Important Events

1065 Westminster Abbey in London consecrated
1612 First observation of Neptune – Galileo observes and records a “fixed star” without realising it is a planet
1767 King Taksin crowned King of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as his capital
1836 Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico
1860 Harriet Tubman arrives in Auburn, New York, on her last mission to free slaves, having evaded capture for 8 years on the Underground Railroad
1908 Earthquake strikes Messina, Italy, killing nearly 80,000
1943 All Kalmyk inhabitants of the Republic of Kalmukkie deported by the Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia. Many die en route.

Today in Film & TV

1895 Filmmakers the Lumiere brothers, hold the first commercial film screening at Salon Indien du Grand Café, Paris

Today in Music

1944 Leonard Bernstein’s musical “On the Town” premieres in NYC

Today in Sport

1958 “The Greatest Game Ever Played”: Baltimore Colts win the 26th NFL championship against the New York Giants 23-17 at Yankee Stadium, in the first ever sudden-death overtime game in NFL history. 17 future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were involved in the game.