Soviet Union this day is celebrated as Day of Radio.
1915 -
World War I: a
German submarine U-20 sinks the
RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turned many formerly pro-Germans in the
United States of America against the
German Empire.
1920 -
Kiev Offensive (1920):
Polish troops led by
Józef Piłsudski and
Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic
Ukrainian force captured
Kiev only to be driven out by the
Red Army counter-offensive a month later.1920 -
Treaty of Moscow (1920):
Soviet Russia recognizes independence of the
Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1927 -
Angelos Sikelianos organizes the first Delphic Festival in
Delphi to celebrate the ancient Greek Delphic ideal.
1937 -
Spanish Civil War: The
German Condor Legion, equipped with
Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrive in
Spain to assist
Franco's forces.
1945 -
World War II: General
Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at
Reims,
France, ending
Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day.
1946 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed
Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
1947 -
Kraft Television Theater debuts, running for the next 11 years.
1948 - The
Council of Europe is founded during the
Hague Congress.
1952 - The concept for the
integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by
Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.
1954 -
Indochina War: The
Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a
French defeat (the battle began on
March 13).
1960 -
Cold War:
U-2 Crisis -
Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding
American U-2 pilot
Gary Powers.
1964 -
Pacific Air Lines Flight 773, a
Fairchild F-27 airliner, crashes near
San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the
FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.
1974 -
West German Chancellor
Willy Brandt resigns.
1992 -
Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the
United States Constitution making the
27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the
U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.1992 -
Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its maiden voyage (
STS-49). 1992 - Three employees at a
McDonald's Restaurant in
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first fast-food murder in
Canada.
1998 -
Mercedes-Benz buys
Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms
DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
1999 -
Pope John Paul II travels to
Romania becoming the first pope that had visited a predominantly
Eastern Orthodox country since the
Great Schism in 1054.1999 - A jury finds
The Jenny Jones Show and
Warner Bros. liable in the shooting death of
Scott Amedure, after the show purposely deceived
Jonathan Schmitz to appear on a secret same-sex crush episode. Schmitz later killed Amedure and the jury awarded Amedure's family US$25 million. 1999 -
Kosovo War: In
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three
Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a
NATO aircraft bombs the Chinese embassy in
Belgrade. 1999 - In
Guinea-Bissau, President
João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military
coup.
2002 - A
China Southern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the
Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2005 - Former Lebanese Prime Minister, General
Michel Aoun returns to
Lebanon after 15 years in exile.
2006 -
Rolling Stone magazine publishes its 1000th issue.
2007 - The tomb of
Herod the Great is discovered.2007 -
Windows Live Hotmail was launched and replaced
MSN Hotmail.
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