Did you know
In 1981, President François Mitterrand abolishes capital punishment in France. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
October 9 in History
1981 — President François Mitterrand abolishes capital punishment in France
October 9 spans 58 recorded events across recorded history, from 768 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
58 events
768 – 2024
Today in history
More major events on October 9
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1847 Slavery is abolished in the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy. Source
- 1918 The Finnish Parliament elects Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland, but he never accedes to the throne due to Germany's defeat in World War I. Source
- 2016 The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launches its first attack on Myanmar security forces along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. Source
Did you know
Capital punishment in France is banned by Article 66-1 of the Constitution of the French Republic, voted as a constitutional amendment by the Congress of the French Parliament on 19 February 2007 and simply stating "No one can be sentenced to the death penalty". This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The death penalty was already declared illegal on 9 October 1981 when President François Mitterrand signed a law prohibiting the judicial system from using it and commuting the sentences of the seven people on death row to life imprisonment. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
The last execution took place by guillotine, being the main legal method since the French Revolution; Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian citizen convicted of torture and murder on French soil, was put to death in September 1977 in Marseille. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
In 1981, President François Mitterrand abolishes capital punishment in France had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned kings of the Franks.
King of the Franks (r. 768–771) of the Carolingian dynasty
Carloman I, German Karlmann, Karlomann, was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the second surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. His death allowed Charlemagne to take all of Francia.
768
James I of Aragon founds the Kingdom of Valencia.
King of Aragon from 1213 to 1276
James I the Conqueror was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and King of Valencia from 1238 to 1276. His long reign of 62 years is not only the longest of any Iberian monarch, but one of the longest monarchical reigns in history, ahead of Hirohito of Japan but remaining behind Elizabeth II of Britain, Queen Victoria of Britain, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, and King Louis XIV of France.
1238
The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock.
Medieval astronomical clock in the Czech Republic
The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague Orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock attached to the Old Town Hall in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
1410
Troops of the Portuguese Empire are defeated on Sri Lanka, bringing an end to the Campaign of Danture.
Colonial empire between 1415 and 1999
The Portuguese Empire, c. 1415 to 1999, was the first and longest lasting of the European colonial empires. Initiated during the Age of Discovery, at one point territories included parts of the Americas and Africa, along with ports and trading posts throughout Asia and Oceania. At its greatest extent in 1820, the area under its control was approximately 5.5 million square kilometres, or 2.1 million square miles.
1594
Kepler's Supernova is the most recent supernova to be observed within the Milky Way.
Supernova visible from Earth in the 17th century
SN 1604, also known as Kepler's Supernova, Kepler's Nova or Kepler's Star, was a Type Ia supernova that occurred in the Milky Way, in the constellation Ophiuchus. Appearing in 1604, it is the most recent supernova in the Milky Way galaxy to have been unquestionably observed by the naked eye, occurring no farther than 6 kiloparsecs from Earth. Before the adoption of the current naming system for supernovae, it was named for Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who described it in De Stella Nova.
1604
Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after religious and policy disagreements.
English Baptist minister, theologian, author, and founder of Rhode Island
Roger Williams was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious liberty, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with the Native Americans.
1635
The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
Private university in New Haven, Connecticut, US
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. It is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution.
1701
Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.
Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725
Peter I was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. Peter, as an autocrat, organized a well-ordered police state.
1708
Dutch colonists and Javanese natives begin a massacre of the ethnic Chinese population in Batavia, eventually killing at least 10,000.
Pogrom of ethnic Chinese in the Dutch East Indies
The 1740 Batavia massacre was a massacre and pogrom of ethnic Chinese residents of the port city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. It was carried out by Dutch soldiers of the Dutch East India Company and allied members of other Batavian ethnic groups. The violence in the city lasted from 9 October 1740, until 22 October, with minor skirmishes outside the walls continuing late into November that year. Historians have estimated that at least 10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred; just 600 to 3,000 are believed to have survived.
1740
Seven Years' War: Russian and Austrian troops briefly occupy Berlin.
Global war among European powers (1756–1763)
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The primary warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coalitions: Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Russia, plus Saxony and many other minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War.
