Today:
1009: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
1356: The Basel earthquake, the most significant historical seismic event north of the Alps, destroys the city of Basel, Switzerland.
1648: Boston shoemakers form the first labor organization in what would become the United States.
1685: King Louis XIV of France revokes the Edict of Nantes, ending the policy of religious tolerance toward Huguenots.
1767: The Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, is officially agreed upon.
1851: Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick” is first published in London under the title “The Whale.”
1867: The United States formally takes possession of Alaska from Russia, a transaction known as “Seward’s Folly.”
1922: The British Broadcasting Company, Ltd., which would later become the BBC, is founded.
1929: In the “Persons Case” (Edwards v. Canada), the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rules that women are “persons” under Canadian law, allowing them to be appointed to the Senate.
1968: U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos are suspended from the national team for giving a “black power” salute during their medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics.