What Happened?

Oct 12 Pontifical ambassador interrogates Martin Luther

Jan 7 Francis Bacon becomes Lord Chancellor of England

May 15 German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovers the third of his three planetary laws his "harmonics law"

Oct 29 English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against King James I of England

Jul 30 William Penn, English Philosopher, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (No cross, no crown), dies at 73

Nov 22 Blackbeard, notorious English pirate, dies in battle at 38

Nov 18 Voltaire's "Oedipe" premieres in Paris

Dec 10 Laurence Eusden is appointed British Poet Laureate under George I

Jan 1 Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is published anonymously by the small London publishing house of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones

Jan 2 Lord Byron completes "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" (4th canto)

Jan 30 John Keats composes his sonnet "When I Have Fears"

Mar 16 Second Battle of Cancha Rayada - Spanish forces defeat Chileans under José de San Martín

Apr 7 General Andrew Jackson conquers St Marks, Florida from Seminole indians

Apr 28 US President James Monroe proclaims naval disarmament on Great Lakes and Lake Champlain

Oct 24 Felix Mendelssohn aged 9 performs his first public concert in Berlin

Jan 8 US President Woodrow Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points for peace after the Great War

Jan 12 Montreal Canadien Joe Malone scores 5 goals beating Ottawa 9-4

Jan 26 Herbert Hoover, US Food Administrator, calls for "wheatless" & "meatless" days for war effort

Feb 10 Trotsky declares that Russia is leaving the war

Apr 1 Henry Miller's Theater opens at 124 W 43rd St NYC

Apr 15 Georges Clémenceau publishes secret French/Austrian documents

Apr 20 Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day

May 15 Washington Senator Walter Johnson pitches 1-0, 18 inning game

Jun 1 Canadian ace Billy Bishop downs 6 aircrafts over a three-day span, including German ace Paul Bilik, reclaiming his top scoring title from James McCudden

Jul 8 Babe Ruth's blast over the fence in Fenway scores Amos Strunk, the Red Sox win 1-0 over Cleve, prevailing rules reduce Babe's HR to a triple

Jan 1 Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump Caesar's Palace Fountain

Jan 2 Cecil Day-Lewis is appointed British Poet Laureate by Queen Elizabeth II

Jan 5 Dr Benjamin Spock indicted for conspiring to violate draft law

Jan 8 Jacques Cousteau's 1st undersea special on US network TV

Feb 1 Former US VP Richard Nixon announces candidacy for president

Jan 3 In Moscow, the Start II arms reduction treaty is signed by George H. W. Bush (USA) and Boris Yeltsin (Russia)

Jan 5 Reggie Jackson elected to Hall of Fame

Jan 8 Chicago Bull Michael Jordan scores his 20,000th career point

Jan 8 Elvis Presley Commemorative Postage Stamp goes on sale

Jan 8 NBC offers "Tonight Show" to David Letterman

Jan 18 Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observed in all 50 states of the USA for 1st time

Jan 20 Bill Clinton (D) inaugurated as 42nd US President

Jan 13 Rock musician Pete Townshend of The Who was arrested in London on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. He was later cleared.

Mar 15 Hu Jintao becomes President of the People's Republic of China

Apr 7 U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later.

May 1 In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" on board the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California

Jun 21 "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" the 5th book of the series by J. K. Rowling is published worldwide in English

Jun 23 Barry Bonds steals second base against the LA Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career homers and 500 steals

Jul 30 The last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line in Mexico

Oct 7 American gubernatorial recall election is held in California. Governor Gray Davis is recalled and Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes governor.

Oct 19 Mother Teresa of Calcutta is beatified by Pope John Paul II

Feb 11 Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation from February 28, the first pope to resign since 1415

Mar 13 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected the new pope, taking the papal name Pope Francis

Mar 14 Xi Jinping is named as the new President of the People's Republic of China

Apr 23 "Star Trek Into Darkness" directed by J. J. Abrams starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Sydney