Columbus uses an eclipse to win supplies from Jamaicans (1504), and Luxembourg makes all public transport free nationwide (2020). Born on this day: Leo von Klenze, Arthur Giry and Howard Nemerov. Died: Elpidio Quirino.
24 events, 3 births and 1 deaths on this date.
Stranded on Jamaica with his crew running short of food, Columbus had read an almanac predicting a lunar eclipse. He warned the islanders he would take the moon from them, and when the eclipse came, they rushed to bring him provisions.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio · Public domainChristopher ColumbusHear the story in ChunksLuxembourg, a small landlocked grand duchy in Western Europe, became the first nation to scrap fares on all public transport across the whole country. Anyone riding a bus or train there now travels without a ticket, a world first at national scale.
In exchange for American food assistance, Pyongyang pledged to pause uranium enrichment and weapons testing, including launches of longer-range missiles. The deal raised hopes of easing a long standoff, though it collapsed within weeks after North Korea announced a satellite launch.
South Carolina stopped children as young as 12 from working in its factories, mills and mines, lifting the minimum age to 14. The state's textile industry had long relied on child labour, so the change marked a real shift in how its workforce was protected.
Odo, Count of Paris, was crowned by Archbishop Walter of Sens at Compiègne. The ceremony put a Parisian count on the throne of West Francia, the kingdom that later became France.
Britain took the three tropical coral atolls of Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo under its authority. Today the group, home to about 2,500 people, is a dependent territory of New Zealand.
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German architect and painter who served as court architect to Ludwig I of Bavaria. He became a leading figure of Neoclassicism and the Greek Revival, shaping much of Munich's grand public buildings.
Franz Hanfstaengl · Public domain
Arthur Giry was a French historian, archivist and university teacher who studied medieval France in detail. He is remembered for his work on the Middle Ages, especially the documents and institutions of the period.
Public domainHoward Nemerov was an American poet and university teacher who twice served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. His Collected Poems of 1977 won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and the Bollingen Prize.
Quirino was the Philippines' sixth president, taking office in 1948 after Manuel Roxas died. He is remembered for steering the young republic through the Hukbalahap insurgency before losing the 1953 election to Ramon Magsaysay.
Philippine Presidential Museum and Library · Public domain
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