1875
Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time
On this day in 1875, Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time after stealing a basket of laundry. He later broke out of jail and roamed the American West, eventually earning a reputation as an outlaw and murderer and a rap sheet that allegedly included 21 murders.
The exact details of Billy the Kid's birth are unknown, other than his name, William Henry McCarty. He was probably born ... Read more >
1848
Chewing gum first goes on sale
Something To Chew On
As long as there have been people, there have been people chewing things. It’s just the way we are. In the Neolithic period, chewing gum made from birch bark tar was favoured. The ancient Greeks gnawed on something called mastic gum. The Aztecs got their gums around tree resin lumps which sounds absolutely deleicious. And Native Americans chewed on... Read more >
1964
Chagall's ceiling unveiled
The Paris Opéra unveils a stunning new ceiling painted as a gift by Belorussian-born artist Marc Chagall, who spent much of his life in France. Chagall's Russian soul and Jewish heritage stirred his love for folklore and biblical themes. Before the advent of surrealism, he painted fantastical paintings that were among the first expressions of psychic reality in modern art. Among his most famou... Read more >
2004
Hurricane Jeanne crashes into Haiti
Hurricane Jeanne slams into Haiti, killing thousands, on this day in 2004. Coming just days after Hurricane Ivan, Jeanne was part of a series of deadly storms to hit the region during the 2004 hurricane season. The storm formed on September 13 near Africa’s west coast. As it moved slowly across the Atlantic, it built up strength and was a Category 2 storm when it reached Haiti. Jeanne’s hea... Read more >
1846
Eighth planet discovered
German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovers the planet Neptune at the Berlin Observatory. Neptune, generally the eighth planet from the sun, was postulated by the French astronomer Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier, who calculated the approximate location of the planet by studying gravity-induced disturbances in the motions of Uranus. On September 23, 1846, Le Verrier informed Galle of his f... Read more >