This Day in History

Caligula becomes Roman Emperor after the death of his great uncle, Tiberius.

16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

The third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He's best known for his reform policies, western expansion, and playboy lifestyle.

Machiavellis short political treatise, The Prince, written (later published in 1532)

14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal; its contribution to European political thought was in beginning a new political Realism after a long period of Idealism in the Middle Age

Scopes "Monkey" Trial: A law in Tennessee prohibits the teaching of evolution

13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

The trial drew intense national publicity, with modernists pitted against traditionalists over the teaching of evolution in the schools and a Fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. The trial proved a critical turning point..

First Punic War: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end

10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

was the first of three major wars fought between the Empire of Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea

Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.

6 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Bayer is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company and the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Because of the confiscation of Bayers US assets and trademarks during WWI by the US, aspirin lost its trademark status in the US, France, and the UK.

Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in a speech

5 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Symbolized the ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international economic and military alliances.

The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza

3 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

It's oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world wasn't completed until after the architects death. It was inaugurated with with a production of Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The Teatro Olimpico is still used for plays and musical performances, but audience sizes are limited to 400.

The film King Kong opens at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall.

2 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

The character has become one of the world's most famous movie icons and, as such, has transcended the medium, appearing in other works outside of films, such as a cartoon series, books, comics, various merchandise and paraphernalia, video games, theme park rides, and even an upcoming stage play.

Alphabet [KEY event]

1 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Modern alphabet invented: the essential means of communication of complex concepts and culture.

Leap Year is conceptualized by Julius Caesar.

28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

A leap year contains one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. The Julian calendar, which was developed in 46 BC by Julius Caesar, and became effective in 45 BC.

The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.

27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

After 300 yrs of Spanish rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the country became independent in 1821 but was quickly taken over by Haiti. Victorious in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844, Dominicans experienced mostly political turmoil and a brief return to Spanish rule over next 72 yrs

The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York

26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being "Tiger Rag". In late 1917 it changed the name to "Jazz."

Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt revolver.

25 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

This instrument and patent No. 1304, dated August 29, 1836, protected the basic principles of his revolving-breach loading, folding trigger firearm named the Paterson Pistol

Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar

24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter gravissimas

Publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type [TOP HISTORY]

23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was one of the first books printed in Europe. It is an edition of the Vulgate, printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany in the 1450s

Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500

22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The race is the direct successor of shorter races held on Daytona Beach. This long square was partially on the sand and also on the highway near the beach. Earlier events featured 200 mile (320 km) races with stock cars

Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera," to a meeting of the Optical Society of America

21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The invention of modern instant cameras is generally credited to American scientist Edwin Land, who unveiled the first commercial instant camera, the Land Camera, in 1947, 10 years after founding Polaroid Corporation.

The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington

20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

William Goddard, a Patriot printer frustrated that the royal postal service was unable to reliably deliver his Pennsylvania Chronicle to its readers or deliver critical news for the paper to Goddard, laid out a plan for the "Constitutional Post"

730 - Printing

18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Printing invented in China: an essential step in mass communication/ administration/cultural dissemination

Union Major General Sherman burns Columbia, South Carolina

17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since, with some claiming the fires were accidental, others a deliberate act of vengeance, and still others that the retreating Confederates burned bales of cotton on their way out of town

Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon (toothbrush, stockings, etc)

16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Nylon is one of the most commonly used polymers. It is a thermoplastic silky material, first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush (1938), followed more famously by womens stockings ("nylons"; 1940).

Canada adopts maple leaf flag.

15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

In 1921, King George V proclaimed the official colors of Canada as red from Saint George's Cross and white from the French royal emblem. The maple leaf has served as a symbol celebrating the nature and environment of what is now Canada since the 1700s. The number of points on the leaf has no meaning

Valentines Day begins in the High Middle Ages

14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls after ad published in Wall Street

13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

By the end of 1948, nearly two years after their discovery, scholars had yet to locate the cave where the fragments had been found. With unrest in the country at that time, no large-scale search could be undertaken

Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day)

12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

On February 12, 1733, General James Oglethorpe and his settlers landed at Yamacraw Bluff and were greeted by Tomo-Chi-Chi, the Yamacraws, and Indian traders John and Mary Musgrove. (Mary Musgrove often served as a translator.)