EVENTS
- 1595 – Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is first performed.
- 1845 – The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is published.
- 1856 – Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.
- 1886 – Karl Benz patents the gasoline-driven automobile.
- 1891 – Hawaii proclaimed Liliuokalani as its queen. Renowned for her song Aloha Oe, she had a reign of only four years until she was forced to abdicate in 1895 under pressure from powerful businessmen.
- 1916 – During World War I, the first aerial bombings of Paris by German zeppelins took place.
- 1919 – The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Prohibition Amendment) was ratified. For nearly 14 years, until December 5, 1933, the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were illegal in the United States. The Amendment had the unexpected result of causing enormous growth of organized crime which provided bootleg liquor to thirsty Americans.
- 1929 – The Seeing Eye Dog organization is formed.
- 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1959 – Walt Disney’s animated film ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is released.
- 1967 – The Mantra-Rock Dance takes place in San Francisco. The event is considered to have been the major spiritual event of the San Francisco hippy era.
- 1996 – France stops nuclear testing. President Jaques Chirac announced the “definite end” to France’s nuclear testing program just 1 day after the country exploded a nuclear device in the South Pacific.
- 2002 – George W. Bush coins the term “axis of evil” as part of his State of the Union Address. The term used to describe “regimes that sponsor terror” became exemplary for the terminology used by the Bush administration to promote its “war on terror”.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1737 – Sir Thomas Paine (Author and Revolutionary)
- 1843 – William McKinley (25th US President)
- 1860 – Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, Russia. His works included Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.
- 1862 – Frederick Delius (English composer)
- 1879 – W. C. Fields (Actor)
- 1924 – Luigi Nono (Italian composer)
- 1945 – Tom Selleck (Actor)
- 1954 – Oprah Winfrey (TV Talk Show Host)
- 1960 – Greg Louganis (US Olympic Diver)
- 1970 – Heather Graham (Actress)
DEATHS
- 1820 – George III of the United Kingdom
- 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas (Greek general, politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece)
- 1963 – Robert Frost (American poet, playwright)
- 2004 – Janet Frame (New Zealand author)
- 2011 – Milton Babbitt (American composer)