Today in History

Historical Events

2007

First successful human powered attempt to circumnavigate the world. Englishman Jason Lewis set out on the journey, also called Expedition 360 on July 12, 1994, from Greenwich, London. The over 46,000-mile expedition around the world took him 4,833 days, during which he used only human-powered modes of transportation including bicycles, roller blades, and a pedal powered boat.

1995

First exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star discovered. Swiss astronomers Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor announced the discovered the exoplanet called 51 Pegasi B or Bellerophon. The Jupiter-like exoplanet orbits a star called 51 Pegasi, which has a magnitude of 5.49. 51 Pegasi B takes 4.23 Earth days to orbit around its star.

1981

Assassination of Anwar Sadat. The third president of Egypt, Sadat was killed by members of the terrorist group Takfir Wal-Hajira during a parade held to commemorate the 8th anniversary of Operation Badr - a military operation where Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and overran the Bar Lev Line in Israel. The military operation stated the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The assassination is thought to be a result of Sadat’s efforts to bring peace to the region which started with the Camp David Accords in 1978.

1976

Coup in Thailand. Admiral Sangad Chaloryu staged a coup ousting the civilian government of Seni Pramoj.

1908

Bosnian crisis. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declared the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had been nominally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The takeover raised tensions within the Balkan region in Europe and threatened to end in a war.

Famous Births

Born on this day

Mitchell Cole

Mitchell Cole

1985

English footballer

Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy

1955

American football player, coach

Hafez al-Assad

Hafez al-Assad

1930

Syrian general, politician, 20th President of Syria

George Westinghouse

George Westinghouse

1846

American engineer, inventor

Isaac Brock

Isaac Brock

1769

English army officer

Famous Deaths

Died on this day

Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly

1992

Australian cricketer

Bette Davis

Bette Davis

1989

American actress

Anwar Sadat

Anwar Sadat

1981

Egyptian politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

1892

English poet

Thomas Wyatt

Thomas Wyatt

1542

English poet