Important Events

392 Roman Emperor Theodosius declares Christian religion the state religion

1519 1st meeting of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II and Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan, Mexico

1701 William Penn presents Charter of Privileges

1734 Vincent la Chapelle, master cook to various nobility and royalty, forms Free Masons Lodge in Netherlands

1895 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen produces and detects electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays or Röntgen rays

2002 Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council under Resolution 1441 unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face “serious consequences”

2005 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is elected president of Liberia, the first woman to lead an African country

2016 Republican Donald Trump is elected President of the United States of America, defeating democrat Hillary Clinton, who received 2.9 million more votes

Today In Film & TV

1966 Movie actor Ronald Reagan elected Governor of California

Today In Music

1999 Tenor Andrea Bocelli releases his “Sacred Arias” album, the world’s best-selling classical album by a single artist

Today In Sports

2017 Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa breaks the world record for surfing the biggest-ever wave at 24.4m at Nazaré, Portugal