1760
American Revolutionary War: A combined Franco-American assault on British defenses during the Siege of Savannah is repulsed with heavy casualties.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
1779
A severe earthquake in northern Algeria causes severe damage and a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea and kills three thousand.
Seismic event in Algeria
The 1790 Oran earthquake occurred on 10 October, striking near the coastal city of Oran in Algeria. The earthquake had an evaluated maximum seismic intensity of VIII–X on the European macroseismic scale (EMS-98). An estimated 3,000 people died during the earthquake and accompanying tsunami.
The magnitude of this earthquake has been disputed among members of the paleoseismology field, with estimates ranging from 7.5 to even as small as 5.5.
1790
HMS Lutine sinks with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.
Fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy
Lutine was a frigate which served in both the French Navy and the Royal Navy. She was launched by the French in 1779. The ship passed to British control in 1793 and was taken into service as HMS Lutine. She sank among the West Frisian Islands during a storm in 1799.
1799
Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.
Capital city of Tasmania, Australia
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by population and area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
1804
Prussia begins the War of the Fourth Coalition against France.
German state (1701–1918)
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918. It played a significant role in the unification of Germany in 1871 and was a major constituent of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. The Kingdom of Prussia took its name from the historical region of Prussia, and controlled most of said region, although it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and its capital was Berlin.
1806
War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.
1812–1815 conflict in North America
The War of 1812 was a conflict initiated by the United States against the United Kingdom and its allies fought mainly in North America and at sea during the wider Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on 17 February 1815.
1812
Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.
Most populous city in Ecuador
Guayaquil, officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.
1820
Restauration arrives in New York Harbor from Norway, the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States.
19th-century Norwegian sloop; symbol of Norwegian immigration to the US
Restauration was a sloop built in 1801, in Hardanger, Norway. It became a symbol of Norwegian American immigration. Historical sources may contain several variations on the name of the sloop, including Restauration, Restoration, Restaurasjonen, and Restorasjon.
1825
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of independent Greece, is assassinated.
Greek statesman and diplomat (1776–1831)
Count Ioannis Antoniou Kapodistrias, sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe.
1831
Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland.
Ireland's first passenger railway (1834–1856)
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR), which opened in 1834, was Ireland's first passenger railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour in County Dublin.
1834
Slavery is abolished in the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy.
Swedish island colony in the Caribbean from 1784 to 1878
The Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy existed for nearly a century. In 1784, one of French king Louis XVI's ministers ceded Saint Barthélemy to Sweden in exchange for trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg. Swedish rule lasted until 1878 when the French repurchased the island.
1847
American Civil War: Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States. The South saw slavery as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.
1861
American Civil War: Union cavalrymen defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia during Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign.
1864 battle of the American Civil War
The Battle of Tom's Brook was fought on October 9, 1864, near Tom's Brook in Shenandoah County, Virginia, during Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. It resulted in a significant Union victory, one that was mockingly dubbed the Woodstock Races for the speed of the Confederate withdrawal.
1864
A meeting at the U.S.
Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute.
The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds several annual conferences. The Naval Institute is based in Annapolis, Maryland.
1873
The Universal Postal Union is created by the Treaty of Bern.
Specialized agency of the United Nations
The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland.
1874
The Cook Islands become a territory of the United Kingdom.
Country in the South Pacific Ocean
The Cook Islands is an island country and associated state of New Zealand in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. The country consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean. The capital is Avarua, located on the island of Rarotonga.
1900
An accidental bomb explosion triggers the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty, beginning the Xinhai Revolution.
1911 revolt against Qing rule in China
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the 1911 Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty. It was led by elements of the New Army, influenced by revolutionary ideas from Tongmenghui. The uprising and the eventual revolution led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty after almost three centuries of imperial rule, and the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). Taiwan commemorates the anniversary of the uprising's outbreak on 10 October as the National Day of the Republic of China.
1911
The steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic.
Canadian ocean liner; caught fire and scuttled in North Atlantic (1913)
SS Volturno was an ocean liner that caught fire and was eventually scuttled in the North Atlantic in October 1913. She was a Royal Line ship under charter to the Uranium Line at the time of the fire. After the ship issued SOS signals, eleven ships came to her aid and, in heavy seas and gale winds, rescued 521 passengers and crewmen. In total 135 people died in the incident, most of them women and children in lifeboats launched unsuccessfully prior to the arrival of the rescue ships.
