2015 The European Central Bank will initiate a quantitative easing program that will involve printing euros in order to purchase government-issued debt instruments; the program will enhance existing measures to improve the economy within the eurozone 2014 A rare, blue, 29.6-carat diamond, one of the most exceptional ever mined at the Cullinan mine, is discovered about 25 miles northeast of Pretoria, South Africa 2014 Water vapor on the minor planet Ceres, the largest asteroid and the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System, is detected by European Space Agency researchers 2013 The latest James Bond film, 'Skyfall', opens in China; fans criticize officials for censoring portions of the movie, which were filmed in Shanghai 2013 Scientist in China discover an ancient human fossil in a cave near Beijing; the 40,000 year-old leg bone shows it was related to the ancestors of present-day Asians and Native Americans 2012 Finland holds the first round of its Presidential election 2012 An EU Accession referendum is taken in Croatia; 66% vote to join the EU, and 33% vote against joining 2011 The Japanese launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle HTV-2 Resupply Craft, in a mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station 2011 Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announces he will leave politics soon after the Presidential elections are held 2010 Thousands of Venezuelan protesters demonstrate for and against President Hugo Chavez' policies surrounding energy shortages and currency revaluation 2003 The United Nations reported that there is no link between al Queda and Iraq 1998 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild 1998 Rickey Henderson, rejoins Oakland A's for 4th time 1998 STS-89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit 1998 World League of American Football becomes NFL East 1997 Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Earth, Successful 1995 Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid Israel, 21-22 killed 1995 Pat Bradley wins LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural Golf Tournament 1994 45th NHL All-Star Game: East beat West 9-8 at New York Rangers 1994 5.5 earthquake strikes Sumatra 1994 51st Golden Globes: Schlinder's List, Steven Speilberg 1994 East beats West 9-8 in 45th NHL All Star Game at MSG in New York City 1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5 km in 6:38.77 1992 Sarah Ferguson wears paper bag over her head on airline ride 1992 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space 1990 17th American Music Award: Milli Vanilli 1990 Wasim Akram scores Test century (123) at Adelaide 1990 Will Clark, NL's MVP signs a $15M 4-year contract with San Francisco Giants 1989 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R. 1989 Superbowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16 in Miami Superbowl MVP: Jerry Rice, San Francisco, WR 1988 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad and Tobago vs. Leeward Is 1988 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS vs. Transvaal 1988 Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in 4 for heavyweight boxing title 1987 "334" club forms as 334 brave Devil fans journey through 20" of snow to attend New Jersey Devils 7-5 victory over Calgary at Meadowlands 1987 Blizzard in New Jersey, as 334 attend Devils-Flame NHL game, New Jersey wins 7-5 1986 Ghorbanifar 1st suggests diversion of cash to contras, says North 1985 -30 degrees F (-34 degrees C), Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record) 1985 Cold wave damages 90 percent of Florida's citrus crop 1985 Kelly Hu, 16, of Hawaii, crowned 3rd Miss Teen USA 1985 Zak Starkey (Ringo's son) marries Sarah Menikides 1984 Annette Kennedy of SUNY sets women's basketball record with 70 pts 1984 Hilbert van de Thumb becomes European all-round skates 1984 Superbowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders beat Washington Red Skins, 38-9 in Tampa Superbowl MVP: Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders, RB 1983 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds 1983 Houston is 1st NBA team to be held scoreless in an overtime Portland Trail Blazers out score them 17-0 and win 113-96 1982 75% of North America is covered by snow 1981 40th Islander shut-out opponent-3-0 vs Red Wings-Billy Smith 15th 1981 O A "Bum" Phillips becomes head coach of New Orleans Saints 1980 Dissidents Andrei Sacharov and Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki 1980 PGA begins a senior golf tour 1980 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win 1st World Series Cup 1976 Bank robbery in Beirut nets a record $20-50 million 1975 Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched 1973 George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in 2 for heavyweight boxing title 1973 Roe vs Wade: U.S. Supreme Court legalizes some abortions 1973 US, North and South Vietnam and Vietcong sign boundary accord 1972 "Emergency" with Robert Fuller premieres on NBC TV 1972 22nd NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 112-110 at LA 1971 John and Yoko record "Power to the People" 1970 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight, New York to London in 6 hours 1970 Test debut of Barry Richards, South Africa vs. Australia, Cape Town 1969 "Celebration" opens at Ambassador Theater New York City for 110 performances 1969 Billy Preston becomes 5th Beatle 1969 Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit 1969 Roy Campanella and Stan Musial elected to baseball Hall of Fame 1968 "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC 1968 Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made 1968 NBA announces it will expand to Milwaukee and Phoenix 1967 NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 