2015 Event Queen Elizabeth II officially celebrates her 89th birthday with a Trooping the Color ceremony; as part of the celebration, the Queen also knighted figures including actor Kevin Spacey and singer Van Morrison 2015 Event The Vatican indicates its intention to enter a treaty with Palestine, officially recognizing it as an independent state 2014 Event Palestine will be officially recognized as a sovereign state by the new government of Sweden; though the U.N. General Assembly supported such recognition two years ago, few nations have officially extended this recognition 2014 Event India has officially divided the state of Andhra Pradesh to create the nation's 29th state, Telangana; Hyderabad will act as joint capital for both states for the next decade; K. Chandrasekhara Rao will serve as Telangana prime minister 2014 Event Penang, Malaysia officially opens the Penang Second Bridge, the longest bridge over water in Southeast Asia; it stretches for 15 miles, with 10.5 miles over the water 2014 Event Jimmy Fallon officially replaces Jay Leno in his first broadcast as host of 'The Tonight Show' 2013 Event UNESCO officially names Mount Fuji a World Heritage Site 2013 Event The U.S. officially charges Edward Snowden with espionnage 2013 Event For the first time since the Battle of Mogadishu, the U.S. announces it will officially recognize, and open diplomatic relations with, the new government of Somalia 2012 Event In ceremonies held at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, is officially inactivated after a 51-year U.S. Naval career 2012 Event China's President, Hu Jintao, officially receives Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who came to the country for cooperation talks and in-depth discussion 2012 Event Ivica Dacic is officially sworn in as Prime Minister of Serbia 2012 Event Europe's tallest, habitable, free-standing structure, The Shard, which stands at 1,016 feet (309.6 metres) officially opens in London, England 2011 Event South Australia swears in their new Premier, Jay Weatherill after officially electing him as the leader of the Australian Labor Party 2011 Event Helle Thorning-Schmidt introduces the new coalition government, officially becoming Denmark's 41st and first female Prime Minister 2011 Event The U.S. officially ends its Don't ask, don't tell military policy, allowing gay and lesbian personnel to publicly declare their sexual orientation 2011 Event Thailand's parliament officially elects Yingluck Shinawatra as Prime Minister of Thailand; Yingluck is Thailand's first female Prime Minister 2011 Event Japan's economy officially enters a recession, partially due to financial strain caused by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami 2011 Event The international association football tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, officially opens in Qatar 2010 Event The World Bank officially ends financing Cote d'Ivoire 1997 Event 1st time a Channukah candle is officially lit in Vatican City 1997 Event Braves officially open Turner Field against Cubs 1996 Event NHL Winnipeg Jets officially become the Phoenix Coyotes 1995 Event Art Modell officially announces Cleveland Browns are moving to Balt 1995 Event New Jersey officially dedicates the Howard Stern Rest Area along Route 295 1995 Event Kevin Eubanks officially becomes band leader of "Tonight Show" 1994 Event Kansai International airport officially opens 1994 Event New York Central park reservior officially named after Jackie Kennedy Onasis 1994 Event Chunnel linking England and France officially opens 1994 Event Walkway from Cleveland's Tower City to Jacobs Field officially opens 1993 Event Shamrock Broadcasting, a Disney company, officially takes ownership of Cleveland's WMMS-FM/100.7 and WHK-AM/1420 1993 Event U.S. officially backs peace plan in Bosnia 1992 Event U.N. officially embarks on its largest peacekeeping operation 1991 Event U.S. officially recognizes independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania 1991 Event Warsaw Pact officially dissolves 1991 Event 9 of 15 Soviet reps officially approve new union treaty 1991 Event U.S. Embassy in Kuwait officially reopens 1991 Event Baseball officially bans Pete Rose from being elected to Hall of Fame 1989 Event Disney's MGM Studio theme park officially opens to public 1989 Event Department of Veterans Affairs officially established as a Cabinet position 1989 Event Soviet Union officially submits to jurisdiction of the World Court 1988 Event WABC officially becomes the New Jersey Devils new home radio 1988 Event NFL's St. Louis Cardinals officially move to Phoenix 1986 Event Beatle records officially go on sale in Russia 1984 Event Thames Barrier to stop flooding in London officially completed 1982 Event New Jersey NHL franchise officially named Devils by fan balloting, runner-up names are Blades, Meadowlanders and Americans 1978 Event Pope John Paul I officially installed as 264th supreme pontiff 1977 Event Major Indoor Soccer League officially organized (New York City) 1977 Event Radio Shack officially begins creating TRS-80 computer 1975 Event Anwar Sadat became 1st Egyptian president to officially visit U.S. 1974 Event Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh 1972 Event Keswick to Penrith railway officially closes 1968 Event Montreal Expos officially become a member of NL 1961 Event NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio 1958 Event Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc 1953 Event St. Louis Browns officially become the Baltimore Baseball Club Inc 1951 Event Israeli Knesset officially designated April 13 as Holocaust Day 1946 Event President Truman officially proclaims end of WW II 1946 Event U.S. officially submits to jurisdiction of World Court 1945 Event Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance 1935 Event Persia officially renamed Iran 1935 Event Hermann Goering officially creates German Air Force, the Luftwaffe 1934 Event Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison 1931 Event "Star Spangled Banner" officially becomes U.S. national anthem 1930 Event North Sea floodgate at Ijmuiden (biggest in world) officially opens 1928 Event Boston Garden officially opens 1926 Event Dahlia is officially designated as San Francisco city flower 1925 Event Edinburgh's Murreyfield Stadium officially opens 1918 Event King Oil/Shell refinery on Curacao officially opens 1913 Event Hebrew language officially used to teach in Palestinian schools 1912 Event Fenway Park officially opens, Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 1896 Event 1st modern Olympic Games officially opens in Athens 1889 Event Amsterdam Central Station officially opens 1889 Event Oklahoma land rush officially started; some were "sooner" 1889 Event 300m Eiffel Tower officially opens, commemorates French Revolution 1885 Event U.S. Salvation Army officially organized 1874 Event Baseball batter's box is officially adopted 1862 Event Confederate armies officially divide into corps 1862 Event United army officially divides corps 1861 Event Confederate congress officially admits Missouri to Confederate Army 1822 Event Mexico officially recognized as an independent nation by US 1817 Event University of Gent officially opens 1812 Event Louisiana Territory officially renamed "Missouri Territory" 1802 Event U.S. Military Academy officially opens at West Point, New York 1794 Event Louvre opens to the public (although officially opened since August) 1793 Event Louvre officially opens in Paris 1610 Event German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610 843 Event Icon worship officially re-instated in Aya Sofia Constantinople
