49 BC – Julius Caesar defies the Roman Senate and crosses the Rubicon, uttering “alea iacta est” (the die is cast), signaling the start of civil war which would lead to his appointment as Roman dictator for life
1430 – Catholic Order of the Golden Fleece founded in Bruges in celebration of the prosperous and wealthy domains of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui
1776 – “Common Sense” Pamphlet by Thomas Paine published, advocating American independence
1839 – Tea from India 1st arrives in the United Kingdom
1946 – UN General Assembly meets for 1st time in London
1957 – After Anthony Eden’s resignation Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1971 – Irish Republican Army (IRA) carry out a ‘punishment attack’, tarring and feathering 4 men accused of criminal activities in Belfast
1984 – Argentine ex-president and general Reynaldo Bignone arrested
1990 – China lifts martial law, imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989
1997 – Italy’s new 1,000 lire coin shows divided Germany on map
2001 – The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not be designated as a national monument, the White House announces; a move environmentalist groups had been pressing for to prevent oil drilling
2013 – 81 people are killed and 120 are wounded by a twin bombing in Quetta, Pakistan
2015 – 57 people are killed after an oil tanker collided with a passenger coach outside of Karachi, Pakistan
2019 – Oceans warming faster than previous thought due to fossil fuel burning, according to data published in journal “Science”
2019 – 13 year-old Jayme Closs escapes her kidnapper after 3 months in captivity in Wisconsin
Film & TV:
1952 – “The Greatest Show on Earth”, directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, starring James Stewart and Charlton Heston, premieres in New York (Best Picture 1953)
1999 – “The Sopranos”, starring James Gandolfini as mobster Tony Soprano, debuts on HBO
2004 – 9th Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins Best Film
Music:
1958 – Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” reaches #1 on the UK pop charts
Sport:
1982 – NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 28-27; “The Catch” – iconic moment in NFL history – Dwight Clark makes fingertip catch for a TD from Joe Montana with 58″ remaining; SF goes on to win Super Bowl
Via Britannica / On This Day
