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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in May 2022

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in May 2022

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in May 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

1 May 1952 – 70 years ago
The children’s toy Mr Potato Head went on sale. It was manufactured and distributed by Hasbro. The previous day, 30th April 1952, it also became the first toy advertised on U.S. television.

2 May 1982 – 40 years ago
Falklands War: the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. More than 300 Argentine sailors were killed.

3 May 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: Japanese American internment. The USA ordered all people of Japanese ancestry living in ‘Military Area No. 1’ (near San Francisco, California) to go to assembly centres and await transportation to permanent relocation centres.

4 May 1932 – 90 years ago
American mobster Al Capone began serving a ten-year prison sentence for tax evasion. He was released in November 1939 because of his declining health due to syphilis.

5 May 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: food rationing began in the USA. The first food item to be rationed was sugar, which was restricted to half of normal consumption.

6 May 1997 – 25 years ago
Four healthcare companies in the USA agreed to pay more than $600 million (£385 million) to the families of over 6,000 people who were infected with AIDS after receiving tainted blood products between 1978 and 1985.

7 May 1847 – 175 years ago
The American Medical Association was founded.

8 May 1847 – 175 years ago
Scottish inventor Robert William Thompson was granted a U.S. patent for the first pneumatic rubber tyre. (He also invented the fountain pen.)

9 May 1962 – 60 years ago
The Beatles signed their first record contract with Parlophone.

10 May 1872 – 50 years ago
Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to be nominated for President of the United States.

11 May 1997 – 25 years ago
The IBM computer ‘Deep Blue’ defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match in New York City, USA. (Kasparov: 1 win, Deep Blue: 2 wins, drawn games: 3.)

12 May 1972 – 50 years ago
The Rolling Stones’ album Exile on Main St. was released.

13 May 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Bea Arthur, American stage, film and TV actress and comedian. Best known for her roles as Maude Findlay in the TV sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls. (Died 2009.)

14 May 1897 – 125 years ago
The official National March of the United States, The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Phillip Sousa, was performed for the first time, at the unveiling of a statue of George Washington near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

15 May 1942 – 80 years ago
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was established in the USA.

16 May 1997 – 25 years ago
The President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, was overthrown and he fled the country. He was succeeded by rebel leader Laurent Kabila. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and banned all political activities and public demonstrations in the capital, Kinshasa.

17 May 1932 – 90 years ago
The U.S. Congress changed the name of Porto Rico back to its original name of Puerto Rico. It had changed the name to Porto Rico in 1899.

18 May 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Bertrand Russell, Welsh philosopher, mathematician, historian and writer. Winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.

19 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The Young Pioneer organisation was founded in the Soviet Union. It was a communist version of the Scouting movement.

20 May 2002 – 20 years ago
East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia, and became the first independent nation of the 21st century.

21 May 1932 – 90 years ago
American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

22 May 1947 – 75 years ago
Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed what is now known as the Truman Doctrine. It granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to help fight the spread of communism.

23 May 1992 – 30 years ago
The USA, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Lisbon Protocol, agreeing to implement the START arms reduction treaty that had been agreed by the Soviet Union prior to its collapse.

24 May 1922 – 100 years ago
Ecuador gained its independence from Spain.

25 May 2007 – 15 years ago
Google Street View was launched in the USA. It provides panoramic views along streets, and now covers many parts of the world.

26 May 1897 – 125 years ago
Bram Stoker’s horror novel Dracula was published.

27 May 1932 (or 12 May) – 90 years ago
The Disney character Goofy made his debut appearance (as Dippy Dawg) in the Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey’s Revue.

28 May 1972 – 50 years ago
Death of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. Formerly Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (1936 – abdicated).

29 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that organised baseball was a sport not a business. It was therefore not subject to antitrust laws.

30 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA was dedicated.

31 May 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of W. Heath Robinson, British cartoonist and illustrator. Known for his humorous, implausible and unnecessarily complex machines that achieved simple objectives.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in April 2022

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in April 2022

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in April 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

1 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
Death of King George II of Greece. Succeeded by his brother Paul.

2 Apr 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist and psychoanalyst. Best known for developing the Rorschach inkblot test which was widely used as a means of diagnosing mental disorders.

3 Apr 1922 – 100 years ago
Joseph Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union, succeeding Vladimir Lenin.

4 Apr 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: white bread was no longer available in Britain. It was replaced by the ‘national loaf’ made from wheatmeal.

5 Apr 1722 – 300 years ago
Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to visit Easter Island.

6 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
The first Tony Awards (for excellence in Broadway theatre) were presented at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, New York City, USA.

7 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
Death of Henry Ford, American industrialist, car manufacturer and inventor. Founder of the Ford Motor Company. He revolutionised factory production by introducing assembly lines, and brought motorised transport to the masses.

8 Apr 1942 to Nov 1945 – 80 years ago
World War II – the Hump. Allied pilots carried out a daily airlift of supplies into China from India after Axis forces blocked supply routes including the Burma Road. They resupplied the Chinese war effort as well as U.S. Army Air Force units stationed in China. They were forced to fly a challenging route over the eastern end of the Himalayas – which they nicknamed ‘the Hump’. 594 aircraft were lost or irreparably damaged during the mission, and 1,659 personnel were killed.

9 Apr 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Bataan Death March. The Japanese forced 75,000 captured Filipino and American troops to march for six days without food or water to a prisoner-of-war camp. Thousands died.

10 Apr 1872 – 150 years ago
The first Arbor Day in the USA was celebrated in Nebraska, when J. Sterling Morton organised the planting of one million trees.

11 Apr 1972 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the radio comedy panel game show I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue was broadcast of BBC Radio 4 in the UK. It is still running.

12 Apr 1992 – 30 years ago
Disneyland Paris (originally known as Euro Disney) opened in France.

13 Apr 1997 – 25 years ago
American golfer Tiger Woods, aged 21, became the youngest player to win the U.S. Masters championship, and the first African-American to win. He also set a new tournament record.

