Today In History 🗓 – RANDOM Times •

#TodayInHistory – March 20

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March 20 – Some Important Events on this day 1345 👉🏼 Saturn, Jupiter and Mars-conjunction: thought “cause of plague epidemic” 🪐 1616 👉🏼 Walter Raleigh released from Tower of London to seek gold in Guyana. Known for popularising tobacco in England and for his expedition to South America in search of a “City of Gold”, explorer Walter Raleigh published an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of “El Dorado”. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, he was distrusted by Elizabeth’s successor, King James…

#TodayInHistory – March 19

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March 19 – Some Important Events on this day 1279 👉🏼 A Mongolian victory at the naval Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China 1452 👉🏼 Frederick III of Hapsburg crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Nicholas V in Rome 1644 👉🏼 200 members of Peking imperial family and court commit suicide in loyalty to the Emperor 🇨🇳 1859 👉🏼 Opera “Faust” by Charles Gounod premieres in Paris 🇫🇷 1863 👉🏼 Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, and medicines then…

#TodayInHistory – March 18

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March 18 – Some Important Events on this day 37 👉🏼 Roman Senate annuls Tiberius’ will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (aka Caligula = Little Boots) emperor 1123 👉🏼 1st Latern Council (9th ecumenical council) opens in Rome, agreements of the Concordat of Worms ratified 1314 👉🏼 Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake by King Philip IV of France 1325 👉🏼 According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date on an island in what…

#TodayInHistory – March 16

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March 16 – Some Important Events on this day 597 BC 👉🏼 Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king 1527 👉🏼 Battle of Khanua: Mughal Emperor Babur defeats Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga consolidating Mughal power 1660 👉🏼 English Long Parliament disbands 1792 👉🏼 King gustav III of Sweden is shot by Count Jacob Johan Anckarström at a masked ball at the Opera. By this year, King Gustav III of Sweden had amassed an enormous amount of personal power, displacing the old constitutional monarchy and forming an…

#March 15, 1889: the power of nature blows gunboat diplomacy out of the water in Apia Harbour, Western Samoa

15 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

Gunboat diplomacy was at its height in 1889 and on this day, March 15, tension was high with an act of war seemingly imminent. Three American warships (the sloop-of-war USS Vandalia, the screw steamer USS Trenton, and the gunboat USS Nipsic) and three from Germany (the gunboats SMS Adler and SMS Eber and the corvette SMS Olga) were jostling for position in a small harbour in the South Pacific, Apia Harbour, Western Samoa, observed by yet another warship from Britain, HMS Calliope. They had been intimidating each other from 1887–1889,…

#TodayInHistory – March 15

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March 15 – Some Important Events on this day 44 BC 👉🏼 Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by Brutus, Cassius and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March in Rome. By the time of his assassination on this day, Julius Caesar was at the height of his power, having recently been declared dictator perpetuo by the Roman Senate. This kind of power made many senators nervous that Caesar would overthrow the senate and establish one-man tyranny. Thus they planned to murder him and restore the authority of…

#TodayInHistory – March 14

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March 14 – Some Important Events on this day 1369 👉🏼 Battle of Montiel: King of Castille and Leon Peter of Castile (Peter the Cruel) with support from England is defeated by an alliance between the French and his half-brother Henry II 1590 👉🏼 Battle of Ivry: French King Henry IV beats Catholic League during French Wars of Religion. The French Wars of Religion between the Catholics and the Huguenots (Protestants) were an exceptionally brutal conflict that claimed the lives of at least three million people over a 30 year…

#March 13, 1770: Daniel Lambert – the heaviest person ever to have lived

13 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

Nobody knows what was wrong with Daniel Lambert who was born on this day, March 13 1770. But he went from being a slim, athletic, sports-loving guy to a very very very big man in his thirties, so big that he entered record books as the heaviest person ever to have lived. Daniel was born in Leicester, England, to a family passionate about hunting, gamekeeping and field sports. He joined eagerly in these hobbies and excelled at them. Moreover, he was also an excellent swimmer and taught children to swim…

#TodayInHistory – March 13

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March 13 – Some Important Events on this day 624 👉🏼 Battle of Badr: Muhammad’s Muslim forces win significant victory over Meccan army 1591 👉🏼 Battle at Tondibi: Moroccan army under Judar defeats Sultan Askia Ishaq II of Songhai 1770 👉🏼 Nobody knows what was wrong with Daniel Lambert who was born on this day. But he went from being a slim, athletic, sports-loving guy to a very very very big man in his thirties, so big that he entered record books as the heaviest person ever to have lived.…

#TodayInHistory – March 12

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March 12 – Some Important Events on this day 538 👉🏼 Witiges, King of the Ostrogoths, ends his siege of Rome, retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of victorious Byzantine General Belisarius 1455 👉🏼First record of Johannes Gutenberg’s Bible, letter dated this day by Enea Silvio Piccolomini refers to the bible printed a year before 📖 1642 👉🏼 Explorer and seafarer Abel Tasman is the 1st European to sight New Zealand, viewing the north-west coast of the South Island 🇳🇿 1832 👉🏼 The ballet La Sylphide first…

