2015 American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson become the first to successfully free-climb the Dawn Wall face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a climb of 3,000 feet; the men started the climb on December 27th, 2014 2014 Amidst massive security including 160,000 soldiers and over 200,000 policemen, Egyptians go to the polls to vote on a draft constitution which would strengthen the military-backed leadership of the country 2014 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry criticizes Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, for legislation he signed last week to ban same-sex marriage and criminalize gay rights groups and their activities; the law includes penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment 2013 After more than seven weeks of treatment for bronchitis, former U.S. President George H. W. Bush is released from The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas 2013 UK's oldest music retailer HMV calls in administrators after talks to rescue the company fail; the company which has over 4,500 employees, opened its first shop on Oxford Street in 1921 2012 Millions are left without power when a trasformer malfunctions in Bursa, Turkey 2012 Two survivors are found trapped inside the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany January 13 2011 In Afghanistan, the Taliban drop their ban on education for females due to a 'cultural change' 2011 American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor undergoes a life-saving operation and has her leg amputated 2010 A suicide bomber kills 20 people at a market in Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province 2005 The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan 1998 100th episode of "Ellen," airs 1998 Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge 1996 "Holiday" closes at Circle in Sq Theater New York City after 49 performances 1996 "Swinging On a Star" closes at Music Box Theater New York City after 97 performances 1996 Liselotte Neumann wins Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Golf Champions 1995 10,000s South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo 1995 16th ACE Cable Awards: HBO wins 23 awards 1994 Inna Lassovskaya triple-jumps ladies world record (14.61m) 1994 Kathleen Kinmont files for divorce from Lorenzo Lamas 1994 Russian manned space craft TM-17, lands 1993 "Anna Christie" opens at Criterion Theater New York City for 54 performances 1993 David Letterman announces his show is moving from NBC to CBS 1993 Polish ferry boat capsizes in storm, 50 die 1991 "Barbara DeAngelis Show" premieres on CBS-TV 1991 Jorge Serrano Elias sworn in as president of Guatemala 1991 Valentin Pavlov become new premier of U.S.S.R. 1990 11th ACE Cable Awards 1990 Perez de Cuellar says he has lost all hope for peace in Gulf 1989 "Romance/Romance" closes at Helen Hayes Theater New York City after 297 performances 1989 1,000 muslims burn Rushdies' "Satanic Verses" in Bradfort England 1989 29 year old French woman gives birth to sextuplets in Paris 1989 Former Belgian premier Paul Vanden Boeynants kidnapped 1987 Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame 1986 Constitution of Guatemala takes effect 1986 Vinicio Cerezo becomes only 2nd freely elected president of Guatemala since CIA-sponsored coup in 1954 1985 16 indicted by U.S. for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees 1985 M Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors and Evert) 1984 Madonna 1st sings "Holiday" on American Bandstand 1981 FCC frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish 1980 "Blues Brothers" movie with Dan Akwoyd and John Belushi opens 1980 Shakuntala Devi, mentally multiplies 2 13-digit #s in 28 sec 1979 President Carter proposes Martin Luther King's birthday be a holiday 1978 Sex Pistols' final concert (Winterland, SF) 1976 "Bionic Woman" with Lindsay Wagner debuts on ABC (later NBC) 1976 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves 1975 Anita Wold (Norway) sets women's ski jump distance record-98 m 1975 U.S.S.R. breaks trade agreement with US 1974 World Football League founded 1973 Grateful Dead bass player, Phil Lesh, busted on drugs in California 1973 Superbowl VII: Miami Dolphins beat Washington Red Skins, 14-7 in LA 1973 Tap dancer Ray Castle measured at 1440 taps/minute on BBC TV 1973 Superbowl MVP: Jake Scott, Miami, S 1972 "Sanford and Son" starring Redd Foxx premieres on NBC TV 1972 WMAH TV channel 19 in Biloxi, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting 1972 WMAU TV channel 17 in Bude, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting 1972 WMAW TV channel 14 in Meridian, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting 1971 John Snow takes 7-40 for England to beat Australia by 299 runs 1969 25 members of U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise die during maneuvers 1969 Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later 1968 Superbowl II: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14 in Miami Superbowl MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, quarterback 1967 20,000 attend Human Be-In, SF 1967 Earthquake in Sicily kills 231 1967 New York Times reports Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments 1967 Sonny and Cher release "Beat Goes On" 1966 David Bowie releases his 1st record 'Can't Help Thinking About Me' 1964 14th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 111-107 at Boston 1964 Bapu Nadkarni 32-27-5-0 vs. England, 21 maiden overs in a row 1964 Jacqueline Kennedy's 1st public appearance (TV) since assassination 1963 George C. Wallace sworn in as governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!" 