1570 Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign. Also absolves her subjects from allegiance to the crown.
1862 First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America
1910 Dalai Lama flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops
1934 Sir Leonard Woolley ends his archaeological dig at Ur, having uncovered much information that would help Christians understand the ancient texts of Scripture.
1956 Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
1995 Samandar Singh, hired to kill Sister Rani Maria for exposing exploitive money-lending practices, stabs the nun repeatedly in Indore, India. He will serve eleven years for her murder and be “adopted” by Rani Maria’s sister, also a nun, who forgives his action.
HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY
TODAY IN FILM & TV
1950 “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC. Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Woody Allen.
TODAY IN MUSIC
1957 Buddy Holly & Crickets record “That’ll Be the Day”
TODAY IN SPORT
2018 Winter Olympics: Marit Bjoergen (Norway) becomes the most successful winter athlete of all time (15 medals) with gold in the 30k cross country
DO YOU KNOW THIS FACT ABOUT TODAY?
1964 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach
WOULD YOU BELIEVE THIS FACT ABOUT TODAY?
1836 Showman P. T. Barnum exhibits African American slave Joice Heth, claiming she was the 161-year-old nursemaid to George Washington
FAMOUS WEDDINGS
1828 6th US President John Quincy Adam’s son John marries in the White House
1921 Actor Jack Haley (22) weds Florence McFadden
2011 Actor and comedian Kelsey Grammer (57) weds Kayte Walsh (29) at the Longacre Theater in Manhattan, New York
