211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta.
960 - The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
1194 - 100,000 ransom is paid for Richard I, King of England
1454 - In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
1508 - Maximilian I assumes imperial title without being crowned
1586 - Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, becomes governor-general of the States General of the United Provinces (Netherlands)
1600 - Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for first time near Prague
1620 - Prince Bethlen Gabor of Hungary signs peace with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
1657 - Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal
1697 - Three Dutch East India Company ships anchor at Dirk-Hartogeiland, Australia
1699 - 350 rebellious Streltsi executed in Moscow
1703 - In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-Seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual Self Delete) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
1782 - British garrison surrenders to French & Spanish fleet
1783 - Worst quake in 8 years kills some 50,000 (Calabria, Italy)
1784 - 1st unmanned balloon flight in Ireland
1787 - 1st Anglican bishops of NY & Pennsylvania consecrated in London
1787 - Shays' Rebellion (of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) fails
1789 - 1st US electoral college chooses Washington & Adams as President and Vice-President
1794 - French National Convention proclaims abolishment of slavery
English Military and Political Leader Oliver CromwellEnglish Military and Political Leader Oliver Cromwell 1797 - Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 41,000
1803 - William Dunlap, adapts French melodrama "Voice of Nature"
1810 - Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
1822 - Free American Blacks settle Liberia, West Africa
1824 - J W Goodrich introduces rubber galoshes to public
1846 - Mormons leave Nauvoo, Illinois for settlement in the west
1847 - 1st US telegraph co established in Maryland
1849 - University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
1854 - Alvan Bovay proposes name "Republican Party," Ripon, Wisc
1855 - Soldiers shoot Jewish families in Coro, Venezuela
1859 - The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
1861 - Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time, Montgomery Ala, Ga, Fla, La, Miss & SC elect Jefferson Davis pres of Confederacy
1864 - Skirmish at Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1865 - Hawaiian Board of Education formed
1865 - Robert E. Lee is named general-in-chief of Confederate forces
Christian Science Founder Mary Baker EddyChristian Science Founder Mary Baker Eddy 1866 - Mary Baker Eddy cures her injuries by opening a bible
1880 - Steele MacKay's "Hazel Kirke," premieres in NYC
1887 - Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
1895 - 1st rolling lift bridge opens, Chicago
1899 - Revolt against US occupation of Philippines
1899 - The Philippine-American War begins.
1903 - Stanley Cup: Montreal AAA beat Winn Victorias, 2 games to 1 & 1 tie
1904 - John Millington Synges "Well of Saints," premieres in Dublin
1913 - Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim
1913 - National Institute of Arts & Letters founded
1914 - US Congress approves Burnett-anti-immigration law
1915 - Experiments to find cause of pellagra begin at Miss Penitentiary
1917 - Belgian Council of Flanders established
1919 - City of Bremen's Soviet Republic overthrown
1920 - 1st flight from London to South Africa takes-off (lasts 1½ months)
Confederate General Robert E. LeeConfederate General Robert E. Lee 1922 - WGY-AM in Schenectady NY begins radio transmissions
1924 - 1st Winter Olympic games close at Chamonix France
1924 - George Kelly's "Show-Off," premieres in NYC
1926 - Austrian chancellor Seipel wants to join Germany
1927 - KGA-AM in Spokane WA begins radio transmissions
1929 - Archie Jackson scores 164 on Test Cricket debut v England at Adelaide
1930 - 1st tieless, soundless, shockless streetcar tracks, New Orleans
1931 - National League adopts a deader baseball
1932 - 3rd Winter Olympic games open in Lake Placid, NY
1932 - Japanese troop occupy Harbin, Manchuria
1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
1933 - -Feb 10] Crew of Dutch "7 Provinces" mutiny after pay cuts
1933 - German President Von Hindenburg limits freedom of the press
1936 - 1st radioactive substance produced synthetically (radium E)
1937 - Jim Margie, Philadelphia, bowls 900 in 3 (unsanctioned) games
1938 - "Our Town," by Thornton Wilder opens on Broadway
Dictator of national socialist Germany Adolf RiddlerDictator of national socialist Germany Adolf Riddler 1938 - Riddler seizes control of German army & puts national socialist in key posts
1939 - Glenn Cunningham (top miler) says 4-min mile beyond human effort
1941 - British tanks occupy Maus, Libya
1941 - Former Dutch premier De Geer flies to Berlin
1941 - United Service Organization (USO) founded
1942 - Clinton Pierce becomes 1st US general wounded in action in WW II
1943 - Bertolt Brecht's "Der gute Mensch von Sezuan," premieres in Zurich
1944 - Jean Anouilh's "Antigone," premieres in Paris
1944 - US 7th Infantry Division captures Kwajalein
1945 - FDR, Churchill & Stalin meet at Yalta
1946 - Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday," premieres in NYC
1948 - Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) declares independence from UK
1949 - Failed assassination attempt on Shah of Persia
1951 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Sonya Klopfer
1951 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
Baseball Player Jackie RobinsonBaseball Player Jackie Robinson 1952 - 1st black executive of a major TV station (Jackie Robinson-WNBC NY)
1956 - AL plans to test automatic intentional walk during spring training
1957 - 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale (Syracuse NY)
1958 - "Oh, Captain!" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 192 performances
1958 - Hall of Fame fails to elect anyone for 1st time since 1950
1959 - Israel begins exporting copper ore
1960 - BBWAA voters fail to elect a new Hall of Fame member
1960 - Giants move their offices to Candlestick Park
1960 - Lionel Bart's musical "Fings ain't wot they used t'be," premieres
1961 - Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure
1962 - "Gay Life" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 113 performances
1962 - Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
1962 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Barbara Roles
1962 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Monty Hoyt
1964 - FAA begins 6 month test of reactions to sonic booms over Oklahoma City
Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1965 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1966 - All-Nippon Airways 727 crashes off Haneda Airport (Japan); kills 133
1967 - "Wild Thing" hits #20 on the pop singles chart by Senator Bobby
1967 - US launches Lunar Orbiter 3
1968 - "Golden Rainbow" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 355 performances
Riddler seized control over Germany on my birthday!
