In 1345, scholars at the University of Paris believed that the conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn caused the Black Death. In reality, the plague was spread by the Yersinia pestis bacterium through fleas, rats and other animals.
In 1648, King Charles I of England attempted to escape from imprisonment by climbing out of a window at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight – but he was trapped and failed in his attempt.
The Great Fire of Boston in 1760 devastated the city, destroying 349 buildings and having a lasting impact on urban development and fire safety measures.
In 1774, the British Parliament passed the first of the Intolerable Acts, the Boston Port Act, which closed the Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the damages caused by the Boston Tea Party.
In 1819, London’s Burlington Arcade opened, becoming the world’s first shopping arcade and setting a precedent for covered shopping galleries around the world.
In 1854, anti-slavery Whigs who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act founded the Republican Party. Later, prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, and Benjamin Harrison joined its ranks.
In 1865, the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina entered its second day as Union forces continued their last major offensive against Confederate troops in the Civil War.
In 1897, France signed a treaty with Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia that determined the border between French-occupied Djibouti and Ethiopia.
In 1906, George Bernard Shaw’s play Captain Brassbound’s Conversion premiered in London, demonstrating his characteristic wit and social criticism.
In 1917, after three more American merchant ships were sunk, President Woodrow Wilson held a meeting with his cabinet, which unanimously agreed that war with Germany was inevitable.
In 1930, American engineer Clessie Cummins set a diesel engine speed record of 80.4 mph (129.39 km/h), demonstrating the potential of diesel-powered vehicles.
In 1934, renowned athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias pitched a hitless inning for the Philadelphia A’s in a pre-season exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, demonstrating her remarkable versatility in the game.
In 1937, Franco’s Republican forces launched a counter-attack against the Italian International Brigades fighting for the Nationalists in the Battle of Guadalajara, and eventually won a decisive victory.
In 1941, the “Planning and Construction in the East” exhibition opened in Berlin, showcasing Generalplan Ost, Nazi Germany’s vision for rural settlements following the planned deportation of millions of Slavs.
In 1942, after fleeing the Japanese-occupied Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur famously vowed, “I came and I will return,” promising to reclaim the islands.
