323 BC – Death of Alexander the Great
The undefeated King of Macedon died at age 32 in Babylon, just before a planned campaign against Arabia. His conquests spread Greek civilization from Greece to India.
70 AD – Roman legions breach the walls of Jerusalem
Titus and his legions broke through the middle wall of Jerusalem, beginning the systematic destruction of the city and scattering the Jewish population across the empire.
632 – Death of Muhammad
The Arab prophet and founder of Islam died in Medina at around age 62. His death triggered a succession crisis that would split Islam into Sunni and Shia branches.
1190 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowns
Enroute to the Third Crusade, the red-bearded emperor drowned crossing the Saleph River, nearly collapsing his Germanic army. The remnants joined the French and English forces at Acre.
1661 – Isaac Newton begins studies at Trinity College, Cambridge
The 18-year-old who would later formulate the laws of motion, develop calculus, and describe universal gravitation quietly enrolled at Cambridge.
1664 – New Amsterdam renamed New York
After the English seized the Dutch colony at the mouth of the Hudson River, they renamed it for the Duke of York (the future King James II), setting it on its path to becoming the most important port in the Western Hemisphere.
1692 – Earthquake destroys Port Royal, Jamaica
A three-minute earthquake killed 1,600 people and sank vast sections of the pirate-run city beneath the sea. Many at the time saw it as divine punishment for the city’s legendary debauchery.
1755 – Birth of Nathan Hale
The Connecticut schoolteacher and spy was hanged by the British at age 21. His reported last words — ‘I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country’ — became one of the Revolution’s most enduring legacies.
1756 – Birth of John Trumbull
The American painter served as an aide-de-camp to Washington before turning to art, creating iconic images of the Revolution including his depiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
1776 – Lee proposes independence; Committee of Five formed
Richard Henry Lee formally proposed independence before Congress, which then appointed Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston to draft a declaration.
1789 – Madison submits proposed Bill of Rights
James Madison submitted twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. Ten were ratified by 1791 as the Bill of Rights; one more finally became the 27th Amendment in 1992.
1793 – Jacobins seize France’s Committee of Public Safety
Robespierre’s faction converted the committee into a revolutionary dictatorship, launching the Reign of Terror that would execute some 17,000 people by guillotine.
1794 – Six captains appointed to found the U.S. Navy
Congress authorized six frigates and appointed their superintending captains: John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun.
1809 – Death of Thomas Paine
The pamphleteer whose 1776 ‘Common Sense’ helped ignite the Revolution died largely forgotten. He had also been elected to the French Revolutionary Assembly despite speaking no French.
1854 – First graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy
The Academy, established in 1845 at Annapolis, produced its first graduating class — the beginning of a tradition that has yielded generations of naval officers.
1891 – Birth of Cole Porter
The Indiana-born composer became one of Broadway and Hollywood’s most sophisticated songwriters, known for urbane wit and complex rhymes. Classics include ‘Night and Day,’ ‘Anything Goes,’ and ‘Begin the Beguine.’
1900 – Birth of Fred Waring
The conductor led The Pennsylvanians for decades and hosted a television program from 1948–54. He also invented the modern electric blender and fiercely defended his patent for the rest of his life.
1915 – Birth of Les Paul
The musician pioneered the solid-body electric guitar that bears his name — vintage examples now sell for $50,000+. His innovations in multi-track recording equally transformed the modern music industry.
1918 – Battle of Belleau Wood begins; birth of Robert Preston
The first major U.S. offensive of WWI opened with 10,000 American casualties over three weeks; German soldiers dubbed the Marines ‘Teufelshund’ — Devil Dogs. Also this year: birth of actor Robert Preston, immortalized as Harold Hill in The Music Man.
1922 – Birth of John Gillespie Magee Jr.
Born to missionaries in Shanghai and trained with the RCAF, Magee wrote the immortal sonnet ‘High Flight’ after pushing his Spitfire to 33,000 feet. He died in a mid-air collision over Lincolnshire at age 19.
1924 – George Mallory disappears on Everest
The great British mountaineer and Andrew Irvine vanished during their summit attempt. Whether they reached the top 29 years before Hillary and Tenzing remains one of mountaineering’s enduring mysteries.
1937 – Death of Jean Harlow
The original platinum blonde and MGM sensation collapsed on the set of ‘Saratoga’ and died of renal failure at just 26, at the peak of her fame.
1940 – Italy enters the war; Rommel reaches the Channel; Norway surrenders
A single catastrophic day: Mussolini declared war on France and Britain; Rommel’s panzers reached the English Channel; Norway surrendered to Germany; and Canada declared war on Italy.
1942 – Japan occupies Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians
While suffering catastrophic losses at Midway, Japan’s concurrent Aleutian operation succeeded. The U.S. would not reclaim the islands until a bitter three-week campaign in 1943.
1944 – Major League Baseball cancels all games for D-Day
Every major league game was canceled on June 6, 1944 — a rare acknowledgment by American sports of the magnitude of the sacrifice being made at Normandy.
Marshall Plan announced at Harvard
1947- Secretary of State George Marshall laid out the European Recovery Program in a Harvard address. Over 1947–52, the U.S. invested $13 billion to rebuild Western Europe. The Soviets rejected the offer and forced their satellites to do likewise.
1949 – Publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Orwell’s final novel introduced ‘Big Brother,’ the ‘Thought Police,’ ‘doublethink,’ and ‘Newspeak’ to the English language — a warning about totalitarianism that remains one of the most widely read novels of the 20th century.
1955 – Le Mans disaster kills 77 spectators
A Mercedes-Benz launched into the grandstand at 150 mph, igniting magnesium bodywork into an unquenchable fireball. Mercedes withdrew from racing; Switzerland banned motor racing — a ban still in force today.
1964 – Civil Rights Act filibuster ends after 57 days
Sen. Robert Byrd sat down after a 14-hour speech, ending the longest filibuster in Senate history. The Senate voted 71-29 for the Civil Rights Act — the first successful cloture vote on a civil rights bill since Reconstruction.
1966 – XB-70 Valkyrie destroyed in mid-air collision
One of only two prototype Mach 3 bombers was destroyed during a photo op when an F-104 chase aircraft collided with it. Both crews were killed and the program was cancelled. The surviving aircraft is at the USAF Museum.
1967 – Six-Day War; USS Liberty attacked; Dorothy Parker dies
Israel’s preemptive strike destroyed 400+ Arab aircraft and tripled its territory in six days. During the war, the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli forces, killing 34 crew. Also this year: death of Dorothy Parker, the acerbic wit of the Algonquin Round Table.
1968 – Robert Kennedy assassinated
The senator was shot by Sirhan Sirhan moments after claiming victory in the California Democratic primary — a killing that changed the course of the 1968 election and American history.
1973 – Secretariat wins the Triple Crown at Belmont
The great Virginia-bred chestnut won by 31 lengths in a track record that still stands. Many consider him the greatest racehorse in American history.
1975 – Egypt reopens the Suez Canal; Sony introduces Betamax
Anwar Sadat reopened the canal after eight years of closure following the Six-Day War. Also in 1975, Sony launched Betamax — technically superior to VHS, but ultimately a casualty of the format war.
1981 – Israel destroys Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor
Ten Israeli F-16s destroyed the nearly-completed French-built reactor outside Baghdad in a 90-second strike, setting back Iraq’s nuclear program by years and establishing the Begin Doctrine of preemptive strikes against WMD programs.
1985 – Remains of Josef Mengele confirmed in Brazil
The ‘Angel of Death’ had died in 1979 while swimming in Brazil after 30 years of living freely in South America, aided by Nazi escape networks, having never faced justice for his crimes at Auschwitz.
2004 – Death of Ronald Reagan
The 40th President died at 93 after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s. His presidency oversaw a massive military buildup and sustained pressure on the Soviet Union that many credit with hastening the Cold War’s end.
About the Author
Funk him too.
Hear, Hear! Let the loser Libs suck on that! If you oppose our president it just proves your a commie!!!!
Per the White House website, President Trump advocates for the use of AI. If it is good enough for Donald…
You would do well to mind your own business.
You fellas are Savages, you must be related to Rowland Savage, who had a plantation in Machipongo. In mid 1600s…