#TodayInHistory – March 11

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March 11 – Some Important Events on this day 1425 BC 👉🏼 According to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty, Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt dies. 🇪🇬 843 👉🏼 Icon veneration officially re-instated in Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople 🇹🇷 The Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) is the third church to be built in this site. The Byzantine emperor Justinian I ordered its construction in 532 after riots destroyed an earlier church on its site in Istanbul. It was finished in just five years in 537 and was then the…

#TodayInHistory – March 10

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March 10 – Some Important Events on this day 241 BC 👉🏼 Battle of the Aegates Islands: the Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. 1578 👉🏼 Queen Elizabeth I of England gives Johan Casimir £20,000 to aid Dutch rebellion 1762 👉🏼 French Huguenot Jean Calas, who was wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities. The event inspires Voltaire to begin campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform. 1783 👉🏼 USS Alliance under Captain Barry fights and wins last…

#March 9, 1974: the incredible Hiroo Onoda’s One-Man war finally ends

9 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Leo S

Nearly 30 years after the end of the Second World War Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered on this day, March 9 1974. His story is curious: he had been waging his own war from a jungle and the mountains. All began in December 1944, when, towards the end of the global conflict, Onoda, an intelligence officer, was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines. His task was simple: destroy infrastructure on the island and do all he could to thwart enemy attacks. However, when US and Philippine Commonwealth forces…

#TodayInHistory – March 9

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March 9 – Some Important Events on this day 141 BC 👉🏼 Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years 🇨🇳 1497 👉🏼 Nicolaus Copernicus’ 1st recorded astronomical observation 🔭 1500 👉🏼 Pedro Álvares Cabral departs Lisbon, Portugal at the head of a 13 ship expedition to India that will also claim Brazil for Portugal 1522 👉🏼 Martin Luther begins preaching his “Invocavit Sermons” in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God’s…

#March 8, 1971: Frank Sinatra photographs the fight of the century

8 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

It was described as “the Fight of the Century”: Muhammad Ali, who had been stripped of his World Heavyweight Championship and suspended from boxing for three years after refusing to serve in the Vietnam war, on this day, March 8 1971, took on Joe Frazier, the man who had taken his title, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Both fighters were undefeated and the event was broadcast live to an international television audience. It was also attended by countless of stars including Woody Allen, Diana Ross, Dustin Hoffman, Burt…

#TodayInHistory – March 8

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March 8 – Some Important Events on this day 1531 👉🏼 Henry VIII recognised as supreme head of Church in England by the Convocation of Canterbury 1867 👉🏼 British North America Act is passed in the House of Commons, serves as Canada’s constitution for more than 100 years 🇨🇦 1884 👉🏼 Suffragette Susan B. Anthony, a social reformer who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement, addresses U.S. House Judiciary Committee arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote, 16 years after…

#TodayInHistory – March 7

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March 7 – Some Important Events on this day 161 👉🏼 Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire 321 👉🏼 Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire 1530 👉🏼 English King Henry VIII’s divorce request is denied by the Pope 1778 👉🏼 Captain James Cook 1st sights Oregon coast at Yaquina Bay 1814 👉🏼 Napoleon I of France wins the Battle of…

#TodayInHistory – March 6

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March 6 – Some Important Events on this day 1454 👉🏼 Thirteen Years’ War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to Casimir IV of Poland, and the Polish king agrees to help in their struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights. 1479 👉🏼 Treaty of Alcaçovas: Portugal gives the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa 🤝 1521 👉🏼 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan discovers Guam 🇬🇺 1799 👉🏼 Napoleon Bonaparte captures the city of Jaffa, Palestine, after a 5 day siege, defeating the Ottoman Empire…

#March 5, 1953: Dictator and mass murderer Stalin goes to his grave

5 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Pavel

Iosif Vissarionovič Džugašvili Stalin, the brutal Russian dictator who sent millions of his countrymen to their deaths, joined them on this day, March 5 1953, after failing to recover from a brain haemorrhage four days earlier. He was 74 years old. His 30-year term as absolute ruler of the Soviet Union was marked by a long series of atrocities including purges, forced displacements, imprisonment in forced labour camps known as Gulags, manufactured famines, torture, acts of mass murder and massacres, in addition to the estimated 20 million Soviet troops and…

#March 4, 1975: Charlie Chaplin was knighted at Buckingham Palace

4 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Nathan

Charlie Chaplin was knighted at Buckingham Palace on this day, March 4 1975, to become Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin KBE. At the time he was 85. Even though the countless fans of the British-born comic actor had been pressing for such recognition over many years, controversy in his past life kept Charlie off the roll of honour for a long time. Foreign Office papers from 1956, which were kept secret until 2002, revealed that the silent screen star had been shelved partly because he was considered to be a communist…

