Important musical and historical anniversaries in 2016
400 years ago, in 1616, Maurizio Cazzati was born in Luzzara (Lucera), Duchy of Guastalla, near Reggio nell'Emilia.
400 years ago, in 1616, Matthias Weckmann was born (perhaps) in Niederdola, near Mühlhausen.
150 years ago, in January 1866, the first of twelve monthly installments of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky was published in the Russian literary journal Russian Messenger.
150 years ago, on 1 January 1866, the last issue of The Liberator was published by William Lloyd Garrison, 35 years to the day after the first issue. The purpose of the paper, the abolition of slavery, had been achieved.
100 years ago, on 1 January 1916, Yaounde, capital of the German possession of Kamerun, surrendered to British and African troops from Nigeria. All German officials already fled the city.
50 years ago, on 1 January 1966, in his New Year’s address to the nation, King Konstantinos of Greece blamed communists for the political unrest in the country. As a direct result of this speech, the music of Mikis Theodorakis (40) was banned from Greek radio.
50 years ago, on 2 January 1966, The Twelve for chorus and orchestra by William Walton (63) to words of Auden was performed for the first time, in Westminster Abbey, London the composer conducting. The ceremony marked the 900th anniversary of Westminster Abbey.
150 years ago, on 5 January 1866, the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society received permission to found a conservatory.
150 years ago, on 5 January 1866, The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, an opera by Bedrich Smetana (41) to words of Sabina, was performed for the first time, in the Prague Provisional Theatre, to great success. Among the violists was Antonín Dvorák (24).
200 years ago, on 6 January 1816, the details of the Holy Alliance were made public by Tsar Alyeksandr.
100 years ago, on 7 January 1916, with the British force down to 19,000 on Cape Helles, the Turks finally attacked but were cut down as they crossed 100 meters of open ground.
250 years ago, on 8 January 1766, a British expedition of three ships lead by Captain John MacBride, RN established a permanent British settlement at Port Egmont, Falkland Islands.
250 years ago, on 9 January 1766, the resolves of the New York Sons of Liberty were published in the New York Gazette.
100 years ago, on 9 January 1916, the last Allied troops left Gallipoli at W Beach. Moments later, mines they left in their ammunition dumps went off. Cape Helles was also evacuated, again with no casualties. It was the only success in the Gallipoli campaign. The cost of the entire ten-month operation was 500,000 casualties.
100 years ago, on 9 January 1916, the Russian campaign in Galicia ended with only small gains at a cost of 50,000 casualties.
100 years ago, on 10 January 1916, as part of a campaign of revenge for President Wilson’s recognition of Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa and his men stopped a train in Santa Ysabel, Sonora and killed 16 American engineers on board. The men were traveling to reopen a mine.
50 years ago, on 10 January 1966, an agreement was signed in Tashkent between Pakistani President Mohammed Ayub Khan and Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. It called for withdrawal of troops to the pre-war borders.
50 years ago, on 10 January 1966, the House of Representatives of the State of Georgia voted 184-12 to refuse to seat duly elected member Julian Bond because he opposed US policy in Vietnam and counseled young men to avoid the draft.
50 years ago, on 10 January 1966, firebombs were thrown into the home of Vernon Dahmer, a local civil rights leader in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He died of his injuries. His wife and daughter were hospitalized with burns. Three other people in the house escaped injury.
150 years ago, on 11 January 1866, the last of the scaffolding used by Constantino Brumidi to paint frescoes was removed from the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Washington. The dome was officially complete.
100 years ago, on 11 January 1916, Russian forces began an offensive into Armenia. Austro-Hungarian troops captured Cettinje, the capital of Montenegro.
50 years ago, on 11 January 1966, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India died of a heart attack while attending a peace conference with Pakistani President Mohammed Ayub Khan, in Tashkent. He was succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda.
50 years ago, on 11 January 1966, Alberto Giacometti died in Chur, Switzerland, aged 64.
100 years ago, on 12 January 1916, the British Crown Colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu) came into being.
100 years ago, on 13 January 1916, German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild published “On the gravitational field of a mass point according to Einstein's theory,” in which he first described “black holes.”
50 years ago, on 13 January 1966, civil rights marchers battled police armed with clubs in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. 21 people were injured.
150 years ago, on 14 January 1866, all residency restrictions of the Jews of Switzerland were removed.
50 years ago, on 14 January 1966, a week-long drive by US and Australian troops into the so-called “Iron Triangle” 40 km north of Saigon ended without discovering an expected large Viet Cong concentration.
50 years ago, on 17 January 1966, an American B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear bombs collided with a refueling plane over Polomares, Spain. The bombs spilled and a wide area was contaminated with plutonium. The United States undertook a massive cleanup, removing tons of topsoil. Villagers were not allowed to see their medical records until 1985.
50 years ago, on 17 January 1966, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote was published in the United States.
100 years ago, on 19 January 1916, Russian forces defeated Turks at Koprukeui, driving them back to Erzerum.
50 years ago, on 19 January 1966, the Information Secretary for French President Charles de Gaulle announced that the kidnapping of Moroccan leftist leader Mehdi Ben Barka was “organized abroad with the complicity of agents of French special services or police.”
100 years ago, on 22 January 191, En blanc et noir for two pianos by Claude Debussy (53) was performed for the first time, privately, at the Paris home of the Princesse de Polignac.
100 years ago, on 23 January 1916, Austro-Hungarian forces captured Scutari (Shkodër), Albania.
50 years ago, on 24 January 1966, Indira Gandhi replaced Gulzarilal Nanda as Prime Minister of India.
150 years ago, on 25 January 1866, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (25) delivered his first lecture, in somewhat halting fashion, at the Russian Musical Society. Its successor, the Moscow Conservatory, would not officially open until September.
100 years ago, on 25 January 1916, personal envoy of US President Wilson, Edward House, met for six days with German officials in Berlin, looking for peace. The army of Montenegro surrendered to Austria-Hungary.
50 years ago, on 25 January 1966, US, South Korean, and Saigon government troops began an offensive into Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh Provinces.
100 years ago, on 27 January 1916, King George V gave royal assent to the Military Service Act. It required all unmarried men and widowers 18-41 years of age without dependents to make themselves available for national service. It was the first conscription legislation in British history.
100 years ago, on 27 January 1916, the Spartacus Group was founded in Berlin. It was the beginning of an organized communist movement in Germany.
150 years ago, on 28 January 1866, David Livingstone arrived in Zanzibar on his last expedition to Africa. He was searching for the source of the Nile.
100 years ago, on 28 January 1916, Goyescas, an opera by Enrique Granados (48) to words of Periquet y Zuaznabar, is performed for the first time, at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. The work receives an enthusiastic reception, “ecstatic applause” and Granados was praised by the critics. But Goyescas received only five performances in New York and was then dropped. The libretto was faulted.
100 years ago, on 29 January 1916, a suite from Sergey Prokofiev’s (24) unperformed ballet Ala i Lolli, called the Scythian Suite op.20, was performed for the first time, in Petrograd, the composer conducting. One audience member, Alyeksandr Glazunov (50), found the music so distasteful that he stormed out of the hall. The composer remarked, “The price of rotten eggs has gone up in St. Petersburg.”
150 years ago, on 30 January 1866, in solidarity with Peru and Chile, Ecuador declared war on Spain.
50 years ago, on 30 January 1966, Great Britain barred all imports from Rhodesia not already prohibited by previous sanctions. Britons were forbidden to export to Rhodesia.
150 years ago, on 31 January 1866, Friedrich Rückert died in Neuses at the age of 77.
50 years ago, on 31 January 1966, after 37 days of intense efforts to engage the North Vietnamese in peace talks, US President Lyndon Johnson resumed bombing of North Vietnam.
100 years ago, on 1 February 1916, Carl Nielsen’s (50) Fourth Symphony “the Inextinguishable” was performed for the first time, in Copenhagen. It was extremely successful.
100 years ago, on 3 February 1916, the Canadian Parliament buildings were destroyed by fire.
50 years ago, on 3 February 1966, the Soviet space probe Luna 9 made the first soft landing by an Earth vessel on the surface of the Moon, in the Ocean of Storms.
100 years ago, on 6 February 1916, Mohandas K. Gandhi addressed an illustrious gathering at the opening of the Benares Hindu University. The platform included the Viceroy Charles Hardinge, Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, many maharajas and maharanis, high officials and educators. Speaking without text, Gandhi assailed the imperialism of the English language, the tolerance for filth and degradation of the Hindus, accused the maharajas of stealing from the poor, seemed to suggest that a dead viceroy might be more useful than a live one, and honored anarchists. When he announced, “If we are to receive self-government we will have to take it,” many officials left the platform and he was asked to abandon his speech.
200 years ago, on 7 February 1816, Lord Byron’s The Siege of Corinth and Parsinia were published together.
200 years ago, on 7 February 1816, the Congress of New Granada invested Simón Bolivar with political and military control of the invasion of Venezuela from Haiti.
150 years ago, on 7 February 1866, Spanish ships battled a combined Peru-Chile naval force off Abtao Island, Chile. After two hours of fighting, the Spaniards withdrew.
100 years ago, on 8 February 1916, this is the date on which Romanian poet and artist Tristan Tzara claimed to have founded the Dada movement in a Zürich cafe.
100 years ago, on 11 February 1916, Emma Goldman was arrested in New York for publicly advocating birth control.
100 years ago, on 11 February 1916, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert.
200 years ago, on 12 February 1816, fire destroyed most of the city of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
250 years ago, on 13 February 1766, Benjamin Franklin appeared before Parliament to advocate representation for the American colonies in that body and against the Stamp Act. Failing representation, he argued for funds to be spent by each of the colonial legislatures. A third option was for a continental assembly from all the colonies, subject to Parliament. He was peppered by 174 questions from all sides, both sympathetic and hostile.
200 years ago, on 13 February 1816, Teatro San Carlo in Naples was destroyed by fire. The cost of rebuilding was paid entirely by the wealthy Domenico Barbaja.
100 years ago, on 14 February 1916, 50,000 Armenians were reported to have been killed by Turks at Intili.
50 years ago, on 14 February 1966, Australia converted to a decimal monetary system from pounds, shillings, pence.
50 years ago, on 14 February 1966, Thereminist Paul Tanner was called in to a recording session at the home of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in Los Angeles. One song was “Good Vibrations” but Tanner feels the result is not satisfactory and would not be pursued. He was in error.
200 years ago, sometime in mid- February 1816, Alastor, or, The Spirit of Solitude by Percy Bysshe Shelley was published.
100 years ago, on 16 February 1916, after six days of fighting in deep snow and intense cold, Russian forces captured Erzerum from Turkey. They found only a handful of Armenians alive in the province.
150 years ago, on 17 February 1866, Snow-Bound by John Greenleaf Whittier was published in Boston.
100 years ago, on 17 February 1916, Russian troops captured Ilica near Erzerum, taking 12,000 Turkish prisoners.
100 years ago, on 18 February 1916, the last remaining Germans in Kamerun surrendered to British and French troops at Mora. The entire Kamerun campaign cost over 7,000 casualties.
150 years ago, on 19 February 1866, the British West African Settlements was created as a union of the Gold Coast, Lagos, Gambia and Sierra Leone.
200 years ago, on 20 February 1816 Almaviva, ossia L’inutile precauzione (later called Il barbiere di Siviglia), a commedia by Gioachino Rossini (23) to words of Sterbini after Beaumarchais and Petrosellini, was performed for the first time, in Teatro Argentina, Rome. The evening was a disaster. A hostile audience whistled Rosina. Bartolo tripped over a trap door and bloodied his nose (for which the onlookers called for an encore). A cat appeared and stole the show, urged on by the audience.
100 years ago, on 21 February 1916, German forces began the largest artillery barrage in history along a 13 km front at Verdun. One million shells were fired on the first day. In spite of this, German infantry made only probing advances.
50 years ago, on 21 February 1966 French President Charles de Gaulle announced that his government would gradually take control of all NATO bases on French soil.
250 years ago, on 22 February 1766, the British Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act.
100 years ago, on 22 February 1916, French troops made weak but surprising counterattacks at Verdun. The Germans took Haumont but the French held Brabant on the Meuse.
250 years ago, on 23 February 1766, on the death of its duke, the former King Stanislaus Lesczcynski of Poland, Lorraine was incorporated into France.
150 years ago, on 23 February 1866, Prince Alexander Ioan I of Romania was roused from his bed by troops and forced to abdicate. He was removed from the country and a regency was established.
100 years ago, on 23 February 1916, German forces made only small gains at Verdun, taking Brabant but not Beaumont and Samogneux.
100 years ago, on 23 February 1916, The White Peacock op.7/1 for piano by Charles T. Griffes (31) was performed for the first time, at the Punch and Judy Theatre, New York.
350 years ago, on 24 February 1666, the earthly remains of Nicholas Lanier were buried in Greenwich, 77 years, five months, and 14 days after his baptism.
250 years ago, on 24 February 1766, Samuel Wesley was born in Bristol, the son of Charles Wesley, Methodist minister, poet and composer, and Sarah Gwynne, daughter of a wealthy landowner. He was one of eight children, but the youngest of only three to survive infancy.
50 years ago, on 24 February 1966, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, while away in Peking, was overthrown by a military coup.
100 years ago, on 25 February 1916, German forces captured Ft. Douaumont on the approaches to Verdun, signaling the imminent fall of the city. The French withdrew to new defensive positions east of Verdun.
50 years ago, on 25 February 1966, the Rockefeller Foundation granted $200,000 to Mills College to move the San Francisco Tape Music Center to Mills College and merge it with the Mills Performing Group.
200 years ago, on 27 February 1816, Great Britain restored Surinam to the Netherlands.
100 years ago, on 28 February 1916, the French defenders of Verdun brought the German offensive to a standstill, although fighting still continued.
100 years ago, on 28 February 1916, the US Senate ratified the treaty with Haiti making Haiti a United States protectorate.
100 years ago, on 28 February 1916, Henry James died in London at the age of 72.
100 years ago, on 29 February 1916, the Union Group (Tokelau Is.) became part of the British Colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
100 years ago, on 1 March 1916, a second deportation of Armenians from Adrianople (Edirne) began.
100 years ago, on 1 March 1916, with the help of Sophie Tucker, George Gershwin (17) signed his first contract as a composer, with the Harry von Tilzer Publishing Company.
50 years ago, on 1 March 1966, the Soviet space probe Venus 3 crashed into Venus, the first man-made object to come into contact with the planet.
100 years ago, on 2 March 1916, a fourth French attempt to retake Ft. Douaumont failed. Among the wounded is Capt. Charles de Gaulle, who was taken prisoner.
100 years ago, o on 2 March 1916, conscription of single men between 18-41 years of age began in Britain.
50 years ago, on 3 March 1966, blacks in Natchez, Mississippi ended a boycott of white merchants after their demands had been satisfied.
50 years ago, on 3 March 1966, Relata I for orchestra by Milton Babbitt (49) was performed for the first time, in Cleveland.
50 years ago, on 4 March 1966, a fierce three-day battle began in Quang Ngai Province between US/Saigon forces and North Vietnamese/Viet Cong troops.
50 years ago, on 5 March 1966, Anna Akhmatova died in Leningrad at the age of 76.
50 years ago, on 7 March 1966, the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia unanimously upheld a state law banning interracial marriages.
50 years ago, on 8 March 1966, an explosion brought down the top 20 meters of the 31-meter high Nelson Column in Dublin, including the statue of Lord Nelson. Police blamed the Irish Republican Army. The IRA saw the column as a symbol of British domination of the island.
100 years ago, on 5 March 1916, a combined British-South African-Colonial force began an offensive in the region of Mt. Kilimanjaro, making for the rail head at Moshi.
200 years ago, on 6 March 1816, the Senate of the free city of Lübeck decreed that all Jews had to leave the city within four weeks.
100 years ago, on 6 March 1916, after stiff French resistance, the Germans resumed their attack on Verdun at Le Mort Homme, northwest of the city. They took Forges and Regneville.
100 years ago, on 6 March 1916, the Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke was founded in Munich. It would one day be known as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW).
150 years ago, on 7 March 1866, as part of a charity concert, the septet from Hector Berlioz’ (62) Les troyens was performed before a packed house in the Cirque Napoléon, Paris. No one sent Berlioz a ticket so he paid three francs admission for a seat very high up. The septet was encored. When he was spotted, the crowd began yelling Vive Berlioz! Well-wishers mobbed him and later he received congratulations at his home. It was his last triumph in Paris.
100 years ago, on 8 March 1916, French defenders of Verdun throw back German attacks on Le Morte Homme and Fort Vaux.
100 years ago, on 9 March 1916, Germany declared war on Portugal over the seizure of German ships in Lisbon.
100 years ago, on 9 March 1916, En blanc et noir for two pianos by Claude Debussy (53) was performed publicly for the first time, at Casino St.-Pierre, Geneva.
100 years ago, on 9 March 1916, a force of 500 under the command of Pancho Villa crossed the border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, 110 km west of El Paso. After a skirmish with American troops, the Mexicans retired across the border.
50 years ago, on 10 March 1966, rioting by Hindi-speakers began in Punjab against a government decision to create a Punjabi-speaking state.· Eleven people were killed over the next week.
50 years ago, on 10 March 1966, Crown Princess Beatrix, heir to the Dutch throne, married Claus George Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg, a West German diplomat and a commoner, in Amsterdam.· Many Dutch opposed the marriage since von Amsberg was a German and was a member of the Hitler Youth and served two months in the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II.· 8,000 troops and police guarded the procession.· Some in the crowd threw insults and smoke bombs.
50 years ago, on 10 March 1966, three men were convicted in a New York court of the murder of Malcolm X.
100 years ago, on 11 March 1916, Italian forces attacked Austro-Hungarians along the Isonzo River for the fifth time. The offensive lasted until 29 March, without strategic result.
250 years ago, on 11 March 1766, the Mozart family were present for the installation of Willem V at The Hague. For this occasion, Wolfgang (10) composed the Gallimathias musicum K.32 and Seven Variations on Willem van Nassau K.25.
50 years ago, on 11 March 1966, France announced it woul withdraw its forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but not leave the alliance.
50 years ago, on 11 March 1966, troops loyal to General Suharto surrounded a building in Jakarta wherein President Sukarno was holding a cabinet meeting while students demonstrated outside. The President and other political and military leaders then escaped by helicopter to Bogor. They issued a statement granting broad powers to General Suharto.
50 years ago, on 11 March 1966, two books of Madrigals by George Crumb (35) to words of Garcia Lorca, were performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington: Madrigals Book I for soprano, double bass, and vibraphone; and Madrigals Book II for soprano, flute/piccolo/alto flute, and percussion.
50 years ago, on 12 March 1966, General Suharto banned the Communist Party of Indonesia.
100 years ago, on 15 March 1916, Austria-Hungary declared war on Portugal.
100 years ago, on 15 March 1916, American General John J. Pershing lead 6,000 men across the border into Mexico in an attempt to punish Pancho Villa and his forces for their raid on Columbus, New Mexico.
100 years ago, on 16 March 1916, after ten days of furious assaults, the Germans gave up trying to capture Le Mort Homme, northwest of Verdun.
50 years ago, on 16 March 1966, Gemini 8 was launched from Cape Kennedy and proceeded to carry out the first docking in space. Pilot Neil Armstrong maneuvered his spacecraft to join with an Agena target vehicle.
100 years ago, on 17 March 1916, French soldier Guillaume Apollinaire was struck in the head by a shell fragment at Bois des Buttes near Berry-au-Bac.
250 years ago, on 18 March 1766, the repeal of the Stamp Act received royal assent. It took effect on 1 May. At the same time, the Declaratory Act was approved by Parliament, iterating the complete control of the King and Parliament over the North American colonies.
50 years ago, on 18 March 1966, most of Indonesian President Sukarno’s cabinet were arrested by troops loyal to General Suharto. The Chinese ambassador and other embassy staff left Jakarta.
50 years ago, on 18 March 1966, the US government announced new sanctions against Rhodesia which almost ended trade with the country.
200 years ago, on 20 March 1816, Maria I, the insane, Queen of Portugal died in Rio de Janeiro. She was succeeded by her son João VI in Brazil.
200 years ago, on 21 March 1816, all four children of Abraham and Lea Mendelssohn, Fanny (10), Felix (7), Rebecka and Paul, were secretly baptized into the Lutheran faith in the Jerusalemkirche, Berlin. Felix was given the added names Jakob Ludwig. Fanny was baptised Cäcilie.
50 years ago, on 21 March 1966, Sequenza V for trombone by Luciano Berio (40) was performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
150 years ago, on 22 March 1866, Bolivia joined Chile, Peru, and Ecuador and declared war on Spain.
150 years ago, on 23 March 1866, the first national athletics championships were held, at Beaufort House, Welham Green, London.
50 years ago, on 23 March 1966, Arthur Michael Ramsey made the first visit by an Archbishop of Canterbury to a Pope when he met Pope Paul VI in the Sistine Chapel.
150 years ago, on 24 March 1866, Hesse-Homburg was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse.
100 years ago, on 24 March 1916, Enrique Granados and his wife boarded the British mail boat SS Sussex for the channel crossing at Folkestone. It sailed at 13:25 with 325 passengers and 53 crew making for Dieppe. At 15:00 the boat was torpedoed by German submarine UB-29. A panicked telegraph operator gave the wrong location. Witnesses reported seeing Sra. Granados in the water and the composer jumping from a lifeboat to save her. The ship did not sink and 138 passengers were saved but 50 were lost including Granados and his wife. International pressure would force Germany to pay an indemnity of 666,000 pesetas to their children and issue an official apology. Granados was aged 48 years, seven months, and 26 days.
50 years ago, on 25 March 1966, three days of protests against US policy in Vietnam took place in major cities throughout the United States and in Paris, Manila, Ottawa, Stockholm, Oslo, Rome, and Auckland.
50 years ago, on 25 March 1966, String Quartet no.11 op.122 by Dmitri Shostakovich (59) was performed for the first time, privately, in a meeting of the USSR Composers’ Club, Moscow.
450 years ago, on 26 March 1566, Antonio de Cabezón died in Madrid, aged approximately 56 years.
150 years ago, on 27 March 1866, the jury seeking an authentic Czech opera awarded first prize (the Harrach Prize) to Bedrich Smetana (42) for The Brandenburgers in Bohemia.
150 years ago, on 27 March 1866, Andrew Rankin of New York City received a US patent for a urinal.
100 years ago, on 28 March 1916, Jerusalem, a choral song for chorus and orchestra by Hubert Parry (68) to words of Blake, was performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London.
100 years ago, on 28 March 1916, a concert version of Manuel de Falla’s (39) ballet El Amor brujo was performed for the first time, at the Sociedad Nacional de Musica, Madrid.
150 years ago, on 29 March 1866, Oliver Fisher Winchester of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company of New Haven, Connecticut received a US patent for his first model repeating rifle.
50 years ago, on 30 March 1966, Krzysztof Penderecki’s (32) oratorio Passio et mors domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam (St. Luke Passion) for solo voices, speaker, boys’ chorus, chorus, and orchestra, was performed for the first time, in Münster Cathedral. This introduced a much broader audience to Penderecki.
150 years ago, on 31 March 1866, unable to make any headway in their war against Chile, Spanish ships bombarded Valparaiso for four hours, sending 2,600 shells into the city. After a battle at Callao, the Spaniards retired for home.
100 years ago, on 31 March 1916, German troops captured Malancourt near Verdun.
50 years ago, on 31 March 1966, copies of Maurice Ravel’s (†28) Piano Concerto in G were confiscated from the Joffrey Ballet in City Center, New York by lawyers representing the publisher. The Joffrey had been using the music illegally for a choreography called Sea Shadow by Gerald Alpino. Michael Colgrass (33) offeeds to provide suitably ocean-like improvisations for the performance and he was shown a film of the ballet. Upon seeing the film, Colgrass thought a new score would be required. Robert Joffrey asked Colgrass to come up with a ballet by rehearsal at 12:30 the next day. After being promised all the copyists he needs, Colgrass agreed.
150 years ago, on 1 April 1866, Ferruccio Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Busoni was born at 16 or 17 Piazza della Vittoria in Empoli, near Florence, Kingdom of Italy, the only child of Ferdinando Busoni, a clarinetist and Anna Weiss, a pianist, the daughter of a grain merchant. Though the parents lived in Rome, in the Papal States, Ferdinando brought his wife to his sister’s house for the birth so that it might take place in his family’s ancestral home town.
150 years ago, on 1 April 1866, for the first time, cattle were driven out of De Witt County, Texas to St. Joseph, Missouri. The route taken was named after the drive boss, Thomas Chisholm. Over the next 30 years, 10,000,000 animals were brought from Texas to market in this way.
50 years ago, on 2 April 1966, in a huge demonstration in Hue against the Saigon government, thousands of troops, civil servants, and police marched.
50 years ago, on 3 April 1966, the Soviet space probe Luna 10 became the first man-made object to achieve lunar orbit.
50 years ago, on 3 April 1966, Terrêtektorh, for 88 players seated in the audience by Iannis Xenakis (43), was performed for the first time, in Royan, France.
100 years ago, on 4 April 1916, Frederick John Napier Thesiger, Baron Chelmsford replaced Charles Hardinge, Baron Hardinge of Penshurst as Viceroy of India.
50 years ago, on 4 April 1966, anti-government and anti-US riots took place in Saigon as Buddhists battled police and troops. 5,000 people demonstrated in Hue against the US. Demonstrators in Da Lat took over the radio station and burned it down when troops arrive.
50 years ago, on 4 April 1966, The Internationale became the first Earth music broadcast from lunar orbit as the Soviet space probe Luna 10 beamed it to a meeting of the 23rd Party Congress.
250 years ago, on 5 April 1766, news of the Stamp Act repeal, having reached Maryland first, was sent north by the Sons of Liberty.
100 years ago, on 5 April 1916, German forces captured Haucourt at Verdun.
50 years ago, on 5 April 1966, James Goddard, head of the US Food and Drug Administration, sent a letter to 2,000 university administrators, warning of the danger of hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD.
100 years ago, on 6 April 1916, 14,000 Armenians were killed by Turkish authorities in Ras-ul-Ain. 20,000 Armenian deportees still lived there.
50 years ago, on 7 April 1966, De natura sonoris I for orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (32) was performed for the first time, in Royan.
150 years ago, on 8 April 1866, a secret alliance between Prussia and Italy was signed in Florence. Prussia promised Venetia to Italy in the event of a Prussian victory over Austria.
100 years ago, on 8 April 1916, Geman forces took Bethincourt at Verdun.
150 years ago, on 9 April 1866, the Congress of the United States overrides President Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights Act, which granted citizenship and equality to all persons born in the United States except Native Americans.
100 years ago, on 9 April 1916, German forces launched a coordinated attack on both sides of the Meuse. They captured part of Le Mort Homme, northwest of Verdun.
100 years ago, on 9 April 1916, Noches en los jardines de España, a symphonic suite for piano and orchestra by Manuel de Falla (39), was performed for the first time, in the Teatro Real, Madrid.
200 years ago, on 10 April 1816, in response to the banking crisis of 1814, President James Madison signed a bill creating the Second Bank of the United States. The first bank lost its charter in 1811.
150 years ago, on 10 April 1866, through the efforts of Henry Bergh, the legislature of the State of New York incorporated The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
50 years ago, on 10 April 1966, Evelyn Waugh died in Taunton, Somerset at the age of 62.
100 years ago, on 11 April 1916, Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was born in Buenos Aires, the second of two children born to Alberto Ginastera and Luisa Bossi.
100 years ago, on 12 April 1916, an American scouting party 300 km inside Mexico in the town of Parral, was fired upon by civilians. Mexican federal troops soon joined the engagement on the side of the civilians. The Americans withdrew. 42 people are killed.
100 years ago, on 14 April 1916, Russian forces made one last attempt to dislodge the Germans at Lake Naroch. It failsed The offensive cost 130,000 casualties.
100 years ago, on 14 April 1916, a combined Russian land and sea attack on Karadere sent Turkish troops into retreat towards Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey), 30 km to the west.
150 years ago, on 15 April 1866, Richard Wagner (52) moved to Tribschen, a house obtained for him by King Ludwig overlooking the Vierwald Stättersee near Lucerne. Cosima von Bülow would join him in May and by the time her husband Hans arrived in June, she would be carrying Wagner’s second child.
150 years ago, on 16 April 1866, while walking in the Winter Garden in St. Petersburg, Tsar Alyeksandr II was fired upon by a member of the lesser nobility named Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov. The assassin was almost successful but he was pushed as he fires. Karakozov was apprehended.
250 years ago, on 17 April 1766, publication of music by Johann Christian Bach (30) was announced in the Public Advertiser, London: Six sonates pour le clavecin ou le pianoforte...op.V. This was the first publication in Britain to contain the option of piano.
200 years ago, on 17 April 1816, Josef von Spaun wrote to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, enclosing manuscript copies of settings of Goethe poems by “a 19-year-old composer by the name of Franz Schubert.” He asked permission from Goethe that Schubert might dedicate an edition of his German songs to the poet. The manuscripts would be returned without comment.
50 years ago, on 17 April 1966, former Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary and two others were arrested in Millbrook, New York and charged with possession of marijuana.
50 years ago, on 17 April 1966, Come Out for tape loops by Steve Reich (29) was performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York. It was a benefit for the retrial of six Black teenagers convicted of murder in 1964.
100 years ago, on 18 April 1916, Russian forces captured Trebizond (Trabzon) on the Black Sea from Turkey without opposition. Of the large Armenian population there, they found only a few widows and orphans.
100 years ago, on 18 April 1916, US President Wilson threatened Germany with a break in relations if submarine attacks on passenger ships were not stopped.
50 years ago, on 18 April 1966, Human Sexual Response by William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson was published in the United States.
50 years ago, on 18 April 1966, four psalm settings for chorus by Charles Ives (†10) were performed for the first time, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Psalms 54, 90, 100, and 150. Also premiered was Ives’ General William Booth Enters into Heaven for male chorus and chamber orchestra to words of Lindsay, Two Slants for chorus and orchestra to words of Emerson and Manilius, and Walt Whitman for chorus and chamber orchestra to words of Whitman.
150 years ago, on 19 April 1866, the legislature of the State of New York passed its first laws against cruelty to animals and authorizes the newly incorporated ASPCA to enforce them.
100 years ago, on 21 April 1916, Irish revolutionary Roger Casement came ashore from a German U-boat at Tralee. He was arrested by British authorities.
100 years ago, on 24 April 1916, Padraic Pearse, at the head of about 1,500 volunteers, proclaimed the Irish Republic on the steps of the Dublin Post Office, beginning five days of fighting with British troops. Rebels took fourteen of the city’s important buildings.
100 years ago, on 25 April 1916, in an effort to support the Easter Rebellion, German ships bombarded Lowestoft and Yarmouth. They were chased away by the Royal Navy. Three submarines were sunk, two German and one British.
50 years ago, on 25 April 1966, two works by Karlheinz Stockhausen (37) were performed for the first time, in Tokyo: Solo no.19 for melody instrument and tape, and Telemusik no.20, for four track tape.
100 years ago, on 26 April 1916, the British gunboat Helga bombarded Dublin, destroying Liberty Hall, headquarters of the Labour Party, and other buildings. Shells from the Helga and British artillery killed many civilians and started fires in the city. British troops landed at Kingstown and marched towards Dublin. An ambush by Republicans could not prevent their arrival.
150 years ago, on 27 April 1866, fearful of a Prussian-Italian alliance against them, Austria mobilized its troops in Bohemia and Moravia.
100 years ago, on 27 April 1916, newly arrived British soldiers in Dublin began shooting Irish men on sight. British artillery set the General Post Office on fire.
50 years ago, on 27 April 1966, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged to form the Pennsylvania and New York Central Transportation Company, commonly referred to as the Penn Central.
50 years ago, on 27 April 1966, Variations VI for electronic circuitry, microphones, radio, tape, and television by John Cage (53) was performed for the first time, in Pan American Auditorium, Washington.
100 years ago, on 28 April 1916, Irish rebels abandoned the General Post Office in Dublin. British troops took off after them down King’s Street. They shot or bayoneted any Irish civilians they found hiding.
100 years ago, on 29 April 1916, after a five month siege, the starving, diseased British defenders of Kut al Imara (Al Kut) surrendered to the Turks.
100 years ago, on 29 April 1916, Padraic Pearse announced the unconditional surrender of rebel forces in Ireland.
200 years ago, on 1 May 1816, the Duchy of Salzburg was returned to Austria.
100 years ago, on 1 May 1916, a rally called by the Spartacus group drew 10,000 people to the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. When Reichstag member Karl Liebknecht called for an end to the war and removal of the government, mounted police moved in to break up the mob. Liebknecht was arrested.
50 years ago, on 1 May 1966, at a Peking rally, Prime Minister Chou En-lai announced the official beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. He called for the end of “bourgeois ideology” in the academic, educational, and journalistic fields, in art, literature, and all other fields of culture.
100 years ago, on 2 May 1916, a Carrancista army began a sweep against Zapatistas through Morelos State. Within four days, all major cities are in their hands and the state is largely looted and destroyed.
200 years ago, on 3 May 1816, having sailed from Haiti with 250 men, Simón Bolívar once again set foot in Venezuela at Juan Griego Harbor.
100 years ago, on 3 May 1916, Padraic Pearse and two other Irish rebel leaders were executed by a British firing squad. Fifteen Irish rebels were shot through 12 May.
100 years ago, on 3 May 1916, German forces began a massive artillery bombardment of Côte 304 northwest of Verdun.
100 years ago, on 3 May 1916, the second and third parts of The Spirit of England op.80, for solo voice, chorus, and orchestra by Edward Elgar (58) to words of Binyon, were performed for the first time, in Leeds, the composer conducting.
50 years ago, on 4 May 1966, white anti-apartheid activist Abram Fischer was convicted in Pretoria of 15 counts ranging from fraud to sabotage. He would be sentenced to life in prison.
200 years ago, on 5 May 1816, Carl August of Saxe-Weimar granted the first German constitution.
200 years ago, on 5 May 1816, the first published poem by John Keats, “O Solitude”, appeared in The Examiner.
200 years ago, on 5 May 1816, a Spanish army captured the rebel capital of Bogotá, putting many of the inhabitants to death.
100 years ago, on 5 May 1916, amidst the threat of civil war, and against the wishes of President Juan Isidro Jiménez, US Marines landed in the Dominican Republic.
250 years ago, on 6 May 1766, Thomas-Arthur, comte de Lally was beheaded in Paris for his part in the loss of Pondicherry to the British during the Seven Years War.
150 years ago, on 7 May 1866, Ferdinand Cohen-Blind attempted to kill Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck-Schönhausen in Berlin. Bismarck was saved by a bulletproof vest.
150 years ago, on 8 May 1866, in order to create the appearance of respectability, Richard Wagner (52) invited the entire von Bülow family to his home, Tribschen, on Lake Lucerne. Cosima arrived today. By the time Hans arrives in mid-June, she will be pregnant with Wagner’s second child.
100 years ago, on 8 May 1916, after three days of close, sometimes hand-to-hand fighting, the Germans captured Côte 304, northwest of Verdun. At Ft. Douaumont, containers of flamethrower fuel were ignited and the fire reached a store of artillery shells. The explosion blew up or asphyxiated most of the men in the fort. Survivors, with blackened faces from the blast, staggered from the building and were shot dead by their own comrades who mistook them for French African troops.
50 years ago, on 8 May 1966, And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma for a large ensemble of original instruments by Harry Partch (64) was performed for the first time, in Los Angeles.
250 years ago, on 9 May 1766, HMS Dolphin, commanded by Captain John Byron, arrived in the Downs, thus becoming the first vessel to circumnavigate the Earth in less than two years.
50 years ago, on 9 May 1966, China exploded a 200 kiloton thermonuclear device in the western desert.
150 years ago, on 10 May 1866, Karl, Prince of Hohenzollern was elected ruler of Romania.
100 years ago, on 10 May 1916, Milton Byron Babbitt was born in Philadelphia, the son of Albert Babbitt, a mathematician, and Sarah Potamkin.
100 years ago, on 10 May 1916, after 17 days at sea, Ernest Shackleton and five others arrived in a lifeboat at South Georgia from Elephant Island.
150 years ago, on 11 May 1866, the London financial house of Overend and Gurney crashed, leading to disorder, panic, and unemployment.
100 years ago, on 11 May 1916, after returning from a concert tour, Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger died in his hotel room in Leipzig, apparently of heart failure. He was aged 43 years, one month, and 22 days.
100 years ago, on 13 May 1916, Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (Sholem Aleichem) died in New York at the age of 57.
50 years ago, on 13 May 1966, Claude Lelouch’s film Un homme et une femme was shown for the first time, at the Cannes Film Festival.
150 years ago, on 15 May 1866, five days after agreeing to mobilize his army against Prussia, King Ludwig II of Bavaria telegraphed Richard Wagner (52) announcing his desire to abdicate his throne and join the composer in Tribschen.
50 years ago, on 15 May 1966, forces loyal to the government of Nguyen Cao Ky seized control of most of Da Nang from troops and civilians supporting anti-government Buddhists. Fighting went on around three large pagodas in the city.
150 years ago, on 17 May 1866, Eric Alfred Leslie Satie was born in Honfleur, eldest of four children born to Jules-Alfred Satie, a ship broker, and Jane Leslie Anton.
50 years ago, on 17 May 1966, Igor Stravinsky (83) conducted for the last time, a performance of the Pulcinella suite in Toronto.
400 years ago, on 19 May 1616, Johann Jacob Froberger was baptized in Stuttgart.
100 years ago, on 20 May 1916, Ernest Shackleton and two others arrived at Stromness whaling station on South Georgia.
50 years ago, on 21 May 1966, troops opposed to the Saigon government surrendered the Tan Ninh pagoda in Da Nang after heavy fighting.
150 years ago, on 22 May 1866, King Ludwig escaped incognito into Switzerland to be with Richard Wagner on his 53rd birthday. He arrived at Tribschen and stayed two days.
150 years ago, on 22 May 1866 Karl, son of Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, became Prince Carol I of Romania.
100 years ago, on 22 May 1916, after five days of artillery bombardment, French forces launched an assault on Ft. Douaumont at Verdun. Despite devastating German artillery, they managed to take most of the superstructure, but not the fort itself.
100 years ago, on 22 May 1916, Gordon Ware Binkerd was born in Lynch, Nebraska, one of three children born to Archibald Binkerd, a telephone company employee, and Verna Jones.
100 years ago, on 23 May 1916, German forces counterattacked at Ft. Douaumont and succeeded in killing or capturing all the French that made it inside yesterday.
50 years ago, on 24 May 1966, Mame with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, opened in New York.
50 years ago, on 26 May 1966, Guyana, under Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, was declared independent of Great Britain.
50 years ago, on 26 May 1966, Nouvelles aventures for three singers and seven instrumentalists by György Ligeti (42) was performed for the first time, over NDR, Hamburg.
250 years ago, on 29 May 1766, Henry Cavendish gave the first of three papers before the Royal Society in London. He described experiments where metals, in contact with acid, produce a kind of “Inflammable Air.” This we now call hydrogen.
50 years ago, on 29 May 1966, two Buddhist women, one in Saigon, one in Hue, burned themselves to death to protest the US-backed government of South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky.
150 years ago, on 30 May 1866, The Bartered Bride, a comic opera by Bedrich Smetana (42) to words of Sabina, was performed for the first time, in the Prague Provisional Theatre conducted by the composer. Among the violists is Antonín Dvorák (24).
50 years ago, on 30 May 1966, two Buddhists, a man in Da Lat and a woman in Saigon, burned themselves to death to protest the US-backed government of South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky.
100 years ago, on 31 May 1916, a major naval engagement between German and British fleets took place off Jutland, costing 25 ships and 8,642 lives. HMS Queen Mary was struck by three shells, igniting her forward magazine. She went down with 1,266 of her crew. Only 18 were saved. HMS Invincible also exploded, taking 1,026 men to the bottom, including Rear Admiral Horace Hood. Six were rescued. HMS Indefatigable suffered a similar fate. Only two of her 1,019-man crew survived. HMS Defence exploded killing all 900 aboard. HMS Black Prince was sunk with all 857 aboard. SMS Frauenlob was sunk by torpedo and surface fire with 320 men lost and only nine rescued. It was a tactical German victory but the German fleet never again challenged the British.
50 years ago, on 31 May 1966, a young Buddhist woman burned herself to death in Hue to protest the US-backed government of South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky. Meanwhile, talks began in Saigon between Buddhist leaders and the military junta.
150 years ago, on 1 June 1866, Austria openly abrogated the Gastein treaty of last August and brought its Schleswig-Holstein dispute before the German diet in Frankfurt.
100 years ago, on 1 June 1916, German forces began a new assault at Verdun on the right bank of the Meuse. On the first day they managed to advance through the Caillette Woods and part of the Fumin Woods.
150 years ago, on 2 June 1866, Feinians battled British troops at Ridgeway, Ontario. The British fled and the Fenians went on to take Fort Erie but then withdrew. Returning to Buffalo they were intercepted by a US Navy warship and are arrested.
100 years ago, on 2 June 1916, fighting raged through the day at Fort Vaux near Verdun. By nightfall, both sides claimed part of the fort.
50 years ago, on 2 June 1966, the US space probe Surveyor I made a soft landing on the Moon, in the Ocean of Storms. It began sending back pictures of the lunar surface.
100 years ago, on 3 June 1916, German troops cut off Fort Vaux from the main French lines. Fighting continued in the darkened interior corridors of the fort.
100 years ago, on 4 June 1916, Russian forces attacked the Austro-Hungarians north of Dubno (Ukraine) near the Dneister River. The Austrians fled in panic. French forces charged toward Fort Vaux but were fought off by the Germans. Inside the fort, Germans used flamethrowers in an attempt to dislodge the French within. It failed. At night, 300 French soldiers made it out of the fort, but most of them will be killed or captured.
50 years ago, on 4 June 1966, a three-page advertisement appeared in the New York Times. It called on the US government to end the bombing of Vietnam and all offensive military operations and the beginning of withdrawal from Vietnam. It was signed by 6,400 people, mostly university faculty and administrators but also including artists, psychologists, physicians, writers, clergymen, and scientists.
200 years ago, on 5 June 1816, Giovanni Paisiello died at his home in Naples of hepatitis and meterorism (gaseous distention of the stomach or intestine), aged 76 years and 27 days.
150 years ago, on 5 June 1866, French naval officers Ernest-Marc-Louis Doudart de Lagrée and Marie-Joseph-François Garnier departed Saigon at the head of an expedition up the Mekong River. They were the first Europeans to enter Yunan Province, China from the south.
100 years ago, on 5 June 1916, HMS Hampshire struck a mine off the Orkneys and went down with the loss of nearly all 600 crew aboard, including Great Britain’s war minister, Lord Kitchener and his staff. Twelve men made it to shore. At Fort Vaux, Germans again used flamethrowers inside the fort but unexpected air currents turned the flames back on the Germans. Ali and Feisal, sons of Sherif Hussein Ibn Ali, Amir of Mecca, began an Arab revolt in Medina against Turkish rule. They lead 30,000 men but Turkish artillery at Medina routed them.
200 years ago, on 6 June 1816, during the Year Without a Summer, 15-30 cm of snow fell on northern New England, Quebec, and the Maritimes.
150 years ago, on 6 June 1866, the new Parliament buildings were officially opened in Ottawa.
100 years ago, on 6 June 1916, Russian forces attacked the Austro-Hungarians along the Dniester around Czernelica (Chernelitsa, Ukraine), 150 km southeast of Lemberg (Lviv).
50 years ago, on 6 June 1966, James Meredith, who in 1962 was the first black student at the University of Mississippi, was hit by three shotgun blasts as he walked along a highway south of Hernando, Mississippi. He was on a pilgrimage from Memphis to Jackson to encourage blacks to register to vote. Meredith was rushed to a hospital in Memphis and survived.
150 years ago, on 7 June 1866, Chief Seathl (Seattle) of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes died at Port Madison, Washington Territory, aged approximately 77 years.
100 years ago, on 7 June 1916, fewer than 100 French survivors of Fort Vaux surrender to the Germans. Sherif Husein ibn Ali declared the independence of Hejaz.
150 years ago, on 8 June 1866 Prussia annexed Holstein as Prussian troops marched into the Austrian-held province.
150 years ago, on 9 June 1866, Austria secretly promised Venetia to France in return for French neutrality in the war against Prussia.
50 years ago, on 9 June 1966, The Burning Fiery Furnace op.77, a stage work by Benjamin Britten (52) to words of Plomer after the Bible, was performed for the first time, in Orford Church conducted by the composer.
100 years ago, on 10 June 1916, Italian forces halted the Austro-Hungarian attack toward Bassano after a 20 km advance. The offensive cost 250,000 casualties.
200 years ago, on 13 June 1816, a Spanish army defeated a larger rebel force under Simón Bolívar at Los Aguacates, Venezuela. At night, Bolívar fled to Bonaire.
100 years ago, on 13 June 1916, the Turkish garrison at Mecca surrendered to the Arabs, although two smaller forts remained in Turkish hands.
50 years ago, on 13 June 1966, American and South Vietnamese forces relieved the outpost of Tou Morong, Kon Tum Province, after a seven-day battle.
50 years ago, on 13 June 1966, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that American citizens have the right to know their rights under the Constitution.
150 years ago, on 14 June 1866, the German Federal Diet voted to militarily oppose the Prussian intervention in Holstein. The Prussian delegates walked out.
50 years ago, on 14 June 1966, Oresteïa for chorus and twelve instruments by Iannis Xenakis (44) to words of Aeschylus, was performed for the first time, in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
250 years ago, on 15 June 1766, Florian Leopold Gassmann (37) arrived in Vienna from Venice with a young Italian protégé who was to further his education in the city: Antonio Salieri (15).
150 years ago, on 15 June 1866, Mexicans defeated a French and imperial force near Santa Gertrudis, inflicting heavy casualties. Survivors began retreating to Monterrey.
200 years ago, on 16 June 1816, during a rainstorm at his villa in Geneva, Lord Byron wrote and read several horror tales to his guests and suggested they do the same. One of the guests is 19-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who thereupon penned Frankenstein.
150 years ago, on 16 June 1866, Prussia invaded Saxony, Hannover, and Hesse.
100 years ago, on 16 June 1916, German and Austro-Hungarian forces counterattacked against the Russians between Lutsk and Kovel, 150 km northeast of Lemberg (Lviv), making little ground but suffering heavy casualties. After allied bombing flights, the Turkish garrison at Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) surrendered to the Arabs.
200 years ago, on 17 June 1816, the City Council of Baltimore authorized the Gas-Light Company of Baltimore to lay pipes on or under streets to carry gas throughout the city. It is the first city in the western hemisphere to do so.
150 years ago, on 17 June 1866, Emperor Franz Joseph II of Austria declared war on Prussia.
50 years ago, on 17 June 1966, more paratroopers were sent to Hue and martial law was imposed. A Buddhist woman burned herself to death in Saigon in protest against the US-backed government.
550 years ago, on 18 June 1466, Ottaviano de Petrucci was born in Fossombrone, Republic of Venice.
200 years ago, on 19 June 1816, the Battle of Seven Oaks took place (at present Winnipeg) between Métis of the North West Company and a party of Hudson Bay Company men. The Métis killed 21 HBC including Governor Robert Semple at the loss of only one man.
50 years ago, on 19 June 1966, Saigon government troops completed their takeover of Hue.
150 years ago, on 20 June 1866, under its treaty of alliance with Prussia, Italy declared war on Austria.
150 years ago, on 21 June 1866, Prussia declared war on Austria.
100 years ago, on 21 June 1916, after repeated warnings, Mexican federal troops fired on an American force at Carrizal, 130 km south of El Paso, killing twelve people and capturing 23.
50 years ago, on 21 June 1966, Australian opposition Labour Party leader Arthur Calwell was shot in the jaw by Peter Raymond Kocan, who was captured. Calwell had just finished a speech in Sydney criticizing the use of Australian troops in Vietnam when he was hit. He survived.
150 years ago, on 22 June 1866, Quintet for piano and strings op.34 by Johannes Brahms (33) was performed for the first time, in Leipzig.
100 years ago, on 22 June 1916, the Germans unleashed phosgene gas at Verdun. It penetrated gas masks and killed every breathing creature along the French lines.
50 years ago, on 22 June 1966, the last Buddhist stronghold in the northern part of South Vietnam, Quang Tri, was subdued by Saigon government troops.
150 years ago, on 23 June 1866, the Italian army crossed the Mincio into Austrian territory. Prussian forces invaded Bohemia in two places.
100 years ago, on 23 June 1916, British forces began a week of artillery bombardment along the Somme front. 1,700,000 shells fell on the Germans. The phosgene gas ceased and was replaced by artillery shelling at Verdun. Then 30,000 Germans went over the top on a five km front at Fleury. At the end of the day they took Fleury. Germans made further advances toward Verdun but French resistance stiffened.
150 years ago, on 24 June 1866, Austrian forces defeated the Italians at Custoza west of Verona. Although Austria lost more casualties, the Italians retreated. The Austrians did not pursue.
100 years ago, on 24 June 1916 , the French launcedh a massive counterattack at Fleury but the Germans held.
100 years ago, on 25 June 1916, Tsar Nikolay II signed a conscription order for his Central Asian subjects, hitherto exempt. The uprising which followed was brutally suppressed causing the deaths of perhaps 100,000 Kazakhs.
150 years ago, on 27 June 1866, Prussian troops attacked well-entrenched Hannoverians at Langensalza in Thuringia. The attack was repulsed and a Hannoverian counterattack sent the Prussians into retreat towards Gotha.
150 years ago, on 27 June 1866, Austrian forces attacked Prussians on the high ground at Vysokov near Skalice. In a confused and bloody encounter, they managed to achieve some objectives but were ultimately beaten back and defeated by the Prussians. At about the same time, Austrian units attacked Prussians near Trautenau (Trutnov). After initial Prussian successes in the morning, a larger Austrian force resumed the attack in the afternoon. They cleared the high ground of Prussians, who retreated and left the Austrians in possession of the field. But the Austrians were forced to withdraw for tactical reasons and left casualties at a rate four times that of the Prussians.
150 years ago, on 28 June 1866, the main Prussian army arrived at Langensalza and forced the Hannoverians to retreat to the east. Prussian forces defeated Austrians and Saxons at Münchengrätz (Mnichovo Hradiste), 60 km northeast of Prague, but the main Austrian army escaped. Meanwhile, Prussians defeated the Austrians at Burkersdorf and Rudersdorf (Rubinovice), south of Trautenau (Trutnov). In a furious engagement near the same ground as Vysokov yesterday, Prussians sent Austrians into retreat at Skalice, leaving thousands of casualties.
150 years ago, on 29 June 1866, King Georg V of Hannover surrendered his army to the Prussians at Nordhausen in northern Thuringia. Prussians attacked numerically superior Austrians and Saxons at Gitschen (Jicin), 75 km northeast of Prague. Despite some successes the defenders were forced to withdraw in disorder.
50 years ago, on 29 June 1966, United States air forces began to bomb the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. 80 percent of the known oil storage capacity of North Vietnam was destroyed. This had little effect on the North Vietnamese war effort.
350 years ago, on 30 June 1666, Adam Krieger died in Dresden, aged 32 years, five months and 23 days.
50 years ago, on 30 June 1966, in Washington, 28 women founded the National Organization for Women.
100 years ago, on 1 July 1916, a huge mine blew up the German positions near Beaumont-Hamel. Two minutes later the week-long bombardment of the Germans, consuming over 1,700,000 shells, stopped. There was a moment of silence. Then 60,000 British and some French soldiers went over the top across a 25 km front along the Somme River, 130 km north of Paris just east of Amiens. 40,000 more joined the attack later in the day. They captured Montauban, two km past the German line, but lost 60,000 casualties on the first day of battle, the greatest number of losses in any one day in the history of the British army. Germans lost 8,000 total casualties. British attacks at Gommecourt, Beaumont-Hamel, Thiepval, and La Boiselle were repulsed with extremely heavy casualties. The offensive lasted five months.
50 years ago, on 1 July 1966, the French military withdrawal from NATO went into effect.
50 years ago, on 1 July 1966, Medicare went into effect in the United States.
100 years ago, on 2 July 1916, a German counterattack at Montaubon failed. In the evening, the Germans evacuated the Flaucourt Plateau.
50 years ago, on 2 July 1966, France exploded an atomic bomb in the atmosphere, for the first time in the Pacific, at Mururoa Atoll, 1,200 km southwest of Tahiti.
200 years ago, on 3 July 1816, the French frigate La Méduse, carrying many passengers including the new governor of Senegal, many soldiers and colonists, was wrecked upon rocks off Cap Blanc. Important officers and their dependents were placed in lifeboats while about 150 enlisted men and settlers had to make do with an improvised and highly unseaworthy raft. When the raft was finally rescued after twelve days, only 15 were left alive. The incident caused a scandal in the French government and inspired a very important painting by Theodore Gericault.
150 years ago, on 3 July 1866, in the presence of King Wilhelm and Chancellor Bismarck, the Prussian army crossed the Bystrice in force at Sádová, near Königgrätz (Hradec Králové), 100 km east of Prague and engaged the main Austrian army. After about nine hours of battle, the Austrians took to their heels and fled towards Königgrätz, many unaccompanied by their weapons. Hundreds drowned attempting to cross the Elbe in panic. Thousands more died of exhaustion and exposure. In spite of the extremely favorable situation, the Prussians did not finish off the Austrian army. 33,000 people died in the battle. Upon hearing the news from Sádová, Bedrich Smetana (42) fled Prague, fearing persecution from the Prussians.
150 years ago, on 4 July 1866, fire destroyed one-third of the city of Portland, Maine. Two people were killed, 1,500 buildings were destroyed and 10,000 people were made homeless.
50 years ago, on 4 July 1966, at its national convention in Baltimore, the Congress of Racial Equality voted to adopt Stokely Carmichael’s concept of “Black Power.” Dr. Martin Luther King declined to address the convention, fearing that racial violence might be advocated.
150 years ago, on 5 July 1866, in hopes of gaining an ally against Prussia, Austria fulfilled its promise of 9 June and ceded Venetia to France. In Genoa, Giuseppe Verdi (52) learned that Venetia was given by Austria to France and not Italy. He was so upset that he stopped composing Don Carlos. “I am ill in a thousand ways.”
100 years ago, on 5 July 1916, the massacre of Armenian soldiers in the Turkish army began in Sivas and continued until 26 July. 7,000 people were killed at the rate of about 300 per day.
100 years ago, on 5 July 1916, due to the presence of polio in the city, children under 16 were banned from all theatres in New York.
200 years ago, on 7 July 1816, Richard Brinsley Sheridan died in London at the age of 64.
50 years ago, on 7 July 1966, the British House of Commons defeated a Conservative motion 331-230 to support the Vietnam policy of the US without reservation.
100 years ago, on 8 July 1916, conscription of non-Russians caused riots in Turkestan and Kazakhstan. Thousands were killed.
100 years ago, on 8 July 1916, the Russian offensive begun 4 July crossed the Stokhod River but was stopped 40 km east of Kovel (Ukraine).
50 years ago, on 8 July 1966, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that homosexuality was reason enough to deny entry into the United States.
200 years ago, on 9 July 1816, an assembly of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) in Tucumán declared independence from Spain.
150 years ago, on 10 July 1866, Prussian forces defeated Bavarians at Kissingen.
100 years ago, on 10 July 1916, leftist leader Rosa Luxemburg was arrested in Germany for sedition.
50 years ago, on 10 July 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King addressed 30,000-45,000 people in Soldier Field, Chicago laying out his demands to make Chicago an “open city.” He called for an end to racial discrimination in housing, employment, and education. He rejected black separatism and black supremacy.
100 years ago, on 11 July 1916, the Germans used phosgene gas once again at Verdun but the French were equipped with new gas masks. The ensuing German attack was cut to pieces.
150 years ago, on 12 July 1866, the entry of Prussian troops into Brünn (Brno) was witnessed by a choirboy named Leos Janácek (12).
50 years ago, on 12 July 1966, three nights of rioting began in a black district on the west side of Chicago. Two people were killed, hundreds injured or arrested. Police traded gunfire with thousands of rioters.
150 years ago, on 13 July 1866, the first constitution for Romania went into effect.
100 years ago, on 13 July 1916, the British temporarily pierced the German line at Bezantin Ridge on the Somme. They advanced about five-and-a-half km.
100 years ago, on 14 July 1916, Tristan Tzara declared the first “manifesto” of Dada, in Zürich and their first public show took place.
50 years ago, on 14 July 1966, President Ferdinand Marcos signed a bill authorizing the sending of 2,000 Philippine troops to Vietnam.
100 years ago, on 15 July 1916, Russian forces began a month-long advance against Austro-Hungarians east of Lemberg (Lviv). They took thousands of prisoners.
100 years ago, on 15 July 1916, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt founded Pacific Aero Products in Seattle. The next year, the name was changed to Boeing Airplane Company.
50 years ago, on 15 July 1966, National Guardsmen were sent on to the streets of Chicago and violence was greatly reduced.
50 years ago, on 15 July 1966, in a production of Igor Stravinsky’s (84) L’histoire du soldat at Lincoln Center, New York, conducted by Lukas Foss (43), Elliott Carter (57) played the soldier, John Cage (53) played the Devil, and Aaron Copland (65) was the narrator. Stravinsky, who is in the audience, told Cage: “You are the only sensible composer I know--You don’t write any notes.”
100 years ago, on 16 July 1916, more riots by Kazakhs took place in Zaysan and Karkaralinsk (Qarqaraly, Kazakhstan). Local Russian officials were killed. 2,000 Russian settlers were killed near Verny (Almaty, Kazakhstan).
100 years ago, on 16 July 1916, an art exhibition opened at the Salon d’Antin in Paris. It included the first public showing of Pablo Picasso’s 1907 work Les demoiselles d’Avignon.
50 years ago, on 17 July 196, Great Britain began the forced removal of natives of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
150 years ago, on 18 July 1866, a Prussian administration took over in the Free City of Frankfurt (Main).
50 years ago, on 18 July 1966, whites taunted and assaulted civil rights marchers in Jacksonville, Florida. A riot ensued. The riot was repeated for two nights.
50 years ago, on 18 July 1966, six days of rioting began in a black area on the east side of Cleveland, including gunfire, firebombs, and looting. Four people are killed, 50 injured, 164 arrested.
150 years ago, on 20 July 1866, in the first major engagement fought by ironclad ships, Austrian naval forces destroyed the Italian fleet off the island of Lissa (Vis, Croatia). The Italian frigate Re d’Italia was rammed and sunk with the loss of 350-450 men. The Palestro blew up. Only 19 of her 230 men were saved.
100 years ago, on 20 July 1916, British and French troops attacked between Pozières and Foucaucourt on the Somme front. They advanced 275 meters at heavy cost. German forces retook Delville Wood on the Somme from the South Africans. Only Australians at Pozières managed to make decisive gains. Author Robert Graves was severely wounded by artillery. Left for dead, he miraculously survived.
200 years ago, on 21 July 1816, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel dated the forward to the second volume of his Wissenschaft der Logik in Nuremberg.
50 years ago, on 21 July 1966, Gemini 10 splashed down in the Atlantic. During its three-day flight it achieved docking with an Agena rocket and then used that vehicle for propulsion. Astronaut Michael Collins performed a space walk and retrieved a meteorid detection box off of the Agena. It also traveled the furthest into space by a manned vehicle yet, 764 km from the Earth’s surface.
100 years ago, on 22 July 1916, a bomb exploded in the Preparation Day Parade in San Francisco. Ten people were killed and 40 injured. Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings, socialists and pacifists innocent of the crime, would be sentenced to life imprisonment.
50 years ago, on 22 July 1966, white mobs stoned a civil rights march in Chicago led by Martin Luther King. 54 people were injured.
100 years ago, on 23 July 1916, all Armenian clerics in the Hawran district were murdered by Turkish authorities. Armenian medical personnel in the Turkish army at Sivas were told to convert to Islam. Almost all refused. They were immediately killed.
200 years ago, on 24 July 1816, Prometheus D.451, a cantata for two solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Franz Schubert (19) to words of Dräxler von Carin, was performed for the first time, in the garden of the Erdberggasse house, Vienna. It was his first commission.
150 years ago, on 24 July 1866, Tennessee was restored to equal status in the United States.
250 years ago, on 25 July 1766, Ottawa leader Pontiac concluded a formal peace treaty with the British at Fort Ontario, thus officially ending Pontiac’s War begun in 1763.
200 years ago, on 25 July 1816, British forces evacuated Guadeloupe, returning it to French control.
250 years ago, on 26 July 1766, before a large gathering in Burslem, Staffordshire, Josiah Wedgwood turned the first earth in the building of the Grand Trunk Canal.
150 years ago, on 26 July 1866, an armistice between Austria and Prussia was agreed to at the country estate of Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Mensdorff at Nikolsburg, Moravia (Mikulov, Czech Republic). Italian forces captured Udine, 100 km northeast of Venice.
100 years ago, on 29 July 1916, a great fire covering about 2,000 sq km destroyed several towns and settlements in northeastern Ontario, killing about 273 people.
250 years ago, on 30 July 1766, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham replaced Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
150 years ago, on 30 July 1866, Italy accepted a cease-fire with Austria.
150 years ago, on 30 July 1866, Whites rioted against blacks in New Orleans. 38 people died, 200 were injured before federal troops intervened.
100 years ago, on 30 July 1916, a major explosion, probably created by German saboteurs, occured on Black Tom Island off Jersey City, New Jersey, followed by several smaller explosions over the next few hours. The island was a depot holding thousands of tons of explosives for shipment to the Allies. The explosion was so great that the Statue of Liberty sustained $100,000 damage from the shrapnel and Ellis Island was evacuated.
100 years ago, on 30 July 1916, Ernst Bloch (36) arrived in New York for the first time, as conductor for the dance tour of Maud Allan, eight days out of Liverpool.
50 years ago, on 30 July 1966, England defeated West Germany 4-2 in London to win the eighth FIFA World Cup™.
100 years ago, on 1 August 1916, the Interior Ministry of the Ottoman Empire abolished the legal rights of the Armenian community on the grounds that there was no longer any Armenian community.
50 years ago, on 1 August 1966, ex-Marine Charles Whitman began firing from a tower onto the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. He killed 16 people and injured 31 others before being killed by police. The bodies of his wife and mother were also found at their homes.
100 years ago, on 3 August 1916, Irish revolutionary Roger Casement was hanged by the British in London.
150 years ago, on 4 August 1866, Jews gained full legal equality in Venice.
100 years ago, on 4 August 1916, Italian artillery attacked the Austrians near Monfalcone to begin the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo.
100 years ago, on 4 August 1916, a treaty for the purchase of the Danish West Indies by the United States for $25,000,000 was signed in New York.
100 years ago, on 5 August 1916, French forces recaptured Thiaumont at Verdun. George Butterworth, 31-year-old English composer, was killed in action near Pozières on the Somme.
50 years ago, on 5 August 1966, about 4,000 whites rampaged during a march in southwest Chicago led by Martin Luther King to protest segregated housing. Many were injured, including King who was struck in the head by a brick. King narrowly avoided a knife thrown at him, which hit a white man in the neck. About 1,000 police were called out to battle the rioters.
150 years ago, on 6 August 1866, Vancouver Island was annexed to the Crown Colony of British Columbia.
100 years ago, on 6 August 1916, the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo began in earnest with Italian forces attacking Austro-Hungarians near Görz (Gorizia). In less than an hour they took Monte Sabotino and 8,000 prisoners. They also captured Monte San Michele and the village of San Martino.
50 years ago, on 6 August 1966, The Bassarids, an opera seria by Hans Werner Henze (40) to words of Auden and Kallman after Euripides, was performed for the first time, in Salzburg. Included was the first performance of Henze’s intermezzo The Judgement of Calliope to words of Auden and Kallman.
50 years ago, on 7 August 1966, racial violence erupted in Lansing, Michigan for two days. Eleven people were injured, 31 arrested.
50 years ago, on 7 August 1966, about 700 demonstrators against segregated housing marched through a white district of Chicago. They were protected from about 5,000 angry whites by 500 police. The whites threw various projectiles at the marchers.
100 years ago, on 8 August 1916 Italian forces captured Görz (Gorizia). German troops recaptured Thiaumont at Verdun. 15,000 Armenian deportees were sent from Aleppo (Halab) into the Syrian desert.
50 years ago, on 8 August 1966, police broke up black demonstrators in Grenada, Mississippi with tear gas, clubs and gunfire.
50 years ago, on 9 August 1966, white mobs attacked black demonstrators in Grenada, Mississippi with bricks, stones, bottles, steel pipes, and firecrackers. Police watched the riot, laughing.
50 years ago, on 9 August 1966, three days of race rioting erupted in Detroit. There were firebombs thrown, drive-by shootings, and arrests.
50 years ago, on 9 August 1966, the headquarters of the NAACP in Milwaukee was destroyed by a bomb. There were no injuries.
150 years ago, on 10 August 1866, in a treaty between Bolivia and Chile, Bolivian land between the Andes and the Pacific was ceded to Chile.
50 years ago, on 10 August 1966, Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes I) for violin, alto flute, clarinet, and piano by George Crumb (35) was performed for the first time, at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
150 years ago, on 11 August 1866, despite a personal appeal from Empress Carlotta of Mexico, Emperor Napoléon III announced that all French troops would be withdrawn from Mexico.
150 years ago, on 12 August 1866, a four-week armistice was agreed to by Austrian and Italian negotiators at Cormons, between Udine and Gorizia.
100 years ago, on 12 August 1916, advancing Italians broke the Austrian lines on the Carso Plateau and take Nad Logem and Opacchiasella.
50 years ago, on 12 August 1966, violent student demonstrations broke out in Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina. They opposed the closure of the universities and continued through the end of the month.
50 years ago, on 12 August 1966, about 500-700 people marched through white districts of Chicago demanding fair housing. They were met by thousands of whites hurling missiles and insults. The march was repeated 14 August.
150 years ago, on 13 August 1866, a peace agreement was signed between Prussia and Württemberg at Berlin, including a secret alliance against France.
200 years ago, on 14 August 1816, Great Britain annexed Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.
50 years ago, on 15 August 1966, the World Journal Tribune Inc. announced plans to cease publication of the New York Herald Tribune.
150 years ago, on 17 August 1866, a peace agreement was signed between Prussia and Baden at Berlin.
100 years ago, on 17 August 1916, a treaty was signed in Bucharest committing Romania to an alliance with the Allies. In return for the ceding of Transylvania and an Allied advance from Thessaloniki, they agreed to attack Austria-Hungary no later than 28 August.
50 years ago, on 18 August 1966, Red Guards appeared for the first time, at a mass rally of one million in Peking, received by Mao Tse-tung and Lin Piao (Lin Biao).
200 years ago, on 19 August 1816, the British authorities in Batavia (Djakarta) handed the Dutch East Indies back to the Netherlands.
150 years ago, on 22 August 1866, a peace agreement was signed between Prussia and Bavaria, including a secret alliance against France.
150 years ago, on 23 August 1866, by the Peace of Prague, the Seven Weeks War was over. Austria was forced out of Schleswig and Holstein and all German affairs. Prussia was given leave to annex Hannover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, and Frankfurt, unifying Prussian territory. Austria recognized the North German Confederation. The Austrian cession of Venetia to France was affirmed. It marked the end of the German Confederation and the effective end of Austrian dominance in Germany to be replaced by Prussia.
50 years ago, on 23 August 1966, Earth was photographed from the Moon for the first time when Lunar Orbiter I sent back 207 pictures.
50 years ago, on 24 August 1966, Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is premiered, in Edinburgh.
100 years ago, on 26 August 1916, Italy declared war on Germany. Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany during the day and launched an attack at night into Transylvania.
50 years ago, on 26 August 1966, three days of rioting by blacks began in Waukegan, Illinois. 14 people were killed, 80 arrested.
200 years ago, on 27 August 1816, ten Royal Navy and Dutch ships battle the shore defenses of Algiers for eight hours. They were seeking the release of over a thousand Christian slaves. One British ship was damaged but the shore batteries were silenced and over 5,000 Algerians were killed.
50 years ago, on 28 August 1966 , five days of looting by Red Guards in Peking turned deadly when those attacked turn on the Red Guards killing eight.
100 years ago, on 29 August 1916, after a collision with another vessel, the SS Hsin Yu sank off the coast of China taking about 1,000 people with her.
100 years ago, on 29 August 1916, pro-Allies Greeks staged a coup in Thessaloniki and forced out all officers loyal to King Konstantinos. They were aided by the French commander.
100 years ago, on 29 August 1916, by the Jones Act, the United States provided a constitution and internal autonomy for the Philippines.
100 years ago, on 30 August 1916, Germany declared war on Romania.
100 years ago, on 30 August 1916, Ernest Shackleton, aboard the Chilean steamer Yelcho, rescued his crew on Elephant Island.
100 years ago, on 31 August 1916, the Hindenburg Program was put into effect by Germany. It called for the virtual militarization of the German economy. Civilian government was essentially ended.
100 years ago, on 31 August 1916, Arturo Toscanini conducted a military band on the top of Monte Santo after it was captured by Italian troops. He would be awarded a medal for courage under fire.
100 years ago, on 31 August 1916, pro-Allies army officers called “National Defense” declare open rebellion in Greece.
50 years ago, on 31 August 1966, the Harrier Jump Jet (vertical take off and landing) made its first test flight, at Dunsfold, England.
100 years ago, on 1 September 1916, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire declared war on Romania. Combined German, Bulgarian, and Turkish forces attacked Romania.
50 years ago, on 1 September 1966, blacks rioted for two nights in Dayton, Ohio. The National Guard was called to restore order.
150 years ago, on 2 September 1866, Crete revolted against Turkey and proclaimed union with Greece.
100 years ago, on 2 September 1916, this night Zeppelins raided England dropping 500 bombs from Gravesend, east of London, to Peterborough. Four people were killed, twelve injured. One Zeppelin, Schutte-Lanz S.L. 11, was shot down over London by a British airplane.
50 years ago, on 2 September 1966, Governor George Wallace of Alabama signed into law a measure nullifying the desegregation guidelines of the US Office of Education.
150 years ago, on 3 September 1866, the Prussian Parliament, quite unconstitutionally, granted Chancellor Bismarck an indemnity to collect taxes. This marks the effective end of Prussian liberalism.
150 years ago, on 3 September 1866, the Grand Duchy of Hesse transferred Mainz, Worms and Hesse-Homburg to Prussia.
100 years ago, on 3 September 1916, a British and French attack met heavy resistance and heavy casualties on the Somme front. The British advanced at Guillemont and the French took Foret and much of Clery.
100 years ago, on 3 September 1916, German, Bulgarian, and Turkish forces attacked into the Dobrudja region of Romania.
100 years ago, on 3 September 1916, British forces captured Dar-es-Salaam in German East Africa.
50 years ago, on 4 September 1966, 250 civil rights demonstrators marched through the white Chicago suburb of Cicero calling for fair and open housing. They were protected by 2,000 National Guard and 500 police. 3,000 people gathered to heckle and throw rocks, bottles, bricks, produce, firecrackers, and epithets. 15 people were injured and 39 people arrested.
100 years ago, on 6 September 1916, Romanian troops took Hermannstadt (Sibiu), capital of Transylvania.
50 years ago, on 6 September 1966, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd was stabbed to death by Dimitrio Tsafendas while attending Parliament in Cape Town. He was replaced ad interim by Theophilus E. Dönges. The assassin, who was subdued by Parliament members and carried off by police, was a temporary employee of the Parliament.
