On this day in the year 1458 of the common era (CE) the Hussite George of Poděbrady is chosen as the 16th King of Bohemia.
On this day in the year 1717 CE the Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England; one hundred and eight years later the first Grand Opera in sung in the United States, in New York, New York, in English. Sixteen years after that, John Frazee becomes the first American sculptor to receive a federal commission.
On this day in 1776 CE, American troops begin shelling the British in Boston.
In 1799 CE the United States Congress standardizes U.S. weights & measures; eight years later Congress bans the slave trade within the country. Twelve years after that, in 1819 CE, the first immigration law is passed in the U.S.; five years later, interstate commerce comes under federal control. Seventy-one years after that, the U.S. Congress renames the Office of Immigration, the Bureau of Immigration; thirty years later a nationwide road numbering system with the US Shield marker is adopted.
In 1819 CE the Territory of Arkansas organized; twenty-seven years later the Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico in Columbia; seven years after that, in 1853 CE, the Territory of Washington is organized after separating from Oregon Territory; eight years later, the United States creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories. Also on this day in 1861, the Government Printing Office purchases its first printing plant in Washington, D.C.; six years later, the first Reconstruction Act passed by the United States Congress, black voter registration begins and peonage is abolished in New Mexico, tying peasant farmers to the land. Fifty years after that, the Jones Act creates the territory of Puerto Rico, and all of its citizens are granted full U.S. citizenship.
In 1855 CE, Aleksandr Romanov becomes tsar of Russia; ten years later, the Jesse James' gang robs the bank in Savannah Missouri, one person is killed. Seven years after that, in 1872 CE, a Canadian politician, Métis leader and founder of Manitoba named Louis Riel, goes into voluntary exile in St. Paul, Minnesota. Riel led two resistance movements against the Canadian government to protect Métis rights, he is seen as both a rebel and a defender of rights and ultimately executed for high treason; seventy-four years later Ho Chi Minh is elected president of North Vietnam. Seventy-one years after that, United States attorney general, Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the investigation into president Donald Trump’s campaign contacts with Russia after revelations are made that he himself had met the Russian ambassador while serving as the United States Senator from Alabama.
In 1858 CE, Frederick Cook of New Orleans, patents a cotton-bale metallic tie; eight years later, the first United States company to make sewing needles by machine is incorporated in Connecticut. Sixty-three years after that, in 1929 CE, the U.S. Congress creates the Court of Customs & Patent Appeals; twenty years later the first automatic street light is put into operation in New Milford, Connecticut.
In 1865 CE the British newspaper "Morning Chronicle" begins publishing; also on this day, Freedman's Bureau is founded for Black Education; two years later Howard University is chartered by General Oliver O. Howard in Washington, D.C., and on this same day the United States, Congress creates the Department of Education. One year after that, the University of Illinois opens.
In 1874 CE the National Association of Professional Baseball Players officially adopts the batter's box; they decide that any player betting on his own team will be expelled; and that any player betting on any other team will forfeit his pay; one hundred and thirty-eight years later Major League Baseball confirms that the postseason will be expanded from 8 to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league.
In 1901 CE, U.S. Steel Corporation is organized under J. P. Morgan, Sr. through the merger of Carnegie Steel Company, Federal Steel Company and National Steel Company, this company was sold to Japanese investors in 2025.
In 1933 CE the film King Kong, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Fay Wray, premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in New York. New York.
In 1939 CE the Massachusetts Legislature votes to ratify the US Bill of Rights…one hundred and forty-seven years late.
In 1949 CE the Lucky Lady II (USAF B-50 Superfortress), completes the first nonstop round-the-world flight, covering 23,452 miles, in ninety-four hours, landing where it started in Fort Worth, Texas; twenty years later, the first test flight of the supersonic Concorde passenger jet takes place.
In 1962 CE Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores one hundred points, the most ever by an National Basketball Association (NBA) player in a single game, giving the Warriors a 169-147 win over the New York Knickerbockers in Hershey, Pennsylvania; sixty-two years later, LeBron James becomes the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 regular-season points.
In 1962 CE, United States president John F. Kennedy announces that the U.S. will resume above ground nuclear testing; five years later the U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site; sixteen years after that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics performs underground nuclear test.
In 1983 CE, Compact Disc recordings developed by Phillips & Sony are introduced to the global marketplace
In 1998 CE, data sent from the Galileo spacecraft confirms that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean between a thick crust of ice and a hot molten core; twenty-seven years later, the United States firm Firefly's, Blue Ghost spacecraft, becomes only the second commercial vehicle to land on the Moon.
In 2014 CE, president Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation receives unanimous approval from its parliament to send troops into Ukraine.
