Today in History

Historical Events

1999

House of Lords Act 1999 passed. The act removed the right to a place in the House of Lords based on peerage and hereditary rights.

1975

Angola independence. Angola gained its independence after over 300 years of Portuguese rule.

1965

Rhodesia declares its independence. Rhodesia, a region that is comprised of present day Zimbabwe declared its freedom from the United Kingdom under the leadership of predominantly white leaders. It lasted for 14 years when it was renamed the Republic of Zimbabwe after being recognized by the UN and the UK.

1926

Approval of numbered highways in the US. Under this system odd numbered highways run north to south while even numbered highways run east to west. Lower odd numbers are in the west, and higher odd number are in the east. Lower even numbers are in the south, and higher even numbers are in the north.

1918

World War I ends. An armistice was signed to formally end the war. With 17 million casualties, the First World War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.

Famous Births

Born on this day

Leonardo Di

Leonardo Di

1974

CaprioAmerican actor, producer

Daniel Ortega

Daniel Ortega

1945

Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

1922

American author

George S. Patton

George S. Patton

1885

American general

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

1821

Russian author

Famous Deaths

Died on this day

Yasser Arafat

Yasser Arafat

2004

Palestinian engineer, politician

Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary

1938

Irish/American carrier of Typhoid fever

Haymarket affair

Haymarket affair

1887

Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly

1880

Australian murderer

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard

1855

Danish philosopher, author