50 years ago, on 6 September 1966, Private Dennis Mora was convicted of disobeying orders and sentenced to three years hard labor in a court martial in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He claimed that he should not be forced to fight in an illegal and immoral war in Vietnam.
50 years ago, on 6 September 1966, blacks rioted in Atlanta after police wounded a black suspect. 16 people were wounded, 73 arrested.
100 years ago, on 7 September 1916, 60,000 more Armenian deportees were reported killed by Turkish authorities in the area of Deir el-Zor.
50 years ago, on 8 September 1966, the first episode of Star Trek was broadcast in the US over the stations of the National Broadcasting Company.
100 years ago, on 9 September 1916, after two months of an offensive along the Somme, British forces took Ginchy, six km from their original line. Forces of the Central Powers took Silistria, Romania.
50 years ago, on 9 September 1966, Privates James Johnson and David Samas were convicted of disobeying orders and sentenced to five years hard labor in a court martial in Fort Dix, New Jersey. They claimed that they should not be forced to fight in an illegal and immoral war in Vietnam.
100 years ago, on 10 September 1916, French and Serbian forces broke out of Thessaloniki, advancing north.
150 years ago, on 12 September 1866, a theatrical monstrosity named The Black Crook opened at Niblo’s Garden, New York City. It is seen as the grandparent of the twentieth century Broadway musical.
100 years ago, on 12 September 1916, Allied forces began an offensive against Bulgarians in Macedonia. Serbian troops took the foothills of Mount Kajmakcalan but the French made no headway at Monastir (Bitola, Macedonia).
50 years ago, on 12 September 1966, 200-400 whites rioted against school integration for two days in Grenada, Mississippi. They attacked reporters and blacks with ax handles, chains, and pipes while police watch.
200 years ago, on 13 September 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker in Paris, French physician René Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec rolled up a piece of paper and put his ear at one end and a patient’s chest at another. He would shortly develop the instrument into the stethoscope.
150 years ago, on 13 September 1866, the Moscow Conservatory officially opened with celebrations. At the end of the dinner, faculty member Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (26) played a piano reduction of the overture to Ruslan and Lyudmilla of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (†9).
100 years ago, on 14 September 1916, Italians and Austro-Hungarians battled each other along the Isonzo River for the seventh time. The Italian assault gained San Grado di Merna.
150 years ago, on 15 September 1866, Bedrich Smetana (42) was elected conductor of the Provisional Theatre, Prague.
150 years ago, on 15 September 1866, Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov, would-be assassin of Tsar Alyeksandr II of 16 April, was hanged. During the investigation, the government uncovered no great conspiracy but they were astonished to find how many members of Karakozov’s class, the lesser nobility, desired the overthrow of the monarchy.
100 years ago, on 15 September 1916, the British army introduced the tank to human warfare as they attempted a “breakthrough” in the Somme between Bouleaux Wood and Mouquet Farm. Of the 49 tanks, only 18 managed to make it into No Man’s Land. They advanced a few kilometers and take Flers and Courcelette. Raymond Asquith, son of the British Prime Minister, was killed in action.
50 years ago, on 15 September 1966, over 1,000,000 Red Guards and soldiers were urged by Prime Minister Chou En-lai to halt the anti-bourgeois campaign and join peasants in the countryside harvesting crops.
100 years ago, on 16 September 1916, German troops attacked Russians on a line between Rasova and Tuzla. French forces broke through the Bulgarian lines and captured Boresnica. The Bulgarians retreated toward Florina.
50 years ago, on 16 September 1966, Antony and Cleopatra, an opera by Samuel Barber (56) to words of Zeferelli after Shakespeare, commissioned to open the new Metropolitan Opera House, was performed for the first time, in New York before a glittering audience including the first lady and various heads of state, diplomats, and other government leaders. It was a complete flop.
150 years ago, on 20 September 1866, pursuant to the Peace of Prague, Prussia annexed Hannover, Nassau, and Hesse-Kassel.
50 years ago, on 20 September 1966, the Chinese government forced all Soviet students to leave the country saying the entire education system was closing down so students may join the Red Guards.
100 years ago, on 22 September 1916, Ghalib Pasha, Turkish governor-general of Hejaz, surrendered the garrison of At Taif to Arabs under Abdullah ibn Hussein.
100 years ago, on 23 September 1916 Twelve Zeppelins bomb London creating major fires in the east end. The British manage to destroy two of the invading aircraft.
100 years ago, on 25 September 1916, aircraft from the Central Powers bombed Bucharest.
50 years ago, on 25 September 1966, Cello Concerto no.2 op.126 by Dmitri Shostakovich was performed for the first time, in Moscow Conservatory Bolshoy Hall, on the composer’s 60th birthday. As part of the celebrations surrounding his 60th birthday, Shostakovich was awarded a second Order of Lenin and the Gold Medal of the Hammer and Sickle as well as being created a Hero of Socialist Labor. Today, two pianos arrived at the composer’s home, an old piano from Minister of Culture Yekaterina Furtseva and a new Steinway grand from Benjamin Britten (52).
100 years ago, on 26 September 1916, German forces took Turturkai and 25,000 Romanian prisoners.
100 years ago, on 29 September 1916, German forces took Hermannstadt (Sibiu) sending the Romanians into headlong retreat.
50 years ago, on 29 September 1966, almost a week of ethnic rioting began in northern Nigeria. Hausas killed about 2,000 Ibos in the fighting.
100 years ago, on 30 September 1916, the Hell Gate railroad bridge over the East River in New York was opened to traffic. Designed by Gustav Lindenthal, at 297.9 meters, it was the longest steel arch in the world.
50 years ago, on 30 September 1966, the Republic of Botswana, under President Seretse Khama, is proclaimed independent of Great Britain.
50 years ago, on 1 October 1966, celebrations marking the 17th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China took place in Peking. 5,000 soldiers marched in review followed by two million Red Guards. Defense Minister Lin Piao (Lin Biao) told the crowd that the USSR was plotting with the US in Vietnam. Diplomats from the Soviet Union and its allies walked off the stand.
50 years ago, on 1 October 1966, Albert Speer and Baldur van Schirach were released from Spandau Prison after completing their 20-year sentences. Speer was the Nazi Minister for War Production and von Schirach led the Hitler Youth. This left Rudolf Hess as the only war criminal in Spandau.
150 years ago, on 3 October 1866, by the Treaty of Vienna, war between Austria and Italy was ended. Austria lost some territory and accepted the transfer of Venetia to Italy by France.
100 years ago, on 4 October 1916, the German charge d’affaires in Constantinople, Wilhelm Radowitz, reported to his government that 1,175,000 Armenians had been killed by the Turks. He further stated that 325,000 are still alive. A German submarine put one torpedo into the SS Gallia, a French ocean liner carrying 2,000 French and Serbian soldiers from Toulon to Greece. The ship went down between Sardinia and Tunisia in 15 minutes. Numbers of the dead are unknown. Estimates range as high as 1,800.
100 years ago, on 4 October 1916, a revised version of Ariadne auf Naxos, an opera by Richard Strauss (52) to words of Hoffmannsthal, was performed for the first time, at the Vienna Court Opera. This one was received cautiously at first, but would soon replace the original.
50 years ago, on 4 October 1966, the Kingdom of Lesotho, under King Moshoeshoe II and Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan, was declared independent of Great Britain.
150 years ago, on 8 October 1866, Prussia annexed the Free City of Frankfurt-am-Main.
50 years ago, on 8 October 1966, Requiem Canticles for alto, bass, chorus, and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky (84) to words of the Latin requiem, was performed for the first time, at Princeton University.
100 years ago, on 9 October 1916, Eleftherios Venizelos arrived in Thessaloniki to establish a pro-Allies provisional government and to raise an army.
250 years ago, on 10 October 1766, Heinrich Gottfried Koch opened the new Theater am Rannstädter Thore in Leipzig. It would become the center of German opera in the late 18th century.
100 years ago, on 10 October 1916, Tsar Nikolay II suspended the Mogilev offensive. It cost 1,412,000 Russian casualties. Italians and Austro-Hungarians battled each other along the Isonzo River for the eighth time. Italians attacked east of Gorizia and the Vertojbica River towards Nad Logem and Monte San Marco.
50 years ago, on 13 October 1966, Arthur Vincent Lourié (Artur Sergeyevich Lurye) died in Princeton, New Jersey, aged 75 years, four months, and 28 days.
100 years ago, on 14 October 1916, before a scheduled football game in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the visiting team of Washington and Lee University refused to play because Rutgers University had an African-American on its roster. Reluctantly, the Rutgers coach excluded Paul Robeson and the game proceeded.
50 years ago, on 14 October 1966, Kaze no Uma/Wind Horse for chorus and women’s chorus by Toru Takemitsu (36) to words of Akiyama, was performed completely for the first time, in Tokyo.
50 years ago, on 15 October 1966, Variations VII for many sound sources by John Cage (54) was performed for the first time, at the 69th Regiment Armory, New York.
150 years ago, on 16 October 1866, as part of a punitive expedition for the killing of three French priests and several thousand Korean Catholics, French troops landed on Gangwha Island, taking the fortress and the city of Gangwha.
100 years ago, on 16 October 191, Margaret Sanger, Fania Mendell, and Ethel Byrne opened America’s first birth control clinic, in Brooklyn. It closed ten days later and the women were imprisoned.
50 years ago, on 19 October 1966, Aventures et Nouvelles aventures, a theatre piece for chamber works by György Ligeti (43) to his own words, was performed for the first time, in the Württemberg State Theatre, Stuttgart.
150 years ago, on 20 October 1866, the French/imperial garrison in Oaxaca City surrendered to the Mexicans.
100 years ago, on 20 October 1916, German forces captured Tuzla.
150 years ago, on 21 October 1866, a peace agreement was signed between Prussia and Saxony.
150 years ago, on 21 October 1866, a plebiscite in Venetia voted for unification with Italy.
150 years ago, on 21 October 1866, the United States recognized the government of Benito Juárez as the sole legitimate government of Mexico.
100 years ago, on 21 October 1916, Chancellor Karl, Count Stürgkh of Austria-Hungary was shot to death in a Vienna hotel restaurant by Friedrich Adler, son of the founder of Austria’s Social Democratic Party.
50 years ago, on 21 October 1966, a coal mine waste heap collapsed, sending 40,000 cubic meters of sludge onto Aberfan, Wales. 144 people were killed, including 116 children.
100 years ago, on 23 October 1916, after French artillery hit an ammunition store in Ft. Douaumont, setting off a great explosion, German commanders ordered the evacuation of the fort.
100 years ago, on 24 October 1916, after five days of artillery bombardment, French troops went over the top at Verdun. They retook Fort Douaumont and overran German lines around Fleury. 6,000 Germans were captured. Capt. TE Lawrence met Feisal ibn Hussein in the hills of Al Hamra overlooking Yanbu al Bahr. Lawrence identified Feisal as the man to lead the Arab revolt.
100 years ago, on 26 October 1916, Germans counterattacked four times against French gains at Verdun, without success.
100 years ago, on 27 October 1916, another German counterattack at Verdun failed as the French moved 350 meters beyond Ft. Douaumont.
100 years ago, on 27 October 1916, in Variety, an article appeared describing “Jass” bands. This is perhaps the first printed use of the word to describe music.
50 years ago, on 27 October 1966, the United Nations General Assembly (114-2-3) ended the South African mandate over South West Africa (Namibia), placing the area under direct UN control. South Africa refused to withdraw and continued to exercise control.
150 years ago, on 31 October 1866, La vie parisiènne, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (47) to words of Meilhac and Halevy, was performed for the first time, at the Palais-Royal, Paris. It was a resounding triumph.
150 years ago, on 1 November 186, Sextet for Strings no.2 op.36 by Johannes Brahms (33) was performed for the first time, in Boston.
100 years ago, on 1 November 1916, Austro-Hungarians and Italians battled each other along the Isonzo River for the ninth time. After a week of on and off artillery bombardment, Italians attacked and broke through the Austrian lines.
100 years ago, on 2 November 1916, French forces retook Ft. de Veaux at Verdun after a six-day bombardment.
