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Flashback calendar

2018

ATP Finals starts in London

The ATP Finals is a men's tennis tournament that is played at the O2 Arena in London. It is the season-ending event for the highest-ranked singles players and doubles teams on the ATP World Tour. The event takes place on indoor hard courts. It serves as the season-ending championships for players on the ATP Tour.

'The Band's Visit' opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre

The Band’s Visit is a stage musical based on a 2007 Israeli film of the same name. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Itamar Moses, it opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre after its off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company.

Beer giants AB InBev and SABMiller agree mega-merger

AB InBev produces brands such as Stella Artois or Corona, and SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch. The acquisition of SABMiller by AB InBev united the world's two biggest beer makers, which together control about half the industry's profit.

'Catching Fire' premieres in London

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is an American dystopian science fiction adventure film based on Suzanne Collins' dystopian novel, Catching Fire, the second installment in The Hunger Games trilogy. The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square theater in London.

Al Hamra Tower is opened

The Al Hamra Tower is a skyscraper in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It is the tallest building in Kuwait. Construction of the skyscraper started in 2005. Designed by architectural firms Skidmore, Owings, Merrill and Ramshir and Callison, it is the tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the world and the 13th tallest building in the world at 414 m.

'The Pee-wee Herman Show' opens on Broadway

The Pee-wee Herman Show is a stage show developed by Paul Reubens in 1980. It marks the 1st significant appearance of his comedic fictional character. The show initially debuted as a midnight show in February 1981 at the Groundlings theater and was later moved to Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre production opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on November.

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1' is released

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a 2010 fantasy film, the first of two cinematic parts based on J. K. Rowling's novel of the same name. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film was written by Steve Kloves, directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Taylor Swift releases album 'Fearless'

Fearless is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and was released by Big Machine Records. As with her first album, Swift wrote or co-wrote all thirteen tracks on. Most of the songs were written while promoting her first album as the opening act for numerous country artists.

Sony releases the PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2 and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released in Japan. The PlayStation 3 competed mainly against consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the 7th generation of video game consoles.

UK Music Hall of Fame Awards held for first time

The UK Music Hall of Fame was an awards ceremony to honor musicians of any nationality for their lifetime contributions to music in the United Kingdom. The hall of fame was opened in 2004 with the induction of five founding members and five members selected by a public televote, two from each of the last five decades.

The World Trade Organization approves China's membership

The admission of China to the WTO was preceded by a long process of negotiations for changes required to the Chinese economy. China's membership in the organization meant its deeper integration into the world economy, liberalization of its service sector and allowance of foreign investment.

Kaprun fire disaster kills 155 people

The Kaprun disaster occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular in Kaprun, Austria in November 2000. The disaster killed 155 people, there were 12 survivors who escaped the burning ascending train. Most of the victims were skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier.

Bill Gates buys Leonardo da Vinci's 'Codex' for $30,800,000

The Codex Leicester is a collection of famous scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci. Of Leonardo's 30 scientific journals, the Codex may be the most famous of all. The manuscript currently holds the record for the second highest sale price of any book, as it was sold to Bill Gates at Christie's auction house in New York for US$30,802,500.

Chris Rea starts at #1 on the UK album chart

The Road to Hell is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1989. It is Rea's most successful studio album, topping the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. The eponymous title track The Road to Hell was written about the A63, the principal roadway out of Hull, and remained at number one for 15 days, while the album’s chart run lasted another 45 weeks.

A painting by Vincent Van Gogh called Irises is sold for $54m

Irises became the most expensive painting ever sold, which set a record that lasted for 2 and a half years. As of 2012, it was the 10th on the inflation-adjusted list of most expensive paintings ever sold. The work is currently located in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Publication of 'Two Towers' by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The novel was originally published as three separate volumes due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The Two Towers covers Books III and IV.

The first direct dial long-distance telephone call in North America

The first direct-dial long-distance telephone call was placed from Mayor M. Leslie Denning of New Jersey to Mayor Frank Osborne of California via At&T's Bell System. The 10 digit call was connected within 18 seconds.

Billie Holiday comes out with hit song 'Riffin' the Scotch'

Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. At age 18, she recorded two songs: "Your Mother's Son-in-Law" and "Riffin' the Scotch". The latter became her first big hit, selling 5,000 copies.

Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd patent refrigerator

The Einstein–Szilard or Einstein refrigerator is an absorption refrigerator which has no moving parts, operates at constant pressure, and requires only a heat source to operate. It was jointly invented in 1926 by Albert Einstein and his former student Leó Szilárd, who patented it in the U.S. on November 11, 1930. This is an alternative design from the original invention of 1922 by the Swedish inventors Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters.

Louis Armstrong records 1st Hot Five Session

The Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions were recorded between 1925 and 1928 by Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. These recordings were added to the National Recording Registry in 2002, the first year of the institution's existence.

Adolf Hitler is arrested in Munich for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch

Two days after the putsch, Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason in the special People's Court. Some of his fellow conspirators, including Rudolf Hess, were also arrested, while others, including Hermann Göring and Ernst Hanfstaengl, escaped to Austria. The Nazi Party's headquarters was raided, and its newspaper was banned.

World War I ends

As an armistice between Germany and the Allies was signed, a ceasefire came into effect. The agreement marked a victory for the Allies and a defeat for Germany. Although it ended the actual fighting, it took 6 months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles.

Mary Edwards Walker becomes the first woman to receive the US Medal of Honor

Mary Edwards Walker, M.D., commonly referred to as Dr. Mary Walker, was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon. She is the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor for her efforts to treat the wounded during the Civil War.

Nat Turner is hanged after inciting a violent slave uprising

Turner was tried for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection", convicted, and sentenced to death. Turner was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia. His body was flayed and beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels. Turner received no formal burial; his headless remains were possibly buried in an unmarked grave.

Handel's opera 'Tamerlano' premieres in London

Tamerlano is an opera seria in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music theatre company, with music by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym. Tamerlano was first performed at the King's Theatre in London.

Birth of Calculus

German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz showed how to find an area under the graph of the mathematical function. This day is often commemorated as the birth of calculus. However, there is also a great controversy. English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton invented calculus in a roughly same time. It is impossible to decide who was first.

Anniversaries of the (in)famous

born 1986

Jon Batiste

born 1962

Demi Moore

born 1960

Stanley Tucci