1586 Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England from Colombia
1659 Torture and execution of Gabriel, the Orthodox metropolitan of Ganos and administrator of Prousa. Jews had accused him of baptizing a Muslim convert into the Christian faith. He could have escaped torture by converting to Islam but refused to deny his faith.
1834 Daniel Lindley leaves Boston for South Africa, where he will do notable work as a missionary.
1854 Eureka Stockade: In what is claimed by many to be the birth of Australian democracy, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences
1903 (Probable date) Miserable after burning a Bible, Sundar Singh sees a vision of Christ. The teenager will immediately begin to preach the gospel to others at great risk to himself and be poisoned and expelled from his home.
1967 1st human heart transplant performed in South Africa by Dr Christiaan Barnard on Louis Washkansky
1984 Bhopal disaster: Union Carbide pesticide plant leak 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, kills 2,259 (official figure) – other estimates as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured
1989 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush, declare the Cold War over
1990 Execution in Iran of Assemblies of God pastor Hossmein Soodmand, who had refused to leave his country and his Christian followers to work in a safer region of the world.
2011 Hindus burn the Christu Sabha Church building in Tamil Nadu state, India, one of hundreds of incidents of Hindu persecution of Christians in India that will occur in this same year.
Today’s Historical Events
Today In Music
1908 Edward Elgar’s 1st Symphony in A performed by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Hans Richter, premieres in Manchester, England
2019 Spotify say Drake the most streamed star of the 2010s with 28 billion streams, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” most streamed track with 2.4 billion streams
Today In Sport
1961 Dutchman Anton Geesink becomes 1st non-Japanese judo world champion
Do You Know This Fact About Today? Did You Know?
1775 First official US flag raised (Grand Union Flag) aboard naval vessel USS Alfred
Would You Believe This Fact About Today? Would You Believe?
1999 NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere
