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Fact of the Day

According to FIFA, football was played in Han-dynasty China (206 BCE - 220 CE): players kicked a leather ball filled with feathers into a net supported by bamboo rods.

Quote of the Day

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. "

~ Socrates

On This Day

796 King Æthelred I of Northumbria was murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada.

1881 The Natural History Museum in London opened its doors for the first time.

1906 Three thousand people died and 80% of the city was destroyed when a 7.8 Mw earthquake hit San Francisco.

1909 French heroine Joan of Arc was beatified, the first step towards canonisation.

1912 RMS Carpathia arrived in New York with 705 survivors from the Titanic disaster.

1955 Theoretical physicist and developer of the general theory of relativity, Albert Einstein died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. He refused surgery, stating 'I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go.'

1968 London Bridge was sold for $2.46 million to American oil tycoon Robert P McCulloch. He had it dismantled and shipped to Arizona, where it was rebuilt brick by brick.

1980 Rhodesia became Zimbabwe and independent from Britain, with Robert Mugabe appointed as Prime Minister.