14 Apr 1922 – 100 years ago
The Teapot Dome Scandal was revealed in the Wall Street Journal. U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, had secretly granted oil companies the right to drill for oil on federal land in exchange for bribes. It was the biggest political scandal of the era. Investigations revealed an unprecedented level of corruption in the federal government.

15 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ending the racial segregation that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues.

16 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
The term ‘Cold War’ was used for the first time when American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch described the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union.

17 Apr 1982 – 40 years ago
Queen Elizabeth II signed the Canada Act into law, severing Canada’s last ties with Britain and making it wholly independent.

18 Apr 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the USA bombed mainland Japan for the first time, hitting Tokyo, Yokohama, and other cities. This was a huge boost to the Allies’ morale.

19 Apr 1897 – 125 years ago
The first Boston marathon was held in Massachusetts, USA. It is the world’s oldest annual marathon.

20 Apr 1992 – 30 years ago
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was held at Wembley Stadium in London. It was a tribute to the Queen singer who died in November 1991, with all proceeds going to AIDS research.

21 Apr 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist. Best known for The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. (Died 1987.)

22 Apr 1972 – 50 years ago
British rowers John Fairfax and Sylvia Cook became the first people to row across the Pacific Ocean. They took 361 days.

23 Apr 1992 – 30 years ago
The world’s largest McDonald’s fast-food restaurant opened in Beijing, China.

24 Apr 1962 – 60 years ago
The first transcontinental relay of a television signal by satellite. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used the Echo I satellite to send a TV signal between California and Massachusetts.

25 Apr 1982 – 40 years ago
Israel withdrew its troops from the Sinai Peninsula, as agreed under the Camp David Accords of 1978

26 Apr 1942 – 80 years ago
The worst mining disaster in history. An explosion at the Honkeiko (also known as Benxihu) colliery in Benxi, China killed 1,549 miners.

27 Apr 1822 – 200 years ago
Birth of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (1869–77).

28 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates left Peru on the primitive raft Kon-Tiki in an attempt to prove that Polynesians may have originated in South America and crossed the Pacific. They successfully reached Polynesia in August.

29 Apr 1952 – 70 years ago
IBM announced the IBM 701 (also known as the Defence Calculator), its first commercial scientific computer. Chairman Thomas J. Watson Jr. said they had expected to receive 5 orders but had managed to secure 18. This led to a famous misquote in which he was reported to have said, ‘I think there is a world market for maybe five computers’. 19 were eventually built and installed.

30 Apr 1947 – 75 years ago
Boulder Dam, on the Colorado River in the USA, was renamed Hoover Dam.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in March 2022

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in March 2022

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in March 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

1 Mar 1872 – 150 years ago
Yellowstone National Park was established as the first national park in the USA, and probably also the first in the world.

2 Mar 1972 – 50 years ago
NASA launched the Pioneer 10 space probe to explore the outer solar system. It famously carries a gold plaque that describes what humans look like and where we are. It was the first space probe to fly through the Asteroid Belt and the first to fly past Jupiter.
(The last communication from the probe was received on 23rd January 2003, after which its power supply became too weak to power its transmitter.)

3 Mar 1847 – 175 years ago
Birth of Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born American engineer and scientist. Credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Co-founder of AT&T. President of the National Geographic Society (1898–1903).

4 Mar 1897 – 125 years ago
William McKinley was inaugurated as the 25th President of the United States.

5 Mar 1982 – 40 years ago
Death of John Belushi, American comedy actor and musician. Best known for his appearances on the U.S. TV series Saturday Night Live, and for the films National Lampoon’s Animal House and The Blues Brothers. (Drug overdose, aged 33.)

6 Mar 1957 – 65 years ago
The Gold Coast declared its independence from the UK and changed its name to Ghana.
It was the first African nation to declare independence from European colonisation.

7 Mar 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Piet Mondrian, Dutch abstract artist. Regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Best known for his paintings of simple geometric shapes in red, yellow, blue, black and white.

8 Mar 1962 – 60 years ago
The Beatles gave their first performance on BBC radio in the UK, on the show Teenagers’ Turn: Here We Go. (Recorded 7th March, broadcast 8th.)

9 – 17 Mar 1522 – 500 years ago
Martin Luther preached his Invocavit Sermons. He urged citizens to adhere to the core Christian values and trust in God, rather than using violence to bring about change.

10 Mar 1922 – 100 years ago
Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and charged with sedition for his campaign of non-cooperation against the British Indian government. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released after two years as he required surgery for appendicitis.

11 Mar 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: American General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied forces in the south-west Pacific, left the Philippines and fled to Australia, as instructed by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. He arrived in Australia on 17th March. On 20th March he made his famous speech in which he vowed: ‘I came out of Bataan and I shall return.’ (He did return.)

12 Mar 1947 – 75 years ago
U.S. President Harry S. Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine. It granted economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey, which were threatened by the spread of communism.

13 Mar 1997 – 25 years ago
The Net Book Agreement was abolished in Britain after being ruled anti-competitive by the Restrictive Practices Court. It allowed publishers to fix the price of books, preventing them from being sold at a discount.

14 Mar 1942 – 80 years ago
The first successful use of penicillin to treat a patient. Anne Miller, who was dying of streptococcal septicaemia, was given an injection of penicillin by doctors Orvan Hess and John Bumstead at Yale–New Haven Hospital, Connecticut, USA. She made a full recovery.

15 – 16 Mar 1952 – 70 years ago
The current world record for the most rainfall in 24 hours was set: 73.62 inches (1,869.9 mm) at Cilaos, Réunion Island, Indian Ocean.

16 Mar 1872 – 150 years ago
The first FA Cup Final was held at The Oval in Kennington, London. Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1–0.

