Today in history, 350> The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. 713> The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army. 1140> The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy. 1326> The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark. 1539> Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain. 1608> Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec. 1621> The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland. 1658> Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France. 1665> James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft. 1781> Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton. 1839> In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War. 1861> The Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races) takes place as Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia, in first land battle of the War. 1862> A 3000-strong riot occurred at Wardsend Cemetery in the Sheffield, England, against rumours of bodysnatching from the grounds. 1864> Battle of Cold Harbor takes place as Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia. 1866> The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario, into the United States. 1885> In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police. 1888> The poem Casey at the Bat, by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner. 1889> The transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway is completed. 1889> The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon. 1916> The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men. 1935> One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario. 1937> The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson. 1940> The Luftwaffe bombs Paris. 1940> The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat. 1940> Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the Jewish homeland, an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl. 1941> The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground, killing 180 of its inhabitants. 1942> Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island. 1943> In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots. 1950> The first successful ascent of an Eight-thousander; the summit of Annapurna is reached by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal. 1959> Singapore was declared a self-governing state even though it was still a part of the British Empire. 1962> At Paris Orly Airport, an Air France Boeing 707 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130. 1963> Soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam attack protesting Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam, with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments. 1965> The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk. 1968> Valerie Solanas, the author of SCUM Manifesto, attempts to assassinate Andy Warhol by shooting him three times. These have been your history facts of the day!!!!!!
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 16:05:06 +0000
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