1291 After 100 years of Crusader control, the last Crusader stronghold of Acre is reconquered and destroyed by the Mamluks under Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil
1804 Napoléon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate
1974 India becomes the sixth nation to explode an atomic bomb
1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state triggers the largest landslide in history, killing 57 people and causing over $1 billion in damage
2009 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending the Sri Lankan Civil War and almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides
Historical Events Today Events in 2023
Today in Film & TV
1927 Grauman’s Chinese Theater opens in Hollywood, California
Today in Music
1999 “Millennium” 3rd studio album by the Backstreet Boys is released – one of the best-selling albums of all time, over 30 million copies sold
Today in Sport
1990 Edmonton right wing Jari Kurri sets record for scoring in a Stanley Cup Finals game with 3 goals and 2 assists in 7-2 win at Boston Garden
Other Facts…
1977 US, USSR and other nations sign the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects
332 Roman Emperor Constantine the Great institutes free daily bread rations in Constantinople
Famous Weddings
1152 Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henri of Anjou, handing the future King Henry II of England most of France, allowing future kings of England to claim France for centuries thereafter
1514 Francis, Duke of Valois, later Francis I, King of France, marries Claude, Duchess of Brittany
1964 English rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (19) weds German girl Margrit Volkmar (19); divorce in 1969
