This Day in History
* 1377 - Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
* 1524 - Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano's voyage to find a passage to China.
* 1562 - France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.
* 1595 - Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
* 1605 - First publication of Don Quixote.
* 1648 - England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
* 1819 - Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Colombia.
* 1852 - The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
* 1885 - A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
* 1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
* 1917 - The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
* 1929 - Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
* 1941 - Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-Shek open fire at communist forces, resuming the Chinese Civil War after WWII.
* 1945 - Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw.
* 1945 - The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
* 1946 - The UN Security Council holds its first session.
* 1949 - The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
* 1961 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex".
* 1973 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the Philippines.
* 1985 - British Telecom announces the retirement of the United Kingdom's red telephone boxes.
* 1989 - Stockton massacre: Patrick Purdy opens fire with an assault rifle at the Cleveland Elementary School playground, killing five children and wounding 29 others and one teacher before taking his own life.
* 1991 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
* 1991 - Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.
* 1998 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
* 2002 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
* 2007 - Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to N. Korea nuclear testing
* 1524 - Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano's voyage to find a passage to China.
* 1562 - France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.
* 1595 - Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
* 1605 - First publication of Don Quixote.
* 1648 - England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
* 1819 - Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Colombia.
* 1852 - The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
* 1885 - A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
* 1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
* 1917 - The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
* 1929 - Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
* 1941 - Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-Shek open fire at communist forces, resuming the Chinese Civil War after WWII.
* 1945 - Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw.
* 1945 - The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
* 1946 - The UN Security Council holds its first session.
* 1949 - The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
* 1961 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex".
* 1973 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the Philippines.
* 1985 - British Telecom announces the retirement of the United Kingdom's red telephone boxes.
* 1989 - Stockton massacre: Patrick Purdy opens fire with an assault rifle at the Cleveland Elementary School playground, killing five children and wounding 29 others and one teacher before taking his own life.
* 1991 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
* 1991 - Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.
* 1998 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
* 2002 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
* 2007 - Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to N. Korea nuclear testing
