1576 – Eighty Years’ War: In Flanders, Spanish defeat Walloon and capture Antwerp
1841 – First wagon train arrives in California
1862 – Dr Richard Gatling patents Gatling machine gun in Indianapolis
1879 – African American inventor Thomas Elkins patents refrigerating apparatus
1922 – Howard Carter discovers tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt
1946 – UNESCO was officially established as its constitution entered into force; this specialized agency of the UN called for the promotion of international collaboration in education, science, and culture.
1979 – A hostage crisis in Iran began as the U.S. embassy in Tehrān was seized by Iranian militants in a move sanctioned by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
1980 – Conservative Republican Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th president of the United States.
1993 – Elton John awarded $518,700 from Sunday Mirror for a false report on his diet
2003 – The most powerful solar flare as observed by satellite instrumentation is recorded.
2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President of the United States, defeating Republican candidate John McCain
2015 – Justin Trudeau sworn in as Canadian Prime Minister with a cabinet split equally between men and women
2015 – Plane crashes after take-off from Juba international airport, South Sudan, killing 37, 1 year old survives in father’s arms
2016 – Paris Agreement on climate change becomes effective
2019 – Nine members of a US Mexican Mormon family, including six children, shot and killed in attack by criminal gang in Northern Mexico
2020 – Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed orders military offensive and state of emergency in northern region of Tigray, amid fears of a civil war
Film & TV:
2001 – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” 1st film adaptation of the books by J. K. Rowling, premieres starring Daniel Radcliffe
Music:
1876 – Johannes Brahms’ 1st Symphony in C premieres in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden
1996 – British girls group the Spice Girls release their debut album “Spice”, goes on to sell 23 million copies
2015 – Katy Perry is the highest paid musician of the year earning 135 million, according to Forbes Magazine
Sport:
1987 – NBA announces 4 new franchises; Charlotte & Miami for 1988 & Minneapolis & Orlando for 1989
Via Britannica / On This Day
