532 – Nika riots begin in Constantinople, revolt against Emperor Justinian I, prompted by chariot racing
1785 – John Walter publishes 1st issue of “The Times” of London
1938 – The Church of England accepts the theory of evolution
1942 – American industrialist Henry Ford patented plastic automobile construction.
1943 – Adolf Hitler declares “Total War” against the Allies
1968 – American singer and songwriter Johnny Cash recorded the album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison in front of an audience of some 2,000 inmates at California’s Folsom Prison.
1970 – Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu flees Biafra into exile, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to surrender to the Nigerian army, unofficially ending the Nigerian Civil War
1992 – American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer pleads guilty but insane
1994 – Italian government of Carlo Ciampi resigns
1997 – President Abdalá Bucaram OrtÃz of Ecuador visited President Alberto Fujimori of Peru, marking the first official visit to Peru by an Ecuadoran president in 150 years.
2000 – Microsoft chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes company president Steve Ballmer to the position
2001 – Earthquake measuring magnitude 7.6 strikes El Salvador, killing more than 840 people
2009 – Global shipping experiences a drop in trade, as exports from South Korea dropping an annualised 30%, with Taiwan and Japan experiencing a 42% and 27% drop respectively
2012 – The Costa Concordia, a cruise ship carrying some 4,200 people, ran aground and capsized off Giglio Island, Italy; 32 passengers were killed.
2018 Early-morning ballistic missile alert sent across Hawaii in error, revoked after 38 minutes
2018 – Chelsea Manning, former soldier responsible for Wikileaks announces her bid to run for US Senate
2020 – Oldest material existing on earth at 7.5 billion years old revealed by scientists studying the Murchison meteorite that fell to earth in Australia in 1960s
2020 – Queen Elizabeth II issues a statement saying she reluctantly supports Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wish to live a more independent life
Film & TV:
1928 – RCA and GE install three test television sets in homes in Schenectady, New York allowing American inventor E.F.W. Alexanderson to demonstrate the first home television receiver which delivered a poor and unsteady 1.5 square inch picture
Music:
1976 – Sarah Caldwell is 1st woman to conduct at NYC Metropolitan Opera House as she led orchestra in a performance of “La Traviata”
Sport:
1972 – Bernice Gera wins anti-discrimination case against the National Baseball Congressl, initiated March 15, 1971 to be allowed to umpire
2019 – Lionel Messi scores for FC Barcelona in 3-0 win over Eibar, his 400th goal in La Liga; becomes first player to reach mark in just one of Europe’s top 5 leagues; Cristiano Ronaldo had 409 in Spain, England & Italy
Via Britannica / On This Day