211 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta
960 Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song, initiating three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China
1555 English reformer John Rogers is burned at the stake at Smithfield, the first of many martyrs in the reign of Mary Tudor.
1789 1st US electoral college chooses George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President
1798 Elizabeth Fry, reared a Quaker, has a conversion experience in Norwich, England, under the preaching of William Savery, an American Friend. She will become a notable prison reformer.
1859 One of the oldest known copies of the Bible, “The Codex Sinaiticus” (Sinai Bible), is seen in Egypt by Constantin von Tischendorf who takes the manuscript home with him.
1865 Robert E. Lee is named general-in-chief of Confederate forces
1928 In South Africa, the parents of teenager Manche Masemola kill her and bury her by a granite rock. Masemola had refused to abandon Christianity, worshiping in the Anglican Church at every opportunity. Decades later, she will be honored with a statue at Westminster Abbey.
1969 The Palestine National Congress appoints Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO
1988 Panamanian General Manuel Noriega indicted by US federal grand jury for drug trafficking and racketeering
2004 Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room
Historical Events Today
Today In Film & TV
1970 “Patton” directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring George C. Scott premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1971)
Today In Music
1977 “Rumours” 11th studio album by Fleetwood Mac is released (Grammy Album of the Year)
Today In Sport
1991 NZ cricketers Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones make a world record 467 run stand, against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
Do You Know This Fact About Today?
1936 1st radioactive substance produced synthetically (radium E)
Would You Believe This Fact About Today?
1962 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
