1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
1613 Michael Romanov, son of Patriarch of Moscow, elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
1804 1st locomotive, Richard Trevithick’s, runs for the 1st time, along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
1896 Walter Grand Taylor converts to Christianity in a hotel room. The conversion is brought on by his realization that his young wife, a Christian, who has just died, is already in heaven, while he is doomed. Twenty years later he will become head of the Pacific Garden Mission.
1916 World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
1922 Britain declares Egypt a sovereign state
1972 Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing
HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY
TODAY IN FILM & TV
1990 “The Batman Theme” by Danny Elfman wins Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition at 32nd Annual Grammy Awards
2003 Bill Maher’s political talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” debuts on HBO
TODAY IN SPORT
1931 Chicago White Sox & NY Giants play 1st exhibition night game
DO YOU KNOW THIS FACT ABOUT TODAY?
1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish “The Communist Manifesto” in London
WOULD YOU BELIEVE THIS FACT ABOUT TODAY?
1878 World’s 1st telephone directory issued, 50 subscribers (New Harbor, Connecticut)