17 Mar 1897 – 125 years ago
British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons beat American Jim Corbett in Carson City, Nevada, USA, to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was filmed in its entirety, and was the longest film to date, running for about 100 minutes. It was released on 22nd May as the world’s first feature film: The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight. Only fragments of it survive.

18 Mar 2002 – 20 years ago
Burger King became the first fast-food chain to sell veggie burgers on a nationwide basis in the USA.

19 Mar 1822 – 200 years ago
The city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA was incorporated.

20 Mar 1942 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: Auschwitz–Birkenau concentration camp opened in Poland and began receiving prisoners.
Eichmann transports of Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe began on 26th March. 75% of prisoners were exterminated in gas chambers on arrival.

21 Mar 1952 – 70 years ago
The Moondog Coronation Ball was held in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It is generally regarded as the world’s first rock and roll concert.

22 Mar 1997 – 25 years ago
Comet Hale–Bopp made its closest approach to Earth. It reached perihelion on 1st April. It was a spectacular object and could be seen clearly with the naked eye even before the sky was dark.

23 Mar 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Michael Joseph Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1935–40). He is best known for creating New Zealand’s welfare state. (Died in office.)

24 Mar 1997 – 25 years ago
The Australian Senate overturned the world’s first voluntary euthanasia law, passed by the Northern Territory. Four people had voluntarily ended their lives while the law was in force.

25 Mar 1972 – 50 years ago
The pop song Long Haired Lover From Liverpool by Little Jimmy Osmond was released.
He was 9 years old and remains the youngest performer to have a #1 hit in the UK.

26 Mar 1997 – 25 years ago
Police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult who had committed suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA. Cult members apparently believed their souls would reach an alien spacecraft that was following Comet Hale–Bopp, and they would then be transported to a higher level of existence.

27 Mar 1952 – 70 years ago
Sun Records was founded by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

28 Mar 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II – Operation Chariot. The British Royal Navy and Army Commandos blew up the dry docks in the Occupied French port of Saint-Nazaire, forcing large German warships in the Atlantic to return to Germany for repairs.

29 Mar 1992 – 30 years ago
U.S. presidential candidate Bill Clinton admitted experimenting with marijuana while he was a student at Oxford University. He said he tried it a time or two, didn’t like it, didn’t inhale, and didn’t try it again. He was elected president in November.

30 Mar 1822 – 200 years ago
The Territory of Florida became an incorporated territory of the United States. It became a U.S. state in 1845.

31 Mar 1997 – 25 years ago
American geneticists led by Dr. Huntington Willard from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, announced the creation of the first artificial human chromosome.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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29 newsworthy historical anniversaries in February 2022

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 29 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in February 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead, and the 2024 edition will be available within the next month.

1 Feb 1982 – 40 years ago
Intel released its 80286 16-bit microprocessor – also known as the 286. It was widely used in personal computers until the 1990s.

2 Feb 1922 – 100 years ago
James Joyce’s novel Ulysses was published.

3 Feb 1947 – 75 years ago
The coldest temperature ever recorded in North America: -63°C (-81.4°F) at Snag, Yukon, Canada.

4 Feb 1997 – 25 years ago
American actor and former football star O. J. Simpson was found liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at a civil trial in Santa Monica, California. On 10th February he was ordered to pay a fine of $25 million and compensation of $8.5 million.

5 Feb 1992 – 100 years ago
The first issue of Reader’s Digest was published.

6 Feb 1952 – 70 years ago
Death of George VI, King of the United Kingdom (1936–52). Succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

7 Feb 1947 – 75 years ago
The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in Khirbat Qumran (now in the West Bank, Palestine).

8 Feb 1922 – 100 years ago
The first radio was installed in the White House.

9 Feb 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: ‘War Time’ (year-round Daylight Saving Time) went into effect in the USA. (Ended September 1945.)

10 Feb 1942 – 80 years ago
American bandleader Glenn Miller was presented with the first ever gold record, for 1,200,000 sales of Chattanooga Choo Choo.

11 Feb 1847 – 175 years ago
Birth of Thomas Edison, American inventor and businessman. Best known for inventing the first practical incandescent light bulb, phonograph, movie camera and projector, and many more.

12 Feb 1947 – 75 years ago
Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, became the last Viceroy of India. He became the first Governor-General of the Independent Dominion of India in August.

13 Feb 1982 – 40 years ago
Death of Zeng Jinlian, Chinese woman verified as the tallest woman ever recorded (8 feet 1.75 inches). (Died aged 17.)

14 Feb 1962 – 60 years ago
The First Lady of the USA, Jacqueline Kennedy, gave a televised tour of the White House.

15 Feb 1932 – 90 years ago
American entertainer George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen made their radio debut on the CBS show Robert Burns Panatella.

16 Feb 1822 – 200 years ago
Birth of Sir Francis Galton, British polymath. He made major contributions to the fields of statistics, eugenics, heredity, psychology, forensics, meteorology, and more. His method of classifying fingerprints allowed them to be used for identification, and he also devised the first weather map.

17 Feb 1992 – 30 years ago
American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms by a court in Wisconsin. He was particularly notable for the gruesome nature of his crimes, which included cannibalism and necrophilia. (He was beaten to death by a fellow prison inmate in November 1994.)

18 Feb 1847 – 175 years ago
The first rescuers reached the surviving members of the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the USA. The party was emigrating to California from the Midwest when they were delayed, became snowbound, and were forced to spend the winter in the mountains. They resorted to cannibalism to survive. 48 of the 87 members of the party survived.

19 Feb 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorising the military to relocate and intern Japanese Americans living along the Pacific coast.

20 Feb 1962 – 60 years ago
John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. He made three orbits in the space capsule Friendship 7.

21 Feb 1947 – 75 years ago
American inventor Edwin Land demonstrated the first instant camera (the Polaroid Land Camera) at the Optical Society of America, New York.

22 Feb 1932 – 90 years ago
The first Purple Heart, a U.S. military decoration for those wounded or killed during military service, was awarded to General Douglas MacArthur.

