This Week in History

HISTORY, 28 Dec 2015

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Dec 28–Jan 3

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Each religion, by the help of more or less myth, which it takes more or less seriously, proposes some method of fortifying the human soul and enabling it to make its peace with its destiny.” – George Santayana

 

DECEMBER 28

2014  Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.

2011  Roboski airstrike: Turkish warplanes bomb 34 Kurds of Turkish nationality in the district of Uludere.

2010  Arab Spring: Popular protests begin in Algeria against the government.

Arab Spring:

Arab Spring in Algeria:

Algeria:

History of Algeria:

Economy of Algeria:

Foreign Relations of Algeria:

Algeria and the United Nations:

2009  Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.

2006  War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia‘s Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.

2000  US retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.

1988  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1985  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1984  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1976  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1973  The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.

1972  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1972  Kim Il-sung, already Prime Minister of North Korea and First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, becomes the first President of North Korea.

1969  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1957  USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk, USSR.

1956  Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.

Malayan Emergency:

History of Malaysia:

Malaysia:

1943  World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona.

Battle of Ortona:

1941  World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.

Operation Anthropoid:

1918  Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, became the first woman to be elected MP to the British House of Commons.

1908  An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 rocks Messina, Sicily, Italy killing over 75,000.

1895  Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.

1885  Indian National Congress, a political party of India is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.

1867  United States claims Midway Atoll, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits.

1836  Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico.

History of Mexico:

Independence of Mexico from Spain:

Some sources show different dates when Mexico gained its independence. For instance, About.com shows September 27, 1821, while History.com indicates “Spain accepts Mexican independence” on August 24, 1821. TWH (This Week in History) takes the date Wikipedia shows, December 28, 1836, as mentioned below. Both Brainy History and Spiritus-Temporis also indicate “December 28, 1836”. Note that Mexico’s Independence Day as a national day is September 16.

1836  South Australia and Adelaide are founded.

1835  Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.

1824  The Bathurst War comes to an end with the surrender of the Wiradjuri.

 

 

DECEMBER 29

2013  A suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd kills at least 18 people and wounds 40 others.

2006  UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.

2003  The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.

1998  Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.

1997  Hong Kong begins to kill all the nation’s 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain.

1996  Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.

Guatemala:

Foreign Relations of Guatemala:

History of Guatemala:

Economy of Guatemala:

1992  Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached.

1989  Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees.

1983  US announces withdrawal from UNESCO.

Withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO:

1975  A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.

1972  An Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashes on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101.

1959  Physicist Richard Feynman gives a speech entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom“, which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology.

1949  KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.

1940  World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, UK, killing almost 200 civilians.

1937  The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.

1934  Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

Naval Disarmament Treaties:

Washington Naval Treaty of 1922:

London Naval Treaty of 1930:

1930  Sir Muhammad Iqbal‘s presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.

1916  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, was first published as a book by an American publishing house B. W. Huebschis after it had been serialized in The Egoist (1914–15).

1911  Sun Yat-sen becomes the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally takes office on January 1, 1912.

1911  Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.

1895  The botched Jameson Raid began in Johannesburg.

1890  Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.

1874  The military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.

1860  The first British seagoing ironclad warship, HMS Warrior is launched.

1851  The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts.

1835  The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

 

 

DECEMBER 30

2013  More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2011  Owing to a change of time zone the day is skipped in Samoa and Tokelau.

2009  A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.

2009  A segment of the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately 150,000 l (40,000 US gal) of diesel oil flows down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River.

2006  Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.

2006  The Indonesian passenger ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sinks in a storm, resulting in at least 400 deaths.

2004  A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina kills 194.

2000  Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a period of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.

1997  In the worst incident in Algeria‘s insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.

1996  Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.

1996  In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo separatists, killing 26.

1993  Israel and Vatican City establish diplomatic relations.

Israel-Vatican Relations:

1976  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1972  Vietnam War: The United States halts heavy bombing of North Vietnam.

1971  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1976 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1965  Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.

1958  The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three and sparking international tension.

1947  King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.

1944  King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving the throne vacant.

1943  Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.

1922  The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.

1916  The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.

1906  The All-India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India. It went on to lay the foundations of Pakistan.

1905  Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated at the front gate of his home in Caldwell.

1903  A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605.

1897  The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.

1896  Filipino patriot and reform advocate José Rizal is executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila, Philippines.