1913
World War I: The Siege of Antwerp comes to an end.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major theatres of war included Europe and the Middle East, and well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including in mass war crimes against civilians and genocides. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks, and was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
1914
The Finnish Parliament elects Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse as King of Finland, but he never accedes to the throne due to Germany's defeat in World War I.
Supreme unicameral legislature of Finland
The Parliament of Finland is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The Parliament consists of 200 members, 199 of whom are elected every four years from 13 multi-member districts electing 6 to 37 members using the proportional D'Hondt method. In addition, there is one member from Åland.
1918
The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, resulting in the Black Sox Scandal.
Major League Baseball franchise in Cincinnati, Ohio
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. They were a charter member of the American Association in 1882 before joining the NL in 1890.
1919
An Ustashe assassin kills King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France, in Marseille.
Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization (1929–45)
The Ustaše was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945. It was formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Movement. From its inception and before the Second World War, the organization engaged in a series of terrorist activities against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It collaborated with IMRO to assassinate King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in 1934. During World War II in Yugoslavia, the Ustaše went on to perpetrate the Holocaust and genocide against its Jewish, Serb and Roma populations, killing hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma, as well as Muslim and Croat political dissidents. The ideology of the movement combined fascism, Roman Catholicism and Croatian ultranationalism.
1934
Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam) begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles.
Dam in Nevada and Arizona, US
The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the boundary between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, during the Great Depression, it was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over 100 lives. Bills passed by Congress during its construction referred to it as Hoover Dam, but the Roosevelt administration named it Boulder Dam. In 1947, Congress reinstated the name Hoover Dam.
1936
Murder of 9 Catholic priests in Zhengding, China, who protected the local population from the advancing Japanese army.
1937 kidnapping and murder of nine Catholic priests in Hebei, Republic-era China
The Zhengding Missionary Murder is an incident in which nine Catholic priests were kidnapped and killed in Zhengding, Hebei province, Republic-era China on October 9, 1937.
1937
A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.
Country in Central America
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country located at the southern end of Central America in North America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the country's over 4 million inhabitants.
1941
Australia's Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 receives royal assent.
Australian Parliament act which formalised Australia's independence from the UK
The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted sections 2–6 of the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enabling the total legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. With its enactment, Westminster relinquished nearly all of its authority to legislate for the Dominions, effectively making them de jure sovereign nations.
1942
The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre in Korea begins.
1950 killings in South Korea
The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre was a war crime of 153 unarmed civilians conducted between 9 October 1950 and 31 October 1950 by police at the site of a former gold mine in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do district of South Korea. After the victory of the Second Battle of Seoul, South Korean authorities arrested and summarily executed several individuals along with their families on suspicion of sympathizing with North Korea. The killings in Goyang coincided with the Namyangju massacre in nearby Namyangju.
1950
Uganda becomes an independent Commonwealth realm.
Country in East Africa
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region, lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied equatorial climate. As of 2024, it had a population of 45.9 million, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital and largest city, Kampala.
1962
In Italy, a large landslide causes a giant wave to overtop the Vajont Dam, killing over 2,000.
Disused gravity arch dam in Erto e Casso, Italy
The Vajont Dam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in the valley of the Vajont river under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, 100 kilometres (60 mi) north of Venice, Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of 262 m (860 ft).
1963
Vietnam War: the Republic of Korea Army commits the Binh Tai Massacre.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.
1966
A day after his capture, Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
Argentine revolutionary (1928–1967)
Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, politician, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture.
1967
In Chicago, the National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight".
Most populous city in Illinois, US
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S.
1969
The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia.
Country in Southeast Asia from 1970 to 1975
The Khmer Republic was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état which led to the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk's government and the subsequent abolition of the federalist Cambodian monarchy in favour of a centralised republic. After the coup, Sihanouk fled to Pyongyang and later Beijing in exile.
1970
Pope John Paul II greets the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005
Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX. In addition to this, he was an important philosopher and theologian of the 20th century.
1980
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survives an assassination attempt in Rangoon, Burma, but the blast kills 21 and injures 17 others.
Leader of South Korea from 1979 to 1988
Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. A member of the Democratic Justice Party, he ruled the country as a military dictator following a successful coup in December 1979. The period encompassing his presidency is known as the Fifth Republic of Korea.
1983
The popular children's television show Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends, based on The Railway Series by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, premieres on ITV.
British children's television series
Thomas & Friends is a British children's television series developed for television by Britt Allcroft. Based on The Railway Series children's books by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry, it centers on Thomas the Tank Engine, as well as various anthropomorphic steam locomotives and other vehicles living on the fictional Island of Sodor.
1984
The Phantom of the Opera, eventually the second longest running musical in London, opens at Her Majesty's Theatre.
1986 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, and a libretto by Lloyd Webber and Stilgoe. Inspired by the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, it tells the tragic story of beautiful soprano Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious and disfigured musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opera House.
1986
Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the fourth US television network.
American commercial broadcast television network
Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship namesake property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. The channel was launched by News Corporation on October 9, 1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, which are the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
1986
The Peekskill meteorite, a 27.7 pounds (12.6 kg) meteorite crashed into a parked car in Peekskill, New York
Meteorite which landed in Peekskill, New York, United States in 1992
The Peekskill meteorite is the object resulting from a well-documented meteorite event that occurred in October, 1992, in Peekskill, New York, United States. Sixteen separate video recordings document the meteorite burning through the Earth's atmosphere, whereupon it struck a parked car in Peekskill. The Peekskill meteorite is an H6 monomict breccia; its filigreed texture is the result of the shocking and heating following the impact of two asteroids in outer space. The meteorite is of the stony variety, and approximately 20% of its mass is tiny flakes of nickel-iron. When it struck Earth, the meteorite weighed 12.57 kilograms and measured 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter. The Peekskill meteorite is estimated to be 4.4 billion years old.
1992
An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.
American intercity passenger rail operator
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in every contiguous U.S. state except for Wyoming and South Dakota as well as in three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track.
1995
North Korea conducts its first nuclear test.
On 9 October 2006, North Korea performed its first nuclear test, detonating a plutonium-based device underground. The test made North Korea the tenth country to develop and the eighth to openly test nuclear weapons.
2006
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its all-time high of 14,164 points before rapidly declining due to the 2008 financial crisis.
American stock market index composed of 30 industry leaders
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
2007
First lunar impact of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
Program of robotic spacecraft missions
The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP) is a NASA program that uses robotic spacecraft to prepare for future crewed missions to the Moon. The program gathers data such as lunar radiation, surface imaging, areas of scientific interest, temperature and lighting conditions, and potential resource identification.
2009
Pakistani Taliban attempt to assassinate outspoken schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.
Pakistani education activist (born 1997)
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17, and is the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. Yousafzai is a human rights advocate for the education of women and children in her native district, Swat, where the Pakistani Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. Her advocacy has grown into an international movement, and according to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she has become Pakistan's "most prominent citizen".
2012
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launches its first attack on Myanmar security forces along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border.
Insurgent group in Rakhine State, Myanmar
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, formerly known as Harakah al-Yaqin, is a Rohingya insurgent group originating from northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. According to a December 2016 report by the International Crisis Group, it is led by Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, a Rohingya man who was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and grew up in Saudi Arabia. Other members of its leadership include a committee of Rohingya émigrés in Saudi Arabia. Ataullah and the group's leadership have allegedly received military training from the Pakistani Taliban.
2016
Turkey begins its military offensive in north-eastern Syria.
Operation Peace Spring
Operation Peace Spring was a joint operation by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), later involving the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), in northeastern Syria.
2019
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing US$34.3 billion in damage only two weeks after Hurricane Helene impacted the state.
Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2024
Hurricane Milton was an extremely powerful and destructive tropical cyclone which caused major damage and fatalities in Florida in October 2024. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Rita for the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. Milton significantly impacted the west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the state's Big Bend region; further exacerbating damage and hindering clean-up efforts in previously affected regions. The thirteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, fourth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the extremely active 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Milton was the strongest tropical cyclone to occur worldwide in 2024. The hurricane also spawned a deadly tornado outbreak in one of the most intense tropical cyclone-produced outbreaks recorded. Total damages as a result of Milton were estimated to be $34.3 billion, making it the ninth-costliest Atlantic hurricane on record.
2024