23 Feb 1947 – 75 years ago
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland.

24 Feb 1997 – 25 years ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved six brands of morning-after pill for preventing pregnancy.

25 Feb 1932 – 90 years ago
Adolf Hitler became a German citizen, enabling him to run against Paul von Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election. (Hitler had renounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925 and was stateless for 7 years.)

26 Feb 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Margaret Leighton, British stage, film and television actress. (Died 1976.)

27 Feb 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Marian Anderson, American contralto. As well being a world-famous singer, she broke several major barriers for black artists in the USA, and was the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

28 Feb 1922 – 100 years ago
Egypt gained its independence from the UK.

29 Feb 2012 – 10 years ago
Death of Davy Jones, British pop singer and actor (The Monkees).

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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29 newsworthy historical anniversaries in February 2022 (U.S. edition)

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, movies, TV/radio/theater shows, and more.

Here are 29 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in February 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead, and the 2024 edition will be available within the next month.

Feb 1, 1982 – 40 years ago
Intel released its 80286 16-bit microprocessor – also known as the 286. It was widely used in personal computers until the 1990s.

Feb 2, 1922 – 100 years ago
James Joyce’s novel Ulysses was published.

Feb 3, 1947 – 75 years ago
The coldest temperature ever recorded in North America: -63°C (-81.4°F) at Snag, Yukon, Canada.

Feb 4, 1997 – 25 years ago
American actor and former football star O. J. Simpson was found liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at a civil trial in Santa Monica, California. On 10th February he was ordered to pay a fine of $25 million and compensation of $8.5 million.

Feb 5, 1992 – 100 years ago
The first issue of Reader’s Digest was published.

Feb 6, 1952 – 70 years ago
Death of George VI, King of the United Kingdom (1936–52). Succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Feb 7, 1947 – 75 years ago
The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in Khirbat Qumran (now in the West Bank, Palestine).

Feb 8, 1922 – 100 years ago
The first radio was installed in the White House.

Feb 9, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: ‘War Time’ (year-round Daylight Saving Time) went into effect in the USA. (Ended September 1945.)

Feb 10, 1942 – 80 years ago
American bandleader Glenn Miller was presented with the first ever gold record, for 1,200,000 sales of Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Feb 11, 1847 – 175 years ago
Birth of Thomas Edison, American inventor and businessman. Best known for inventing the first practical incandescent light bulb, phonograph, movie camera and projector, and many more.

Feb 12, 1947 – 75 years ago
Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, became the last Viceroy of India. He became the first Governor-General of the Independent Dominion of India in August.

Feb 13, 1982 – 40 years ago
Death of Zeng Jinlian, Chinese woman verified as the tallest woman ever recorded (8 feet 1.75 inches). (Died aged 17.)

Feb 14, 1962 – 60 years ago
The First Lady of the USA, Jacqueline Kennedy, gave a televised tour of the White House.

Feb 15, 1932 – 90 years ago
American entertainer George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen made their radio debut on the CBS show Robert Burns Panatella.

Feb 16, 1822 – 200 years ago
Birth of Sir Francis Galton, British polymath. He made major contributions to the fields of statistics, eugenics, heredity, psychology, forensics, meteorology, and more. His method of classifying fingerprints allowed them to be used for identification, and he also devised the first weather map.

Feb 17, 1992 – 30 years ago
American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms by a court in Wisconsin. He was particularly notable for the gruesome nature of his crimes, which included cannibalism and necrophilia. (He was beaten to death by a fellow prison inmate in November 1994.)

Feb 18, 1847 – 175 years ago
The first rescuers reached the surviving members of the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the USA. The party was emigrating to California from the Midwest when they were delayed, became snowbound, and were forced to spend the winter in the mountains. They resorted to cannibalism to survive. 48 of the 87 members of the party survived.

Feb 19, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the military to relocate and intern Japanese Americans living along the Pacific coast.

Feb 20, 1962 – 60 years ago
John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. He made three orbits in the space capsule Friendship 7.

Feb 21, 1947 – 75 years ago
American inventor Edwin Land demonstrated the first instant camera (the Polaroid Land Camera) at the Optical Society of America, New York.

Feb 22, 1932 – 90 years ago
The first Purple Heart, a U.S. military decoration for those wounded or killed during military service, was awarded to General Douglas MacArthur.

Feb 23, 1947 – 75 years ago
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland.

Feb 24, 1997 – 25 years ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved six brands of morning-after pill for preventing pregnancy.

Feb 25, 1932 – 90 years ago
Adolf Hitler became a German citizen, enabling him to run against Paul von Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election. (Hitler had renounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925 and was stateless for 7 years.)

Feb 26, 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Margaret Leighton, British stage, film and television actress. (Died 1976.)

Feb 27, 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Marian Anderson, American contralto. As well being a world-famous singer, she broke several major barriers for black artists in the USA, and was the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Feb 28, 1922 – 100 years ago
Egypt gained its independence from the UK.

Feb 29, 2012 – 10 years ago
Death of Davy Jones, British pop singer and actor (The Monkees).

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in January 2022 (U.S. Edition)

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Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in January 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead.

Jan 1, 1772 – 250 years ago
The first traveler’s checks were issued in London. They could be used in 90 European cities.

Jan 2, 1942 – 80 years ago
The U.S. Navy opened a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Jan 3, 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Pola Negri, Polish-born American stage and film actress. The first European actress contracted to Hollywood.

Jan 4, 1847 – 175 years ago
Mexican–American War: the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers from U.S. firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt. This allowed Colt to turn his failing business into a hugely successful one.

Jan 5, 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Irish-born British Antarctic explorer.

Jan 6, 1992 – 30 years ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the use of silicone breast implants over fears they could leak and cause health damage. (Manufacturers were unable to provide sufficient evidence of their safety and they were later banned in the USA.)

Jan 7 to Apr 9, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Battle of Bataan, Philippines. Japanese victory.

Jan 8, 1992 – 30 years ago
The first two confirmed exoplanets were discovered by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. The planets orbit the pulsar PSR B1257+12.

Jan 9 to Feb 28, 1972 – 50 years ago
British miners staged a major strike over pay. This led to power shortages, and a state of emergency was declared on 9th February. The miners returned to work when the National Union of Mineworkers accepted an improved pay offer.

Jan 10, 1922 – 100 years ago
Arthur Griffith became the first President of the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland).

Jan 11, 1972 – 50 years ago
East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh.

Jan 12, 1932 –90 years ago
Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

Jan 13, 1962 to 1971 – 60 years ago
Vietnam War: Operation Ranch Hand. The USA sprayed around 20 million gallons of herbicide and defoliants (including Agent Orange) on rural areas of South Vietnam to deprive the Viet Cong of food and ground cover.

Jan 14, 1972 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the TV comedy series Sanford and Son was broadcast on NBC in the USA. It was a remake of the British TV series Steptoe and Son.

Jan 15, 1997 – 25 years ago
Princess Diana walked through a minefield in Angola, visited victims, and called for an international ban on landmines.

Jan 16, 1957 – 65 years ago
The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool, UK. Initially a jazz venue, it became an important rock venue when the Beatles played there during their early years.

Jan 17, 1942 – 80 years ago
Birth of Muhammad Ali, (born Cassius Clay), American heavyweight boxing champion. One of the most significant sporting figures of the 20th century.

Jan 18, 2002 – 20 years ago
The Sierra Leone Civil War ended after 10 years. Commonwealth victory.

Jan 19, 1982 – 40 years ago
The song I Love Rock ’n Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was released. It was their biggest hit and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard chart in March.

Jan 20, 1942 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: the infamous Wannsee Conference was held in Germany. Nazi officials met to plan the ‘final solution to the Jewish question’ – the extermination of European Jews.

Jan 21, 1922 – 100 years ago
The first modern slalom ski race was held, during the British National Ski Championships in Murren, Switzerland.

Jan 22, 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Pope Benedict XV. Succeeded by Pius XI.

Jan 23, 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian nationalist and national hero. He attempted to remove the British from India during WWII with the help of Nazi Germany and Japan.

Jan 24, 1972 – 50 years ago
Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found hiding in Guam, not knowing that WWII had ended. He had lived in a cave in the jungle for 28 years.

Jan 25, 1947 – 75 years ago
Death of Al Capone, famous American gangster.

Jan 26, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the first U.S. troops arrived in Europe. 4,508 soldiers from the 34th Infantry Regiment docked in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Jan 27, 2002 – 20 years ago
Lagos armory explosion, Nigeria. A large stock of high explosives accidentally detonated, destroying part of northern Lagos. At least 1,100 people were killed and thousands were injured or made homeless.

Jan 28, 1942 – 80 years ago
The Roberts Commission investigation into the circumstances of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor presented its findings to the U.S. Senate. It placed most of the blame for the USA’s lack of preparedness for the attack on Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the U.S. Navy, and General Walter C. Short, commander of the U.S. Army. It found them both guilty of dereliction of duty. (They were exonerated in 1999, but their full wartime ranks were not restored.)

Jan 29, 1942 – 80 years ago
The BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs was first broadcast. It is Britain’s longest running radio show, and the world’s longest running weekly factual radio program.

Jan 30, 1847 – 175 years ago
The town of Yerba Buena in California was renamed San Francisco.

Jan 31, 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Zane Grey, American writer of Western fiction.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in January 2022

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in January 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead.

1 Jan 1772 – 250 years ago
The first traveller’s cheques were issued in London. They could be used in 90 European cities.

2 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
The U.S. Navy opened a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

3 Jan 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Pola Negri, Polish-born American stage and film actress. The first European actress contracted to Hollywood.

4 Jan 1847 – 175 years ago
Mexican–American War: the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers from U.S. firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt. This allowed Colt to turn his failing business into a hugely successful one.

5 Jan 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Irish-born British Antarctic explorer.

6 Jan 1992 – 30 years ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the use of silicone breast implants over fears they could leak and cause health damage. (Manufacturers were unable to provide sufficient evidence of their safety and they were later banned in the USA.)

7 Jan to 9 Apr 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Battle of Bataan, Philippines. Japanese victory.

8 Jan 1992 – 30 years ago
The first two confirmed exoplanets were discovered by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. The planets orbit the pulsar PSR B1257+12.

9 Jan to 28 Feb 1972 – 50 years ago
British miners staged a major strike over pay. This led to power shortages, and a state of emergency was declared on 9th February. The miners returned to work when the National Union of Mineworkers accepted an improved pay offer.

10 Jan 1922 – 100 years ago
Arthur Griffith became the first President of the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland).

11 Jan 1972 – 50 years ago
East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh.

12 Jan 1932 –90 years ago
Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

13 Jan 1962 to 1971 – 60 years ago
Vietnam War: Operation Ranch Hand. The USA sprayed around 20 million gallons of herbicide and defoliants (including Agent Orange) on rural areas of South Vietnam to deprive the Viet Cong of food and ground cover.

14 Jan 1972 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the TV comedy series Sanford and Son was broadcast on NBC in the USA. It was a remake of the British TV series Steptoe and Son.

15 Jan 1997 – 25 years ago
Princess Diana walked through a minefield in Angola, visited victims, and called for an international ban on landmines.

16 Jan 1957 – 65 years ago
The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool, UK. Initially a jazz venue, it became an important rock venue when the Beatles played there during their early years.

17 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
Birth of Muhammad Ali, (born Cassius Clay), American heavyweight boxing champion. One of the most significant sporting figures of the 20th century.

18 Jan 2002 – 20 years ago
The Sierra Leone Civil War ended after 10 years. Commonwealth victory.

19 Jan 1982 – 40 years ago
The song I Love Rock ’n Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was released. It was their biggest hit and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard chart in March.

20 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: the infamous Wannsee Conference was held in Germany. Nazi officials met to plan the ‘final solution to the Jewish question’ – the extermination of European Jews.

21 Jan 1922 – 100 years ago
The first modern slalom ski race was held, during the British National Ski Championships in Murren, Switzerland.

22 Jan 1922 – 100 years ago
Death of Pope Benedict XV. Succeeded by Pius XI.

23 Jan 1897 – 125 years ago
Birth of Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian nationalist and national hero. He attempted to remove the British from India during WWII with the help of Nazi Germany and Japan.

24 Jan 1972 – 50 years ago
Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found hiding in Guam, not knowing that WWII had ended. He had lived in a cave in the jungle for 28 years.

25 Jan 1947 – 75 years ago
Death of Al Capone, famous American gangster.

26 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the first U.S. troops arrived in Europe. 4,508 soldiers from the 34th Infantry Regiment docked in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

27 Jan 2002 – 20 years ago
Lagos armoury explosion, Nigeria. A large stock of high explosives accidentally detonated, destroying part of northern Lagos. At least 1,100 people were killed and thousands were injured or made homeless.

28 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
The Roberts Commission investigation into the circumstances of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor presented its findings to the U.S. Senate. It placed most of the blame for the USA’s lack of preparedness for the attack on Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the U.S. Navy, and General Walter C. Short, commander of the U.S. Army. It found them both guilty of dereliction of duty. (They were exonerated in 1999, but their full wartime ranks were not restored.)

29 Jan 1942 – 80 years ago
The BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs was first broadcast. It is Britain’s longest running radio show, and the world’s longest running weekly factual radio programme.

30 Jan 1847 – 175 years ago
The town of Yerba Buena in California was renamed San Francisco.

31 Jan 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Zane Grey, American writer of Western fiction.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 edition is also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in December 2021

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in December 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

1 Dec 1971 – 50 years ago
Project Gutenberg was founded. The volunteer organisation digitises out-of-print books and makes them available to the public at little or no cost.

2 Dec 1971 – 50 years ago
The United Arab Emirates was founded.

3 Dec 1896 – 125 years ago
The Tabulating Machine Company was founded by American inventor Herman Hollerith. The company was the predecessor of International Business Machines (IBM).

4 Dec 1961 – 60 years ago
Birth control pills became available on the NHS in Britain.

5 Dec 1996 – 25 years ago
General Motors released the EV1 electric car. It was the first modern electric car from a major manufacturer. It was only available to lease, not to buy. 1,117 cars were produced. Production ceased – somewhat controversially – in 1999, mainly because of its limited range.

6 Dec 1921 – 100 years ago
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London. It ended the Irish War of Independence and established the Irish Free State (with effect from 6th December 1922).

7 Dec 1941 – 80 years ago
World War II – the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Japan launched a surprise bomb attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. bases in the Pacific, and declared war on the USA, UK and the British dominions. Canada declared war on Japan. The USA, UK, Netherlands, New Zealand and other countries declared war on Japan the following day. The War in Europe had now became a World War.

8 Dec 1941 to 8 May 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Philippines Campaign.
Japan invaded the Philippines, which was defended by Filipino and US forces.
Japanese victory.

9 Dec 1921 – 100 years ago
The invention of leaded petrol (gasoline).
Thomas Midgeley, Jr., an engineer at General Motors in the USA, discovered that adding tetraethyl lead (TEL) to petrol eliminated knocking noises in engines. Leaded petrol was later phased out and banned as it is harmful to human health.
Midgeley also famously invented CFCs for refrigerators. These were also later banned because they contributed to ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere.

10 Dec 1896 – 125 years ago
Death of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. Best known for inventing dynamite and for bequeathing his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize. The chemical element nobelium (No, atomic number 102) was named in his honour.

11 Dec 1946 – 75 years ago
UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, was established.

12 Dec 1941 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: German leader Adolf Hitler announced his plan to the exterminate the Jews at a meeting with senior Nazi Party officials at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

13 Dec 1721 – 300 years ago
Death of Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and privateer. He spent more than 4 years marooned on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific and was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s character Robinson Crusoe.

14 Dec 1896 – 125 years ago
The Glasgow Subway opened in Scotland. It was the world’s third underground metropolitan railway system.

15 Dec 1981 – 40 years ago
Iraqi embassy bombing, Beirut, Lebanon. A suicide car bomb destroyed the embassy and killed 61 people, including the Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon. This attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.

16 Dec 1971 – 50 years ago
The Bangladesh Liberation War ended. Bangladeshi victory. East Pakistan gained its independence from Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh.

17 Dec 1971 – 50 years ago
The 7th James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, was released in the USA. (UK: 30th December.)

18 Dec 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist. Founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. (Beaten to death by state security officers in 1977, aged 30.)

19 Dec 1946 to 1 Aug 1954 – 75 years ago
The First Indochina war (also called the French Indochina War). The Vietnamese fought the French, who opposed Vietnamese independence. Việt Minh victory, resulting in the partition of Vietnam into north and south.

20 Dec 1946 – 75 years ago
The U.S. première of Frank Capra’s Christmas fantasy film It’s a Wonderful Life. (Released: 7th January 1947. UK première: 6th April 1947.)

21 Dec 1846 – 175 years ago
The first surgical operation in Europe using anaesthesia (ether). Surgeon Robert Liston amputated a servant’s leg at University College Hospital in London. (The first surgical operation in the USA that used ether was in October 1846.)

22 Dec 2001 – 20 years ago
British terrorist Richard Reid (the ‘shoe bomber’) attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami using explosives hidden in his shoes. A US court sentenced him to life imprisonment in January 2003.

23 Dec 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of John Sullivan, British screenwriter and television producer. Best known for his TV sitcoms including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith, Just Good Friends, Dear John, The Green Green Grass, and more. (Died 2011.)

24 Dec 1871 – 150 years ago
The world première of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida, in Cairo, Egypt.

25 Dec 1821 – 200 years ago
Birth of Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian who founded the American Red Cross.

26 Dec 1991 – 30 years ago
The Soviet Union was officially dissolved. The 12 remaining Soviet republics became independent states.

27 Dec 1996 – 25 years ago
The first genocide trial began in Rwanda following the 1994 civil war in which 800,000 people were killed.

28 Dec 1846 – 175 years ago
Iowa was admitted as the 29th state of the USA.

29 Dec 1721 – 300 years ago
Birth of Madame de Pompadour, chief mistress of Louis XV, King of France.

30 Dec 2006 – 15 years ago
Death of Saddam Hussein, President/dictator of Iraq (1979–2003). (Executed for war crimes.)

31 Dec 1951 – 70 years ago
The Marshall Plan ended. It was set up by the USA after WWII to help rebuild Europe, and distributed $13 billion in foreign aid. By the time it ended, the economies of all participating countries had surpassed their pre-war levels. (It was replaced by the Mutual Security Agency, established on 10th October 1951.)

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

Share this:

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in December 2021 (U.S. edition)

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, movies, TV/radio/theater shows, and more.

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in December 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Dec 1, 1971 – 50 years ago
Project Gutenberg was founded. The volunteer organization digitizes out-of-print books and makes them available to the public at little or no cost.

Dec 2, 1971 – 50 years ago
The United Arab Emirates was founded.

Dec 3, 1896 – 125 years ago
The Tabulating Machine Company was founded by American inventor Herman Hollerith. The company was the predecessor of International Business Machines (IBM).

Dec 4, 1961 – 60 years ago
Birth control pills became available on the NHS in Britain.

Dec 5, 1996 – 25 years ago
General Motors released the EV1 electric car. It was the first modern electric car from a major manufacturer. It was only available to lease, not to buy. 1,117 cars were produced. Production ceased – somewhat controversially – in 1999, mainly because of its limited range.

Dec 6, 1921 – 100 years ago
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London. It ended the Irish War of Independence and established the Irish Free State (with effect from December 6, 1922).

Dec 7, 1941 – 80 years ago
World War II – the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Japan launched a surprise bomb attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. bases in the Pacific, and declared war on the USA, UK and the British dominions. Canada declared war on Japan. The USA, UK, Netherlands, New Zealand and other countries declared war on Japan the following day. The War in Europe had now became a World War.

Dec 8, 1941 to May 8, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Philippines Campaign.
Japan invaded the Philippines, which was defended by Filipino and US forces.
Japanese victory.

Dec 9, 1921 – 100 years ago
The invention of leaded gasoline.
Thomas Midgeley, Jr., an engineer at General Motors in the USA, discovered that adding tetraethyl lead (TEL) to gasoline eliminated knocking noises in engines. Leaded gas was later phased out and banned as it is harmful to human health.
Midgeley also famously invented CFCs for refrigerators. These were also later banned because they contributed to ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere.

Dec 10, 1896 – 125 years ago
Death of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. Best known for inventing dynamite and for bequeathing his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize. The chemical element nobelium (No, atomic number 102) was named in his honor.

Dec 11, 1946 – 75 years ago
UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, was established.

Dec 12, 1941 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: German leader Adolf Hitler announced his plan to the exterminate the Jews at a meeting with senior Nazi Party officials at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

Dec 13, 1721 – 300 years ago
Death of Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and privateer. He spent more than 4 years marooned on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific and was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s character Robinson Crusoe.

Dec 14, 1896 – 125 years ago
The Glasgow Subway opened in Scotland. It was the world’s third underground metropolitan railway system.

Dec 15, 1981 – 40 years ago
Iraqi embassy bombing, Beirut, Lebanon. A suicide car bomb destroyed the embassy and killed 61 people, including the Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon. This attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.

Dec 16, 1971 – 50 years ago
The Bangladesh Liberation War ended. Bangladeshi victory. East Pakistan gained its independence from Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh.

Dec 17, 1971 – 50 years ago
The 7th James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, was released in the USA. (UK: December 30th.)

Dec 18, 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist. Founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. (Beaten to death by state security officers in 1977, aged 30.)

Dec 19, 1946 to Aug 1, 1954 – 75 years ago
The First Indochina war (also called the French Indochina War). The Vietnamese fought the French, who opposed Vietnamese independence. Việt Minh victory, resulting in the partition of Vietnam into north and south.

Dec 20, 1946 – 75 years ago
The U.S. premiere of Frank Capra’s Christmas fantasy film It’s a Wonderful Life.
(Released: January 7, 1947. UK premiere: April 6, 1947.)

Dec 21, 1846 – 175 years ago
The first surgical operation in Europe using anesthesia (ether). Surgeon Robert Liston amputated a servant’s leg at University College Hospital in London. (The first surgical operation in the USA that used ether was in October 1846.)

Dec 22, 2001 – 20 years ago
British terrorist Richard Reid (the “shoe bomber”) attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami using explosives hidden in his shoes. A U.S. court sentenced him to life imprisonment in January 2003.

Dec 23, 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of John Sullivan, British screenwriter and television producer. Best known for his TV sitcoms including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith, Just Good Friends, Dear John, The Green Green Grass, and more. (Died 2011.)

Dec 24, 1871 – 150 years ago
The world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida, in Cairo, Egypt.

Dec 25, 1821 – 200 years ago
Birth of Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian who founded the American Red Cross.

Dec 26, 1991 – 30 years ago
The Soviet Union was officially dissolved. The 12 remaining Soviet republics became independent states.

Dec 27, 1996 – 25 years ago
The first genocide trial began in Rwanda following the 1994 civil war in which 800,000 people were killed.

Dec 28, 1846 – 175 years ago
Iowa was admitted as the 29th state of the USA.

Dec 29, 1721 – 300 years ago
Birth of Madame de Pompadour, chief mistress of Louis XV, King of France.

Dec 30, 2006 – 15 years ago
Death of Saddam Hussein, President/dictator of Iraq (1979–2003). (Executed for war crimes.)

Dec 31, 1951 – 70 years ago
The Marshall Plan ended. It was set up by the USA after WWII to help rebuild Europe, and distributed $13 billion in foreign aid. By the time it ended, the economies of all participating countries had surpassed their pre-war levels. (It was replaced by the Mutual Security Agency, established on October 10, 1951.)

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

Share this:

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in November 2021

Posted on by admin

Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in November 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)

We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

1 Nov 1996 – 25 years ago
The first DVD players and disks were released in Japan.
(USA: 26th March 1997. Europe: March 1998).

2 Nov 1961 – 60 years ago
Death of James Thurber, American writer, cartoonist and humourist.

3 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
Birth of Charles Bronson, American film actor. Best known for his tough-guy roles (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, Death Wish, and more).
(Died 2003.)

4 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
The Sturmabteilung (SA) (also known as ‘Stormtroopers’ or ‘Brownshirts’) was established as a paramilitary organisation within the Nazi Party in Germany following a riot.

5 Nov 1271 – 800 years ago
The Yuan dynasty was proclaimed in China by Kublai Khan. It ruled China until the Ming dynasty was proclaimed in 1368.

6 Nov 1991 – 30 years ago
Gulf War: the last oil well fire in Kuwait was extinguished and capped. Iraqi forces had set fire to 732 oil wells between January and February 1991.

7 Nov 1996 – 25 years ago
NASA launched its Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. It examined and mapped the entire surface and atmosphere of Mars. It operated until 2006.

8 Nov 1991 – 30 years ago
The first Turing Test competition (the Loebner Prize) was held at The Computer Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The annual test aims to demonstrate artificial intelligence. A judge holds simultaneous text-based conversations with a human and a computer. If he cannot tell which is the human and which is the computer, the prize is awarded. At the time of writing, no computer had yet won the prize.

9 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
The National Fascist Party was founded in Italy by Benito Mussolini. The party ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

10 Nov 1871 – 150 years ago
Welsh journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley located the missing missionary and explorer Dr David Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika in present-day Tanzania. He might or might not have greeted him with the words ‘Doctor Livingstone, I presume?’

11 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. An unknown soldier was interred in the tomb. He was randomly chosen from those killed on the Western Front in France during WWI.

12 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America was founded (as the American Birth Control League) when the National Birth Control League merged with the Voluntary Parenthood League.

13 Nov 1956 – 65 years ago
Montgomery bus boycott, Alabama, USA. The U.S. Supreme Court declared that Alabama’s laws requiring the segregation of races on buses was unconstitutional, upholding the ruling made by a federal district court in Alabama in April (Browder v. Gayle). The boycott ended on 20th December.

14 Nov 1896 – 125 years ago
The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 came into effect in the UK. It raised the speed limit for motor vehicles from 4 mph to 14 mph.

15 Nov 1971 – 50 years ago
Intel released its 4004 microprocessor, It was the first single-chip microprocessor be sold commercially.

16 Nov 1821 – 200 years ago
American trader William Becknell of Missouri arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, establishing what would become known as the Santa Fe Trail. The trail was a major transportation route through central North America until the arrival of the railway in 1880.

–

18 Nov 1996 – 25 years ago
Channel Tunnel fire. A truck caught fire while on board a Heavy Goods Vehicle shuttle travelling through the tunnel. Considerable damage was caused and the tunnel was closed for 6 months for repairs. (There was another serious fire in September 2008, and part of one of the tunnels was closed for 5 months.)

19 Nov 1961 – 60 years ago
Michael Rockefeller, the 23-year-old son of the Governor of New York (and later US Vice President) Nelson Rockefeller, disappeared in Papua New Guinea. There are unconfirmed reports that he was killed by natives when he swam ashore at their village. His body has never been found.

20 Nov 2001 – 20 years ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first contraceptive patch, Ortho Evra. It went on sale in April 2002.

21 Nov 1941 – 80 years ago
The first episode of the blues music radio show King Biscuit Time was broadcast in the USA. It is the longest-running daily radio show in the USA.

22 Nov 1946 – 75 years ago
The first Biro ballpoint pens went on sale in the UK.

23 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
U.S. President Warren Harding signed the Willis Campell Act (commonly known as the Anti-beer Act). It banned doctors from prescribing alcoholic drinks for medicinal purposes, which was a loophole in the Prohibition law.

24 Nov 1971 – 50 years ago
A man using the alias Dan Cooper (known in the media as D. B. Cooper) hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines plane flying between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, USA. After extorting a $200,000 ransom he parachuted from the plane. He has never been located or formally identified and his fate is unknown.

25 Nov 1846 – 175 years ago
Birth of Carrie Nation, radical member of the American temperance movement. Noted for attacking taverns with a hatchet. She also opposed tight clothing for women.

26 Nov 1931 – 90 years ago
American physical chemist Harold Urey discovered the isotope deuterium (also known as heavy hydrogen). He received the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery.

27 Nov 1921 – 100 years ago
Birth of Alexander Dubček, leader of Czechoslovakia (1968–69). He lifted censorship and introduced liberalisation, but this ended when Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. He was forced to resign a few months later.

28 Nov 1821 – 200 years ago
Panama declared its independence from Spain. It became part of Gran Colombia in December.

29 Nov 1951 – 70 years ago
The world’s first business computer, the LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office), went into service, running business applications for J. Lyons & Co.
(In 1954 Lyons formed LEO Computers and marketed the computer to other companies. LEO Computers later became part of ICL and then Fujitsu.)

30 Nov 1931 – 90 years ago
The Crystal Palace in London was destroyed by fire.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you need to work further ahead. The 2024 edition will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.

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