1962 NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 31-30 1961 Chicago Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL 1960 Tuindorp-Oostzaan in Northern Amsterdam, flooded 1960 U.S. Army promoted Elvis Presley to Sergeant 1956 Jordan government refuses to join Pact of Baghdad 1956 Little Richard releases "Tutti Frutti" 1955 Heitor Villa-Lobos' 8th Symphony, premieres in Philadelphia 1954 New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio marries actress Marilyn Monroe 1954 Sandy Wilson's musical "Boyfriend," premieres in London 1953 Vaughan William's "Sinfonia Antartica," premieres in Manchester 1953 WALA TV channel 10 in Mobile, AL (NBC) begins broadcasting 1953 Yugoslavia elects it's 1st president (Marshal Tito) 1952 "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway and Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV 1952 Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends 1952 Snow storm in Sierra Nevada kills 26 1951 NFL Pro Bowl: 1st since 1942, Americans beat Nationals 28-27 1950 "As the Girls Go" closes at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 420 performances 1950 U.S. recalls all consular officials from China 1949 Black/Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die 1946 2 jetties collapse in Ganges-160 Hindu pilgrims are crushed 1944 Soviet army begins offensive at Oranienbaum/Wolchow 1943 Alex Smart (Mont) is 1st NHLer to score hat trick in his 1st game 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill confer in Casablanca concerning WW II 1943 Heinrich Himmler views Warsaw 1942 Japanese troops land at oil center Balikpapan in Borneo 1940 Commissioner Kenesaw Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers 1940 NFL Pro Bowl: Green Bay beats NFL All-Stars 16-7 1939 All commercial ferry service to East Bay ends 1939 Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica 1938 National Society for Legalization of Euthanasia forms (NY) 1936 L M (Mario) Giannini elected president of Bank of America 1935 Oil pipeline Iraq-Mediterranean goes into use 1932 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in U.S. installed, Hialeah 1932 Horse racing legend Eddie Arcaro won his 1st race 1929 Afghan King Amanullah forced to resign 1927 Toronto Maple Leafs 1st hat trick (Hap Day) vs New York Rangers 1925 Alban Berg's atonale opera "Wozzeck," premieres in Berlin 1924 Allies direct Fiume (Rijeka) in Italy 1919 John McGraw, Charles A Stoneham, and Judge McQuade buy New York Giants 1918 Finland and U.S.S.R. adopts New Style (Gregorian) calendar 1916 Dutch South Sea dike cracks 1914 Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords 1912 Raymond Poincare becomes premier of France 1909 Coop. Far. Central Management forms 1905 Hubbell, Shubert and Smith's musical "Fontana," premieres in New York City 1900 Giacomo Puccini's opera "Tosca," premieres in Rome 1898 Joe Darling hits the 1st six in Tests (out of the ground) 1897 6,960-m (22,834') Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina) 1st climbed 1874 I D Shadd elected Speaker of lower house of Miss legislature 1873 "Celluloid" registered as a trademark 1873 P B S Pinchback elected to Senate 1868 North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh 1868 South Carolina constitutional convention, meets with a black majority 1864 Battle of Cosby Creek, TN 1864 General Sherman begins his march to the South 1863 Battle between gunboats at Bayou Teche Louisiana 1858 French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who was later executed 1847 Conspiracy in New Mexico against US 1814 King of Denmark cedes Norway to King of Sweden by treaty of Kiel 1813 Gideon Hawley becomes 1st state school superintendent in U.S. (NY) 1799 Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets 1799 King of Naples flees before advancing French armies 1794 Dr. Jessee Bennet of Edom Va, performs 1st successful Cesarean section operation on his wife 1785 Mozart completes "Dissonantenkwartet" (opus 10) 1784 Revolutionary War ends; Congress ratifies Treaty of Paris 1783 Congress ratifies peace treaty between U.S. and England 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie's army leaves Glasgow 1739 England and Spain signs 2nd Convention of Pardo 1724 Spanish King Philip V abdicates throne 1717 German mob leader "Sjako" sentenced to death in Amsterdam 1699 Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches" 1690 Clarinet invented, in Nurnberg, Germany 1659 Battle at Elvas: Portuguese beat Spanish 1641 United East Indian Company conquerors city of Malakka, 7,000 killed 1639 1st Connecticut constitution (Fundamental Orders) adopted in Hartford 1639 Rodger Ludlow publishes"Fundamental Orders of Connecticut" 1601 Church authorities burn hebrew books in Rome 1526 Charles V and Francis I sign Treaty of Madrid 1526 Francis I forced to give up claims in Burgundy, Italy and Flanders 1236 English king Henry III marries Eleonora of Provence