1825  The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is proclaimed.

1813  War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.

1702  Queen Anne’s War: James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina, abandons the Siege of St. Augustine.

1460  Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield.

1419  Hundred Years’ War: Battle of La Rochelle

1066  Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.

 

 

DECEMBER 31

2011  NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.

2009  Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.

2004  The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 ft).

1999  Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ended after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.

1999  The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.

1999  First President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.

1998  The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.

1994  The First Chechen War: Russian army began a New Year’s storming of Grozny.

1994  This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.

1992  Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

1991  All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.

1984  US leaves UNESCO.

Withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO:

1983  In Nigeria a coup d’état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Second Nigerian Republic.

Coup d’état of 1983:

History of Nigeria:

Nigeria:

Economy of Nigeria:

1983  The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.

1981  A coup d’état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann‘s PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.

Coup in Ghana of 1981:

1967  The Youth International Party, popularly known as the “Yippies”, is founded.

1965  Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begins a coup d’état against the government of President David Dacko.

1961  RTÉ, Ireland’s state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.

1960  The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.

1955  General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year.

1951  The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

1946  President Harry S Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.

1944  World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive on the Western Front begins.

1944  World War II: Hungary declares war on Nazi Germany.

1923  The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.

1909  Manhattan Bridge opens.

1907  The first New Year’s Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.

1906  Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signs the Persian Constitution of 1906.

1879  Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1878  Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, filed for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine, and he was granted the patent in 1879.

1857  Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of Canada.

 

 

JANUARY 1

Today is the NEW YEAR’S DAY in the Gregorian calendar.

2015  Lithuania becomes the 19th member of the Eurozone.

2015  The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

2014  Asteroid 2014 AA impacts the Earth over the Atlantic Ocean.

2014  Latvia becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone.

2013  At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

2012  A Moldovan civilian is fatally wounded by a Russian peacekeeper in the Transnistrian security zone, leading to demonstrations against Russia.

2011  Estonia becomes the 17th member of the Eurozone.

Estonia and the European Union:

Euro Zone (Eurozone):

Estonia:

History of Estonia:

Foreign Relations of Estonia:

2011  The Kallikratis plan becomes the new administrative system of Greece.

2011  A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.

2010  A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.

2009  Slovakia joins the Eurozone.

For some more pertinent web links on the Eurozone, see “2011 Estonia becomes the 17th member of the Eurozone”, mentioned above.

2008  Cyprus and Malta join the Eurozone.

For some more pertinent web links on the Eurozone, see “2011 Estonia becomes the 17th member of the Eurozone”, mentioned above.

2007  Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.

2007  Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Slovenia joins Eurozone.

For some more pertinent web links on the Eurozone, see “2011 Estonia becomes the 17th member of the Eurozone”, mentioned above.

2004  In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is “deemed to be elected” to the office of President until October 2007.

2002  The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.

2002  Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.

2002  Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union’s member states.

1999  The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries – members of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).

1998  The European Central Bank is established.

1998  Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.

1997  Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1997  Zaire officially joins the World Trade Organization.

Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo):

Foreign Relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the World Trade Organization:

World Trade Organization:

Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo):

1996  Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Netherlands.

1995  The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.

1995  The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE):

1995  Sweden, Austria, and Finland are admitted into the European Union.

1995  The World Trade Organization goes into effect.

World Trade Organization (WTO):

Globalization:

History of Globalization:

The End of Globalization? :

1994  The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):

Some Relevant Issues on NAFTA:

Pros and Cons of NAFTA:

History of NAFTA:

1994  The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

1993  A single market within the European Community is introduced.

1993  Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

1992  The Russian Federation is formally established.

1990  David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.

1989  The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.

Montreal Protocol:

1988  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.

1987  A value-added tax is introduced in Greece for the first time.

1986  Spain and Portugal are admitted into the European Community.

1986  Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Netherlands.

1985  The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.

1984  Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.

1984  The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.

1983  The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

1982  Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1981  Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.

1981  Greece is admitted into the European Community.

1979  – Formal diplomatic relations are established between China and the United States.

1978  The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective.

1978  Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213.

1977  Charter 77 published its first document.

1973  Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland are admitted into the European Economic Community.

1970  Unix time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT.

1966  After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic.

1965  The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.

History of Afghanistan:

Afghanistan:

Afghanistan and the United Nations:

Economy of Afghanistan:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union:

1964  The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.

1962  United States Navy SEALs established.

1962  Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.

