1895: Wilde guilty of indecency
At the end of a sensational trial,
Irish writer
Oscar Wilde is convicted of
gross indecency in his relations with the son of the Marquess of Queensberry. He was sentenced to two years hard labor. Wilde, whose wit and flamboyance placed him at the center of London social and literary circles, is best remembered for his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere's Fan and
The Importance of Being Earnest. In his writing and conduct, he often tested the bounds of the prudish
Victorian society of his day, which led to his imprisonment for homosexuality in 1895 at the height of his career. After his release in 1897, he moved to
Paris, where he died two and a half years later.
1995
Serb forces kill 71 people when they shell the town of Tuzla in retaliation for a
NATO air strike on one of their arms dumps.
1994
South Africa is allowed to re-join the British Commonwealth after an absence of 33 years.1990
Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush agree to end production of chemical weapons and to begin to destroy stockpiles of chemical weapons already made.1986
Bob Geldof's Race Against Time has 30 million people worldwide running for SportAid to raise money for the starving in Africa.1974
In England, more than 25 are killed in an explosion at a chemical plant at Flixborough. 1973
In
Greece, the military government abolishes the monarchy and proclaims Greece a republic.
1967
Glasgow Celtic becomes the first British football club to win the European Cup beating Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon. The following year Manchester United become the first English club to win the
trophy. 1953
Gordon Richards, British champion jockey 26 times, is knighted.1951
British diplomats Burgess and Maclean are reported missing. It is later discovered that both were Soviet spies and had defected to Moscow.1941
World War II: British and Australian forces withdrawn from Crete.1935
American athlete Jesse Owens sets six new world record within 45 minutes at Ann Arbor in Michigan, USA.1916
World War I; The Battle of Jutland between the British and German fleets. Germans claim victory but fail to break British control of the North Sea.1914
In
Britain, the House of commons passes the
Irish Home Rule Bill.
1871
In Britain, the
House of Commons passes the Bank Holiday Act, creating public holidays on
Easter Monday, Whit Monday and Christmas Day.
1840
Britain opens its first Drama School - Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School in Dean Street, London, which later becomes a
theatre. 1796
Tennessee becomes the 16th state to be admitted to
the Union. 1792
Kentucky becomes the 15th state to be admitted to the Union.1768
English navigator Captain
James Cook sets off on his first voyage, to explore the Antipodes.
1659
In England, Lord protector
Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver, resigns his position - leading to the restoration of the monarchy and the crowning of
Charles II in 1660.
1944
English puppeteer Frank Oz.1921
American songwriter Hal David.1907
English inventor Frank Whittle. Designs and produces Britain's first jet propulsion aircraft in 1941.1889
Russian-born helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky. Becomes a US citizen in 1928.1801
Mormon leader
Brigham Young born in America. Succeeds
Joseph Smith as leader in 1847 and sets up an all-Mormon colony in the state of Utah.
1780
Prussian Army General Karl von Clausewitz. Serves with the Russian and Prussian Armies in the
Napoleonic Wars. Writes detailed theories on the conduct of war and
military strategy. 1987
Lebanon's
Sunni Moslem Prime Minister
Rashid Karami is killed in a bomb explosion on board the helicopter flying him from Tripoli to Beirut.
1968
Helen Keller. Born blind, deaf and dumb, she becomes an academic and published her journal in 1938.1943
English
actor Leslie Howard, star of
The Scarlet Pimpernel and Gone With The Wind, is killed over the Bay of Biscay when his plane is shot down by
German aircraft on a flight from Lisbon to Ireland.
1934
English composer Gustav Holst aged 59.1868
16th US President
James Buchanan (1857-1861), the first bachelor to be elected President, dies aged 77.
1703
English diarist
Samuel Pepys.
