On This Day

This Day in History

1. 2015The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 intentionally crashed the Airbus A320 in the French Alps, executing a mass murder–suicide that killed all 150 passengers and crew on board.
2. 2008The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, under the leadership of Jigme Thinley, secured 45 out of 47 seats during Bhutan's inaugural National Assembly election.
3. 2006Hannah Montana premiered on television, starring Miley Cyrus playing an actress whose alter ego serves as the titular main character.
4. 2002Halle Berry made history at the 74th Academy Awards as the first African American recipient of the Best Actress award, recognized for portraying Leticia Musgrove in Monster's Ball.
5. 1980Archbishop Óscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador, precisely one day after appealing to Salvadoran soldiers to cease executing government repression.
6. 1964Royal assent was granted to Prince Edward Island's Provincial Flag Act, an act detailing the specific design for the province's flag.
7. 1939Members associated with the German National Movement in Liechtenstein staged a coup attempt to overthrow their government and trigger the country's annexation by Nazi Germany.
8. 1934Enactment of the Tydings–McDuffie Act established Filipino self-government, authorizing complete independence for the Philippines from the United States following a ten-year timeframe.
9. 1922During the Irish War of Independence, two individuals dressed in police uniforms invaded a Belfast home and killed a Catholic family, an act presumed to retaliate for two police officers slain the previous day.
10. 1921The premier international women's sporting event, the inaugural Women's Olympiad (cover pictured), commenced at Monte Carlo's International Sporting Club of Monaco.
11. 1900New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck initiated construction on a subterranean Rapid Transit Railroad designed to connect the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
12. 1898The Winton Motor Carriage Company (advertisement pictured), operating as one of America's earliest automobile manufacturers, completed the sale of its very first vehicle.
13. 1882German physician Robert Koch publicly revealed his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identifying the specific pathogen responsible for causing tuberculosis.
14. 1860Ii Naosuke, the chief minister of Japan, was assassinated by rōnin samurai aggrieved by his involvement in opening Japanese borders to foreign nations.
15. 1603King James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones to become King James I, bringing the separate realms together under one sovereign.
16. 1387In the Hundred Years' War, a fleet from England under Richard Fitzalan's command engaged and attacked a combined force of 250 to 360 Castilian, Flemish, and French ships at the Battle of Margate.