20-10 1965 U.S. launches TIROS 9 weather satellite 1964 Kenneth Kaunda becomes premier of North-Rhodesia (Zambia) 1964 World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin 1963 Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Naples Professional Golf Tournament 1960 10th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 125-115 at Philadelphia 1960 Coal mine of Johnburg caves-in, 417 die 1960 French president De Gaulle escape attempt by general Massu 1960 Paul Pender beats Sugar Ray Robinson for middleweight boxing title 1959 USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects 1958 KRSD (now KEVN) TV channel 7 in Rapid City, SD (ABC) 1st broadcast 1957 Israeli forces withdraw from Sinai Peninsula 1957 Mad Bomber (George P. Metesky) accused of 30 explosions, arrested 1956 30 die in a train crash in Los Angeles 1956 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open 1956 Canadian Football Council forms 1955 Norwegian government of Einar Gerhardsen forms 1953 Arthur Miller's "Crucible," premieres in New York City 1951 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Johncrowe Ransom 1951 Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter 1950 Polly Riley wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open 1949 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City for 121 performances 1949 Chinatown telephone exchange closed 1948 Jim Laker takes 7-103 in his 1st Test Cricket innings vs. WI Barbados 1947 1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi opens, Hollywood CA 1947 KTLA TV channel 5 in Los Angeles, California (IND) begins broadcasting 1946 U.S. president sets up CIA, Central Intelligence Agency 1945 Burma highway reopens 1945 Heavy U.S. air raid on Okinawa 1944 During World War II, Allied forces begin landing at Anzio Italy 1943 66.3 cm precipitation at Hoegees Camp, California (state record) 1943 Battle of Anzio: Italy; Allies stopped on beach 1943 Joint Chiefs of Staff determine invasion in Sicily for July 10th 1943 Temperature rises 49 degrees F (9 degrees C) in 2 minutes in Spearfish, SD 1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul, New Britain 1942 Sietze de Groot wins 8th Dutch 11 city skate (8:44:06) 1941 1st mass killing of Jews in Romania 1941 British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians 1940 1st radio broadcast of "Road to Happiness" on CBS 1939 Aquatic Park, near Fisherman's Wharf, SF, is dedicated 1939 Uranium atom 1st split, Columbia University 1938 "Our Town," Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winner of small-town life in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, premieres 1936 French Laval government falls 1934 Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' opera "Lady MacBeth," premieres in Leningrad 1932 British Anglicans and Old-Catholic church merge 1931 French government of Steeg falls 1931 VARA begins experimental TV broadcast in Diamantbeurs Amsterdam 1930 -35 degrees F (-37 degrees C), Mount Carroll, Illinois (state record) 1926 Belgian chief of staff General Maglinse quits 1925 Albania Republic proclaimed under President Achmed Zogu 1924 Baldwin government resigns in England 1924 Dutch Blast Furnace and Steel Factory opens 1924 KGO-AM in San Francisco, California begins radio transmissions 1918 Ukraine proclaimed a free republic 1914 Paul Claudel's "L'echange," premieres in Paris 1910 Opera "Germania," premieres in New York City 1909 Vassily Kandinsky forms Kunstlerverein in Munich 1905 Bloody Sunday: Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops 1901 After 63 years England stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series 1895 National Association of Manufacturers organized in Cincinnati 1890 Jose Marti forms La Liga (Union of Cuban exiles) in New York City 1883 England complete 1st innings victory in Tests vs. Australia MCG 1881 Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" erected in Central Park 1879 Zulus attack British Army camp in Isandhlwana South Africa 1879 James Shields (D) elected U.S. senator from Missouri after previously serving as U.S. senator from Illinois and Minnesota 1873 Britains SS Northfleet sinks at Dungeness England, 300 die 1863 Union General Burnside's "Mud March" 1862 Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20 1859 Brahms' 1st piano concerto (in D minor) premieres, Hanover 1857 National Association of Baseball Players founded, New York 1850 Alta California becomes a daily paper, 1st such in Calif 1837 Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands 1831 Charles Darwin takes his Bachelors of Art exam 1817 English freighter Diana sinks off Malaysia 1816 Lord Byron completes "Parisina" and "Siege of Corinth" 1814 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in U.S. held, New York City 1813 Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada 1798 Coup of Midderigh 1775 Marshal Oscar von Lubomirski expels Jews from Warsaw Poland 1771 Spain cedes Falkland Islands to Britain 1760 Battle at Wandewash India: British troops beat French 1758 Russian troops occupy Konigsberg, East Prussia 1690 Iroquois tribes renew allegiance to British against French 1689 Lord Halifax becomes Speaker of English House of Lords 1689 Prince Willem III calls English parliament together 1673 Postal service between New York and Boston inaugurated 1588 Pope Sixtus V decrees "Immense aeterni" (Reformed curia) 1584 Parts of Switzerland adopt Gregorian calendar (& parts in 1812) 1575 English queen Elizabeth I grants Thomas Tallis and William Byrd music press monopoly 1528 England and France declare war on Emperor Charles V 1517 Turks conquer Cairo 1510 Jews are expelled from Colmar Germany 1371 King Robert II Stuart of Scotland crowned 871 Battle at Basing: Danish invasion army beats Ethelred of Wessex
