# Today in History **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530 "2016-07-10T04:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 91
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1805 "2020-11-27T19:38:55Z")
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg was born November 27, 1957. She is an American author, attorney, and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. She is a member of the Kennedy family and the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Her father was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1806 "2020-12-02T15:47:35Z")
**Dec. 2, 1804:** Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of France in Paris. > **[The Coronation of Napoleon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coronation_of_Napoleon)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Coronation of Napoleon\[a\] (French: Le Sacre de Napoléon) is a painting completed in 1807 by Jacques-Louis David, the official painter of Napoleon, depicting the coronation of Napoleon at Notre-Dame de Paris. The oil painting has imposing dimensions – it is almost 10 metres (33 ft) wide by a little over 6 metres (20 ft) tall. The work is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. > The work was commissioned by Napoleon orally in September 1804, a... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1807 "2020-12-04T16:08:35Z")
December 4, 1872: The Mary Celeste is discovered abandoned in the Atlantic. The ten people known to have been aboard are gone. > **[The Mystery of the Mary Celeste - New England Historical Society](https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/mysterious-disappearance-mary-celeste/)** > > In 1872, Massachusetts' captain Benjamin Briggs piloted the Mary Celeste out of the harbor to sea. And an enduring mystery was born. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1808 "2020-12-07T15:01:41Z")
December 7, 1703: The Great storm of 1703 kills between 8000-15000 in Britain. > **[Great storm of 1703](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1703)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships were blown hundreds of miles off-course, and over 1,000 seamen died on the Goodwin Sands alone. News bulletins of casualties and damage were sold all over England – a novelty at that time. The Church of Engl... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1809 "2020-12-17T05:35:10Z")
**December 17, 1903:** The Wright Brothers first take to the air over Kitty Hawk, N.C. in powered flight. > **[Wright Flyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > The Wright Flyer (also known as the Kitty Hawk, Flyer I or the 1903 Flyer) made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, it marked the beginning of the pioneer era of aviation. > The aircraft is a single-place biplane design with anhedral (drooping) wings, front elevator (a canard) and rear rudder. It used a 12 horsep... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1810 "2020-12-19T18:49:29Z")
**December 19, 1777:** Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army begin their long, difficult winter encampment at Valley Forge, near Philadelphia, Pa. > **[Encampment at Valley Forge](https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/encampment-at-valley-forge/)** > > On December 19, 1777, the American Continental Army commanded by General George Washington began its winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Valley Forge was located 18 miles (29 kilometer… ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1811 "2020-12-28T15:40:35Z")
December 28, 1946 The French declare martial law in Vietnam as a full-scale war appears inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1812 "2021-01-03T15:15:49Z")
January 3, 1776 - General George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1813 "2021-01-03T20:40:06Z")
That was actually 1777: > **[Battle of Princeton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Princeton)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > George Washington Hugh Mercer  † > The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood in Princeton. Following a surprise attack at Trenton early in the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington of the... An excellent modern image of the battle: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/Washington-at-Battle-of-Princeton-1777-by-Don-Troiani-/260434597889](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Washington-at-Battle-of-Princeton-1777-by-Don-Troiani-/260434597889) ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1814 "2021-01-09T14:51:08Z")
Jan 9, 1967 - Georgia legislature seats Representative Julian Bond ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1815 "2021-02-05T23:23:44Z")
**February 5, 1723:** Rev. John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, is born in Scotland. > **[John Witherspoon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Witherspoon)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768–1794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Wither... ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1816 "2021-02-13T16:40:15Z")
2/13/1633 Astronomer Galileo in Rome for Inquisition trial] - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to stand trial for advocating that the Earth revolves around the Sun, a criminal heresy to the Roman Catholic Inquisition. Galileo will be found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and sentenced to indefinite house arrest, where he will remain until his death. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1817 "2021-02-19T06:25:43Z")
February 19, 1884: The Enigma tornado outbreak spawns over 60 tornadoes in the southeastern United States. The official death toll is 178, but the actual number is estimated by many to be as high as 1200. This would make the Enigma outbreak the deadliest in US history. > **[February 19, 1884 — The Enigma Outbreak](https://stormstalker.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/the-enigma-outbreak/)** > > \[Note: Click images to view larger versions.\] The first two months of 1884 had brought nearly ceaseless rain to much of the United States. Slate gray rain clouds had cast a pall over the land, blot… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1818 "2021-03-04T16:20:08Z")
**March 4, 1791:** Vermont, an independent republic since 1777, joins the Union as the first state after the original thirteen. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1819 "2021-03-06T11:56:21Z")
**March 6, 1836:** The Alamo fell after a thirteen day siege. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1820 "2021-03-25T16:59:07Z")
**March 25, 1655:** Christiaan Huygens discovers Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1821 "2021-03-26T02:49:39Z")
March 25, 1911: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City kills 146. > **[Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and girls and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Italian or... ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1822 "2021-03-26T05:43:17Z")
March 26, 1954: The Castle Romeo Test [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J9YBR-AWUAU/hqdefault.jpg "Castle Romeo - previously unseen rare footage (SD)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9YBR-AWUAU) ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1823 "2021-03-27T21:34:18Z")
March 27, 1964 Strongest quake in US history slams Alaska The afternoon calm of Good Friday is shattered as a massively powerful 9.2 magnitude megathrust earthquake hits 78 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska. Fifteen people are killed by the earthquake itself, but tsunamis triggered by the quake will claim 124 additional victims, some as far away as California. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/1824 "2021-04-02T01:52:21Z")
April 1, 1873: The SS Atlantic sinks off the coast of Nova Scotia. 535 passengers and crew are lost. > **[SS Atlantic (1870)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Atlantic_(1870))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > SS Atlantic was a transatlantic ocean liner of the White Star Line that operated between Liverpool, United Kingdom, and New York City, United States. During the ship's 19th voyage, on 1 April 1873, she struck rocks and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, killing at least 535 people. It remained the deadliest civilian maritime disaster in the North Atlantic Ocean until the sinking of SS La Bourgogne on 2 July 1898 and the greatest disaste... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=90) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=92)