399 BC – Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth of the city and for impiety. 590 – Khosrau II, the last great Sasanian king is crowned King of Persia 1763 – Austria, Prussia & Saxony sign the Treaty of Hubertusburg, marking the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years War. 1898 – an explosion in Havana harbour sank the battleship USS Maine, killing 260 American seamen and precipitating the Spanish-American War, which originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. 1933 – An assassin’s bullet meant for the U.S. president-elect, Franklin D. Roosevelt, wounded Mayor Anton J. Cermak of Chicago, who died three weeks later. 1965 – Canada officially adopted the Maple Leaf Flag following a royal proclamation. 1986 – Ferdinand Marcos wins rigged presidential election in the Philippines. 1989 – Under President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan after occupying the country since 1979. 2001 – First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal “Nature”. 2003 – An estimated 6-11 million people around the world take to the streets to protest against war with Iraq.
Births & Deaths:1564 – Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, Galileo, best known for his discovery of the four most massive moons of Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons, was born. 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States, was born in Adams, Massachusetts.
Sport:1932 – As a member of gold medal winning US 4-man bobsleigh team at Lake Placid, Eddie Eagan (boxing gold Antwerp 1920) becomes only Olympian to win gold medals at both summer & winter Games in different sports. 1978 – Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
Music: 1941 – Duke Ellington first records “Take the A Train”.
TV & Film: 2005 – YouTube, Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States.