50 years ago, on 2 November 1966, Lux aeterna for 16 voices by György Ligeti (43) was performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
100 years ago, on 3 November 1916, Qatar became a protectorate of Great Britain.
50 years ago, on 3 November 1966, US and Saigon government forces encountered large numbers of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops in Tay Ninh Province north of Saigon. A major battle ensued. It was the largest battle of the war to date.
150 years ago, on 4 November 1866, by the Treaty of Vienna of 3 October and the plebiscite of 21 October, Venice and the Venetia became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
100 years ago, on 4 November 1916, in Mecca, Sherif Hussein was crowned King of the Arabs.
350 years ago, on 5 November 1666, Attilo Malachia Ariost was born in Bologna.
100 years ago, on 5 November 1916, the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary proclaimed the Kingdom of Poland as a hereditary, constitutional monarchy. It was a fraction of the size of 18th century Poland, consisting mostly of the formerly Russian parts. They proclaimed a joint protectorate over the new kingdom.
100 years ago, on 7 November 1916, voting in the United States ensured the reelection of President Woodrow Wilson over former Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Republicans gained several seats in the House of Representatives and ended up with one more seat than the Democrats but not a majority. Wilson’s Democrats lost two seats in the Senate but maintained a majority. Voters in Montana elected Jeannette Rankin as the first female member of the United States Congress.
50 years ago, on 8 November 1966, Congressional elections in the United States were a setback for the ruling Democratic Party. They lost three seats in the Senate and 48 in the House of Representatives, but retained control of both.
100 years ago, on 9 November 1916, the munitions ship Baron Driesen exploded in the port of Bakartisa, near Arkhangelsk, Russia, starting a fire on shore, which caused another massive explosion, probably another nearby ship. Munitions exploded through the day and the fire was not contained until noon on 10 November. Officials reported 650 killed and 839 wounded but it is likely that there were several thousand fatalities.
250 years ago, on 10 November 1766, Queen’s College was chartered in Brunswick, by Governor William Franklin of New Jersey. (The name was changed to Rutgers in 1825)
150 years ago, on 12 November 1866, Mexicans occupy Mazatlán, abandoned by the French.
100 years ago, on 13 November 1916, British forces captured Beaumont-Harmel and Beaucourt-sur-Ancre along the Somme. Frederick Septimus Kelly, a 35-year-old Australian pianist and composer, was killed in action there. Also killed in action was Hugh Hector Munro, who wrote short stories under the name Saki.
250 years ago, on 15 November 1766, Francesco Maria Veracini (76) appeared as a violin soloist for the last time, at the grand-ducal court in Florence.
200 years ago, on 15 November 1816, Henry “Orator” Hunt addressed a meeting of 10,000 people at Spa Fields in favor of a petition to the Prince Regent requesting parliamentary reform, universal male suffrage, annual general elections, and secret ballot. He would attempt to present the petition to the Prince Regent but would be denied twice.
50 years ago, on 15 November 1966, Gemini 12 splashed down in the Atlantic after completing its mission. It was the last flight of the Gemini program.
50 years ago, on 16 November 1966, Dr. Samuel Sheppard was acquitted in a Cleveland court for the 1954 murder of his wife. Sheppard was convicted of the killing in 1954 and served nine years in prison before winning a new trial.
150 years ago, on 17 November 1866, Mignon, an opéra comique by Ambroise Thomas (55) to words of Barbier and Carré after Goethe, was performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
200 years ago, on 18 November 1816, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: Canto the Third by George Gordon, Lord Byron was published.
100 years ago, on 18 November 1916, British forces moved 900 meters beyond Beaucourt and Beaumont Hamel. This action effectively ended the Somme offensive. After four-and-a-half months of fighting, the British pushed back the German line ten to eleven kilometers. The offensive cost 1,100,000 total casualties.
200 years ago, on 19 November 1816, the Royal University of Warsaw was founded.
100 years ago, on 19 November 1916, French and Serbian forces captured Monastir, Serbia (Bitola, Macedonia), but their offensive stalled, at a cost of 110,000 casualties.
100 years ago, on 19 November 1916, Trois Valses distinguées du précieux dégoûté for piano by Erik Satie (50) was performed for the first time, at the Société Lyre et Palette as part of an exhibition of paintings including works by Matisse and Picasso.
100 years ago, on 19 November 1916, Samuel Goldfish and Edgar Selwyn created Goldwyn Pictures in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
50 years ago, on 20 November 1966, Cabaret with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff opens in New York.
100 years ago, on 21 November 1916, Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria, Archduke of Austria, King Ferenc József I of Hungary, King Frantisek Joseph I of Bohemia, died at Schloss Schönbrunn, and was succeeded by his great-nephew as Emperor Karl I, Archduke Karl IV of Austria, King Károly IV of Hungary, King Karel III of Bohemia.
150 years ago, on 22 November 1866, Franz Liszt (55) moved into the Santa Francesca Romana in Rome, where he would live until 1871.
100 years ago, on 22 November 1916, Jack London died in Glen Ellen, California at the age of 40.
150 years ago, on 23 November 1866, the Waltzes op.39 for piano four hands by Johannes Brahms (33) were performed for the first time, in Oldenburg, by Clara Schumann (47) and Albert Dietrich.
100 years ago, on 23 November 1916, the provisional government of Greece at Thessaloniki, under Eleutherios Venizelos, declared war on Germany and Bulgaria.
250 years ago, on 29 November 1766, the Mozart family, including Leopold (47) and Wolfgang (10), returned to Salzburg after an absence of three years, five months and 20 days.
100 years ago, on 29 November 1916, the United States announced its official occupation of the Dominican Republic and the declaration of a US military government. US troops landed in May.
50 years ago, on 30 November 1966, Barbados, under Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Errol Barrow, was proclaimed independent of Great Britain in ceremonies in Bridgetown.
250 years ago, on 2 December 1766, the Freedom of the Press Act is signed into law by King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden. It was one of the first such laws in history. Freedom of the press is guaranteed except in cases of criticism of the crown or the established church.
200 years ago, on 2 December 1816, a second meeting was held at Spa Fields to protest the treatment afforded Henry “Orator” Hunt by the Prince Regent after the first meeting of 15 November. Before Hunt arrived a section of the crowd, led by a tricolor, marched on the Tower of London to liberate the weapons there, a la Bastille. They were easily thwarted by the authorities and the ringleaders were arrested and charged with treason. They would be acquitted.
100 years ago, on 3 December 1916, the Romanian counterattack begun 1 December was crushed. King Ferdinand of Romania and his government fled Bucharest and went to Iasi, capital of Moldavia.
200 years ago, on 4 December 1816, Otello, ossia Il moro di Venezia, a dramma by Gioachino Rossini (24) to words of Berio di Salsa after Shakespeare, was performed for the first time, in the Teatro del Fondo, Naples. The work was a success.
250 years ago, on 5 December 1766, James Christie held his first auction in his first permanent auction rooms, his Great Rooms in Pall Mall.
200 years ago, on 5 December 1816, The Prisoner of Chillon, and Other Poems by George Gordon, Lord Byron was published.
100 years ago, on 5 December 1916, Gustav Holst’s (42) chamber opera Savitri op.25, to words of the composer after the Mahabharata, was performed for the first time, in Wellington Hall, St. John’s Wood, London.
50 years ago, on 5 December 1966, the US Supreme Court ruled that the actions of the Georgia legislature in denying a seat to Julian Bond were unconstitutional. Bond was not seated because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam. At least, that was the official reason.
100 years ago, on 7 December 1916, German forces occupied Bucharest, abandoned by the Romanian army.
200 years ago, on 8 December 1816, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily formally united as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies under King Ferdinando I (formerly King Ferdinando IV of Naples).
100 years ago, on 10 December 1916, David Lloyd George replaced Herbert Henry Asquith as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
100 years ago, on 10 December 1916, three works by Sergey Prokofiev (25) were performed for the first time, in Petrograd: Five Poems for voice and piano op.23 to words of Balmont, Sarcasms for piano op.17 and Toccata op.11 for piano.
100 years ago, on 10 December 1916, the Sonata for flute, viola, and harp by Claude Debussy (54) was performed for the first time, privately, at the Paris home of Jacques Durand.
200 years ago, on 11 December 1816, Indiana became the 19th state of the United States.
100 years ago, on 12 December 1916, Germany called for peace negotiations. The Allies call the German offer empty and insincere. In response to President Wilson’s call for a League of Nations, the Allies demanded restorations, reparations, and indemnities.
100 years ago, on 12 December 1916, the nine Etudes-Tableaux op.39 for piano by Sergey Rakhmaninov (43) were performed for the first time, in Petrograd, by the composer.
100 years ago, on 13 December 1916, a week of avalanches began today in the Italian Alps. They killed between 9,000-10,000 Austrian and Italian soldiers.
100 years ago, on 14 December 1916, Etudes by Claude Debussy (53) were performed for the first time, by the Société National de Musique, Paris.
100 years ago, on 15 December 1916, by this date, French forces had retaken most of the German gains at Verdun. The final French attack took Louvemont and Bezonvaux, extending the line five km beyond Ft. Douaumont. The ten months of fighting at Verdun caused 714,000 casualties and used 37,000,000 shells.
50 years ago, on 15 December 1966, French astronomer Audouin Dollfus discovered Janus, the tenth moon of Saturn to be observed from Earth.
100 years ago, on 16 December 1916, the United Kingdom recognized the Sherif of Mecca as King of Hejaz, independent of the Ottoman Empire.
50 years ago, on 17 December 1966, the first transplant of a pancreas to a human patient took place at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
50 years ago, on 18 December 1966, Richard L. Walker discovers Epimetheus, the eleventh moon of Saturn to be observed from Earth. Since Janus and Epimetheus have the same orbit, it was assumed that these two were the same moon. Only in 1978 would the credit for separate discoveries be granted to Dollfus and Walker.
250 years ago, on 21 December 1766, Joseph Priestley conducted an experiment suggested by Benjamin Franklin wherein electricity is measured inside an electrified metal cup. He infers that the attraction of electricity is subject to the same laws as that of gravity.
200 years ago, on 21 December 1816, men from opposite ends of the slavery issue met in the Davis Hotel in Washington to form the American Colonization Society to transport free blacks to Africa. Among them were Secretary of State James Monroe, Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington, General Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, and Congressman Daniel Webster.
150 years ago, on 21 December 1866, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and Sioux battle United States troops in Sheridan County, Wyoming. 200 Indians are killed or wounded. 81 soldiers are killed.
100 years ago, on 21 December 1916, British forces took El Arish, 150 km southwest of Jerusalem, without opposition.
100 years ago, on 21 December 1916, when US Secretary of State Robert Lansing announced that the country was being drawn into the war, the volume of trade on the New York Stock Exchange reached a 15-year high.
150 years ago, on 24 December 1866, pursuant to the Peace of Prague, Schleswig and Holstein are incorporated into Prussia.
200 years ago, on 25 December 1816, Carl Maria von Weber (30) was informed by letter in Berlin that he had been appointed Kapellmeister to the King of Saxony in Dresden. He was appointed in an attempt to equate German opera with the Italian opera dominant in the city.
100 years ago, on 27 December 1916, Great Britain and France divided the German Togoland Colony between them.
50 years ago, on 27 December 1966, Ahmed Shukairy, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, announced the formation of a council to overthrow King Hussein of Jordan, and the State of Israel.
100 years ago, on 28 December 1916, Eduard Strauss died in Vienna at the age of 81.
100 years ago, on 29 December 1916, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce was published in New York. The work was already serialized by Ezra Pound in The Egoist.
100 years ago, on 30 December 1916, Grand Duke Purishkevich and Prince Felix Yusupov poisoned the mysterious confidant of the Tsarina, Father Grigori Yefimovich Novykh (Rasputin) at Yusupov’s home in Petrograd. After this attempt at murder failed, the pair shot Rasputin and dropped his body through the ice of the River Neva, where it was recovered 2 January. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as drowning.
50 years ago, on 31 December 1966, the European Free Trade Association abolished all tariffs between its five members (Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom)
Last Updated (Thursday, 10 March 2016 06:31)