#TodayInHistory – March 4

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March 4 – Some Important Events on this day 1152 👉🏼 Frederick I Barbarossa elected Holy Roman Emperor 1238 👉🏼 Battle of the Sit River: Mongol forces of Batu Khan overcome Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal near Yaroslavl in Russia, ending Russian resistance 1789 👉🏼 1st US Congress meets and declares constitution in effect (9 senators, 13 reps). The supreme law of the United States of America, the US Constitution was drafted by the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention which took place between May 25 and September 17, 1787. It was…

#March 3, 1875: Carmen, the opera that shocked Paris

3 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

Carmen, now one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the world, had its premiere on this day, March 3 1875, in Paris. However, its story of an army officer’s seduction (and betrayal) by a voluptuous and sensuous cigarette factory worker stunned its French audience and the first performance was greeted with astonished silence. Until this “vulgar” new opera came along and shook the public, the composer, Georges Bizet, had enjoyed moderate success, but nobody was prepared for the opera’s theme of erotic obsession, the sight of women…

#TodayInHistory – March 3

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March 3 – Some Important Events on this day 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. Two years before Abraham Lincoln issued his very popular Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the United States, the Russian Tsar moved to abolish its system of peasants and serfdom. The need to…

#March 2, 1998: The film “Titanic” became the first ever movie to earn 1 billion US dollars at the box office.

2 Mar 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

The film “Titanic” became, on this day, March 2, 1998, the first ever movie to earn 1 billion US dollars at the box office. And, the love story of the fictitious Rose and Jack Dawson, set against the historical backdrop of the sinking in 1912 of the luxurious liner, remains still today one of the highest-grossing films ever. After its release the previous year, it rode on the crest of a wave to startling acclaim and success, being nominated for no less than 14 Oscars. It scooped 11, but ironically…

#TodayInHistory – March 1

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March 1 – Some Important Events on this day 1516 👉🏼 Printing is completed of Erasmus’ “Novum Instrumentum omne”, first published New Testament in Greek 1780 👉🏼Pennsylvania becomes 1st US state to abolish slavery (for newborns only). 1692 👉🏼 Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, & Tituba arrested for witchcraft in Salem, Massachussets. Perhaps the most notorious case of mass hysteria in colonial America, the Salem witch trials saw around 200 people accused of witchcraft, with 19 found guilty and executed. Another man was crushed to death for refusing to plead, while…

#February 29, 1504: The crafty Christopher Columbus’ leap year trick

29 Feb 20203 Mar 2021 Leo S

Anyone born on February 29th would not consider themselves lucky. For istance, they have a real birthday only once every four years, when it is a leap year, such this 2019. The list of famous people born on this day is very short and research shows that rapper Ja Rule as possibly the most well known (but who is he?), or american singer Mark Foster. However, leap years are considered by some to be lucky and, according to some superstition, any enterprise started on February 29th is certain to succeed.…

#February 28, 1874: the curious case of the “baronet” from Wagga Wagga

28 Feb 20203 Mar 2021 Nathan

Arthur Orton, who became known as the Tichborne Claimant, was found guilty of perjury on this day, February 28, 1874, after the longest trial in English history. The bizarre case, which gripped and fascinated all society, involved the son of a butcher in London’s East End, a missing English aristocrat, and the claims of a butcher from Wagga Wagga, Australia. But let’s start from the beginning. The Tichbornes were a prominent wealthy Catholic family whose stately home stood in rolling Hampshire farmland. In 1854, Roger Tichborne, heir to the family…

#February 24, 1825: Thomas Bowdler, the man who Re-wrote the “Offensive” Shakespeare

24 Feb 20203 Mar 2021 Robin

Thomas Bowdler, a doctor and philanthropist, popular to be the man who took all the naughty bits out of Shakespeare, died on this day, February 24, 1825, even if he would probably have preferred to read “went to sleep on this day.” In 1807 he published his first edition of “The Family Shakspeare”, a book contained 24 versions of Shakespeare plays, all with words, expressions and sometimes even plots changed to be more “family friendly.” He explained that nothing had been added to the original text, but he had omitted…

#February 18, 1966: the casket that carried assassinated President John F. Kennedy buried at sea.

18 Feb 20203 Mar 2021 Leo S

Dallas, Texas, USA. The casket used to carry the body of assassinated President John F. Kennedy from Dallas to Washington was, on this day, February 18, 1966, parachuted into oblivion. In every way. The story of the coffin itself is remarkable: it was ordered from Dallas undertaker Vernon O’Neal by Secret Service agent Clint Hill when futile attempts at Parkland Hospital to save the slain President were finally abandoned. Clint Hill is the man who leapt onto the back of President’s limousine after the fatal shots were fired. When the…

#February 16, 1923: A deadly bite, or King Tut’s revenge?

16 Feb 20203 Mar 2021 Leo S

Cairo, Egypt. February 16, 1923, and a discovery that would have made Indiana Jones himself envious: archaeologist Howard Carter opened the sealed doorway leading to the burial chamber and sarcophagus of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Just a few weeks earlier, after making a “tiny breach” in the top left hand corner of the tomb doorway, he was asked by his patron Lord Carnarvon if he could see anything. Howard replied: “Yes, wonderful things” and added: “As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of…