Samoa:

Foreign Relations of Samoa:

Western Samoa and the United Nations:

History of Samoa:

Economy of Samoa:

1960  Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.

1959  Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro‘s forces during the Cuban Revolution.

1958  The European Economic Community is established.

1957  An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks during Operation Harvest; two IRA volunteers killed.

1956  Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.

Sudan:

Foreign Relations of Sudan:

Sudan and the United Nations:

Human Rights in Sudan:

History of Sudan:

Economy of Sudan:

1954  NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.

1950  Standard practice uses this day as the origin of the age scale Before Present

1949  United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.

1948  The Constitution of Italy comes into force.

1947  The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.

1945  World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.

1945  World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, US troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.

1942  The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.

1934  Nazi Germany passes the “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring“.

1928  Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin‘s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.

1927  Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian).

1927  The Cristero War begins in Mexico.

1920  The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.

1916  German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.

1913  The British Board of Censors is established.

1912  The Republic of China is established.

1911  Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.

1909  Drilling begins on the Lakeview Gusher.

1906  British India officially adopts Indian Standard Time.

1901 The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.

1901  Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.

British Protectorate:

Nigeria and the British Protectorate:

History of Nigeria:

Nigeria:

Foreign Relations of Nigeria:

Nigeria and the United Nations:

Human Rights in Nigeria:

Economy of Nigeria:

1899  Spanish rule ends in Cuba.

History of Cuba:

1890  Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

Eritrea and Its History:

Eritrean War of Independence:

1885  Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming‘s proposal for standard time (and also, time zones)

1880  Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal.

1877  Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.

1873  Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.

1861  Porfirio Díaz conquers Mexico City, Mexico.

1833  The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

1822  The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.

1808  The importation of slaves into the United States is banned.

1806  The French Republican Calendar is abolished.

1804  French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States

 

 

JANUARY 2

2013  Barack Obama signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

2011  January 2011 Baghdad shootings take place.

2006  An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition.

2004  Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

1999  A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C); 68 deaths are reported.

1993  Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35-100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.

1992  Leaders of armed opposition declare the President Zviad Gamsakhurdia deposed during a military coup in Georgia.

1975  Bangladeshi Marxist leader Siraj Sikder is arrested and dies while in police custody.

1974  United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

1967  Ronald Reagan sworn in as Governor of California

1963  Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac.

Battle of Ap Bac:

1959  Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.

1955  Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera is assassinated.

1949  Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

1945  World War II: Nuremberg, Germany (in German, Nürnberg) is severely bombed by Allied forces.

1942  World War II: Manila, Philippines is captured by Japanese forces.

1942  he Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history—the Duquesne Spy Ring.

1941  World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.

1935  Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.

1927  Angered by the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917, Catholic rebels in Mexico rebelled against the government.

1920  The second Palmer Raid takes place with another 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several US cities.

1905  Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China.

1900  American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.

1871  Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.

1865  Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as Brazilian and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.

1860  The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.

1833  Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

1819  The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.

1791  Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.

 

 

JANUARY 3

2015  Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, with as many as 2,000 people having been killed.

2004  Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it the deadliest aviation accident in Egyptian history.

2002  Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.

1999  Israel detains, and later expels, 14 members of Concerned Christians.

1999  The Mars Polar Lander is launched.

1997  China announces it will spend US$27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys.

1996  The Motorola StarTAC, the first flip phone and one of the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption, goes on sale.

1994  More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.

1993  In Moscow, Russia, George Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

1990  Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.

1977  Apple Computer is incorporated.

1976  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1976  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights comes into effect.

1962  Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.

1961  A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.

1961  A core explosion and meltdown at the SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, kills three workers.

1961  The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.

1959  Separatists in the Maldives declare the establishment of the United Suvadive Republic.

1957  The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.

1949  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.

1947  Proceedings of the US Congress are televised for the first time.

1945  World War II: Admiral Chester W Nimitz is placed in command of all US Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.

1938  The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1932  Martial law is declared in Honduras to stop a revolt by banana workers fired by the United Fruit Company.

1925  Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.

1919  At the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal I of Iraq signs an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East.

1911  An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.

1888  The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.

1885  Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop

______________________________

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/december_28   to_january_3; http://www.historyorb.com/events/december/28   to january/3; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/december_28.html   to January_3.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace” through peace journalism.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 28 Dec 2015.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article:

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:

HISTORY: