1895: Dreyfus affair in France
French officer Alfred Dreyfus, condemned for passing military secrets to the Germans, is stripped of his rank in a humiliating public ceremony in the courtyard of Paris' Ecole Militaire. The Jewish artillery captain, convicted on flimsy evidence in a highly irregular trial, began his life sentence at Devil's Island Prison four months later. The case demonstrated that anti-Semitism was very much part of French Society.
After a French Major was implicated in the crime in 1896, the military attempted a cover-up, which led to a divisive national scandal over the affair. In 1898, the French major was put on trial but was acquitted within an hour. French novelist Émile Zola led public condemnation of the decision, writing an open letter entitled J'Accuse, which accused the judges of being under the thumb of the military. In 1899, Dreyfus was retried and found guilty again, but that year the new French President, Émile Loubet, remitted the sentence. It was eventually revealed that the evidence against Dreyfus had been forged by French army intelligence in order to ensure his conviction.
2001
A report funded by The Department of Health in England finds that the convicted serial killer, former GP Harold Shipman, may have killed in excess of 300 of his patients.
1993
Shetland Oil disaster in the North Sea.
1985
The world first learns about Israel’s 'Operation Moses', in which thousands of Jewish Ethiopian refugees have been airlifted out of Sudan, fleeing the famine in Ethiopia.
1981
In Britain, Peter Sutcliffe, the 'Yorkshire Ripper', who killed 13 women in four years, is formally charged in court.
1976
Ten Protestants are brutally gunned down in Northern Ireland, in what is believed to be a revenge killing after the recent murder of five Catholics.1972
President Nixon authorises the development of a space shuttle.
1971
Birth of 'One Day' international cricket - England v. Australia in Melbourne - after the planned five-day Test Match is abandoned because of rain.1968
Alexander Dubcek becomes the new leader of Czechoslovakia. In what came to be known as the 'Prague Spring', Dubeck introduced liberal reforms to the Communist regime. However, in August, the Soviet Union put an end to this reform process with the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
1959
Coral Records release 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' by Buddy Holly. This was Holly’s last record before his tragic death in a plane crash that also killed singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson.
1945
Japanese pilots are first ordered to use Kamikaze (‘Divine Wind’ in Japanese) tactics.
1933
Construction starts on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, U.S.A.
1919
Anton Drexler, along with Gottfried Fedder and Dietrich Eckart establish the German Workers Party (DAP), which later changes its name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party).
1914
Ford Motor Company sets a precedent by introducing an eight-hour working day and a minimum daily wage of $5.
1900
Irish Nationalist leader John Edward Redmond advocates a revolt against British home rule.
1884
Princess Ida, written by Gilbert & Sullivan, is first performed at the Savoy Theatre in London.