• Monday, 23 December 2024
Today in history
September 2022 (MIA) 717 – Siege of Constantinople: The Muslim armada with 1,800 ships, is defeated by the Byzantine navy through the use of Greek fire. 1355 – King Tvrtko I of Bosnia writes In castro nostro Vizoka vocatum from the Old town of Visoki. 1529 – The Spanish fort of Sancti Spiritu, the first one built in modern Argentina, is destroyed by natives. 1715 – King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years—the longest of any major European monarch. 1763 – Catherine II of Russia endorses Ivan Betskoy’s plans for a Foundling Home in Moscow 1804 – Juno, one of the largest asteroids in the Main Belt, is discovered by the German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding. 1831 – The high honor of Order of St. Gregory the Great is established by Pope Gregory XVI of the Vatican State to recognize high support for the Vatican or for the Pope, by a man or a woman, and not necessarily a Roman Catholic. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Sedan is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory. 1873 – Cetshwayo ascends to the throne as king of the Zulu nation following the death of his father Mpande. 1880 – The army of Mohammad Ayub Khan is routed by the British at the Battle of Kandahar, ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1905 – Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Canadian confederation. 1906 – The International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys is established. 1910 – In Brazil, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, the first FIFA World Club Champion, is founded. 1911 – The armored cruiser Georgios Averof is commissioned into the Greek Navy. It now serves as a museum ship. 1914 – St. Petersburg, Russia, changes its name to Petrograd. 1920 – The Fountain of Time opens as a tribute to the 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain following the Treaty of Ghent. 1923 – The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 105,000 people. 1928 – Ahmet Zogu declares Albania to be a monarchy and proclaims himself king. 1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany invades Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II. 1939 – The Wound Badge for Wehrmacht, SS, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe soldiers is instituted. The final version of the Iron Cross is also instituted on this date. 1939 – Switzerland mobilizes its forces and the Swiss Parliament elects Henri Guisan to head the Swiss Armed Forces (an event that can happen only during war or mobilization). 1939 – Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people. 1951 – The United States, Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty. 1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 95 relating to Arab-Israeli conflict is adopted. 1952 – The Old Man and the Sea, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Ernest Hemingway, is first published. 1960 – The Skopje Television newsroom is set up with the broadcasting of the first television news segment, aired by the YRT network, paving the way for the establishment of the Macedonian Television. 1961 – The first conference of the Non Aligned Countries is held in Belgrade. 1969 – A coup in Libya brings Muammar Gaddafi to power. 1969 – Tran Thien Khiem becomes Prime Minister of South Vietnam under President Nguyen Van Thieu. 1970 – Attempted assassination of King Hussein of Jordan by Palestinian guerrillas, who attack his motorcade. 1972 – In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky to become the world chess champion. 1979 – The American space probe Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi). 1980 – Major General Chun Doo-hwan becomes President of South Korea, following the resignation of Choi Kyu-hah. 1981 – A coup d’etat in the Central African Republic overthrows President David Dacko. 1982 – The United States Air Force Space Command is founded. 1983 – Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board die, including Congressman Lawrence McDonald. 1991 – Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union. 1992 – Russia’s Foreign Ministry proposes that the Republic of Macedonia should appoint its official representative in Moscow. 1993 – Macedonia opens its UN Permanent Mission in Geneva. 1994 – The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Republic of Macedonia establish diplomatic ties. 2004 – The Beslan school hostage crisis commences when armed terrorists take children and adults hostage in Beslan in North Ossetia, Russia.