1575 Indian Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi
1857 Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China
1861 Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs and granting them the full rights of free citizens
1887 Anne Sullivan begins teaching 6-year-old blind-deaf Helen Keller
1917 1st major strike of the Russian “February Revolution” starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd
1921 Toronto’s Dr Banting & Dr Best announce the discovery of insulin
1939 Mahatma Gandhi begins a fast in Mumbai (Bombay) to protest against autocratic rule in India
1943 Battle of the Bismarck Sea: Australian and American air forces devastate Japanese navy convoy
1991 Los Angeles police officers severely beat motorist Rodney King, the beating is famously captured on amateur video and later leads to riots when the police officers are acquitted
Historical Events Today
Today In Film & TV
1985 “Moonlighting” with Cybill Shepard & Bruce Willis premieres on ABC TV in the US
Today In Music
1875 Georges Bizet’s last and greatest opera “Carmen” premieres in Paris
Today In Sport
1956 Dutch swimmer Cockie Gastelaars breaks 20-year old world record for 100m freestyle (1:04.2)
Do You Know This Fact About Today?
1873 US Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” books through the mail
Would You Believe This Fact About Today?
2013 A 2-year-old US girl becomes the first child born with HIV to be cured
