Unix Timestamp: 1072742400
Tuesday, December 30. 2003, 12:00:00 AM UTC

Sheikh Hasina's Awami League wins a supermajority in Bangladesh's National Assembly. //www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/30sheikh-hasina-storms-to-power-in-bangladesh.htm (Rediff)

Following the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections, the National Conference and National Congress parties agree to form a coalition government. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7804583.stm (BBC)

Basque nationalist group ETA detonates a van bomb at Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, ending a nine-month ceasefire.

A fire in a Buenos Airesnight club (República Cromagnon) kills 194 people during a rock concert.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych resigns.

Simón Trinidad, high-profile FARC leader, is extradited to the United States, following the second extradition of a high drug dealer in a month and in 2004.

Taipei 101, at the time tallestskyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 1,670 feet (509 metres ), officially opens.

Population Division of the United Nations calculate that 40 million people around the world are infected with HIV.

An eruption on the volcanic islandStromboli off the coast of Sicily causes a flank failure and tsunami. The island is later evacuated.

The United Nations Security Council voted 13–0, with two abstentions, to revise the list of goods Iraq is allowed to purchase under the food-for-oil program. The list includes flight simulators, communications equipment, high-speed motorboats, and rocket cases, which the United States noted are dual-use technologies. The Security Council also agreed to ask the UN for standards to evaluate the quantities of medicine and antibiotics Iraq is allowed to import under this program.

Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines, within a span of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about 100.

Rizal Day Bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines, within a span of a few hours killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.

The Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to go into full production, is unveiled in Japan on October 24, and goes on sale in Japan on December 9. It comes to U.S. showrooms on July 11, 2000.

Wilaya of Relizane massacres of December 30, 1997: In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, 400 are killed from four villages in the "wilaya" of Relizane.

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979): NASA launches the last of America's deep-space probes, the Space Shuttle "Ranger 3", which is piloted by Captain William Buck Rogers.

"Fargo" (1996): The film takes place in Minnesota, 1987

Music:

"Shenmue" (1999) ndash Story continues into 1987.

Pope John Paul II issues the encyclical "Sollicitudo Rei Socialis" ("On Social Concern").

Tinker Hatfield designed the Nike Air Max.

"13 Going on 30" (2004): The scenes where Jenna is thirteen take place on May 26, 1987.

"Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus" is set in this year (as claimed by the newspaper, after beating a boss).

Shoko Asahara founds the Aum Shinrikyo cult.

"Shenmue II" (2001): The game is set in 1987

Barry Minkow's "ZZZZ Best" fraud unravels.

"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004): There is a picture of a fat White Goodman with the caption White Goodman ndash 1987 on it.

Computer/video games:

Maglite introduces the 2AAA Mini Maglite battery, targeted for medical and industrial applications.

1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), debut album by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, later known as The KLF.

"Resident Evil": Michael Warren is elected mayor of Raccoon City.

Television:

Thomas Knoll and John Knoll develop the first version of Photoshop.

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (2009): The film takes place in Harlem, New York in 1987.

The Pendolino train makes its debut in Italy.

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (2009): The film takes place in Harlem, New York in 1987.

"Rock of Ages" (2012): The year in which this film takes place.

Set in 1987: the "Doctor Who" episode Father's Day, 2005 takes place on November 7.

Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.

Film:

"American Psycho" (2000): According to director Mary Harron on the DVD commentary, the film is set around the end of 1987. Patrick Bateman is seen reading Zagat's Survey of this year as well.

"Adventureland" (2009): The film takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, summer 1987

"Syphon Filter 3": Three levels take place in and around Kabul, Afghanistan during this year amidst the Soviet occupation, with Gabe Logan and Lian Xing pitted against Afghan rebels and Soviet troops.

"Space: 1999" episode The Rules of Luton we learn that a world war, likely World War III, began sometime in 1987. It was described as 'The war to end all wars'.

Rubik\\\'s Cubepuzzle invented by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik.

Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura surrenders on the Indonesian island of Morota, 34 years after beginning service in World War II

Terrorist Carlos fails in his attempt to assassinate British businessman Joseph Sieff.

The Linwood bank robbery leaves two police officers dead.

Jerome Horowitz synthesizes zidovudine, an antiviral drug which would later be used in treating HIV.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) established as a permanent organ of the UN General Assembly.

Rudi Gernreich designs the original monokini topless swimsuit in the US.//gernreich.steirischerbst.at/pages/bio1.htm Gernreich Bio

The Vishva Hindu Parishad is founded.

The first Moog synthesizer is designed by Robert Moog.

Dr. Farrington Daniels' book "Direct Use of the Sun's Energy" is published by Yale University Press.

Cosmic microwave background radiation is discovered.

Roald Dahl writes "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

Congolese troops capture Albert Kalonji of South Kasai (who soon escapes).

The Japanese 10 yen coin is issued with serrated edges for a 5-year period, beginning in 1953. All 10 yen coins since have had smooth edges.

The first colour television sets go on sale for about $1,175 (American dollars).

Heavy massive rain, landslides, and flooding in western and southwestern Japan kill an estimated 2,566, and injure 9,433, mainly at Kizugawa, Wakayama, Kumamoto and Kitakyushu (June–August).

The Vatican announces that bones uncovered in its subterranean catacombs could be the apostle Peter 19 years later, Pope Paul VI announces confirmation that the bones belong to this first pope.Year by Year 1949 – History Channel International.

Fernand Braudel's "La Méditerranée et le Monde Méditerranéen à l'Epoque de Philippe II" is published.

1949 was the first year in which no African-American was reported lynched in the USA."From Harding to Hiroshima" by Barrington Boardman (1988), p. 14. ISBN 0-934878-94-3

India recognizes the People's Republic of China.

Joseph Stalin launches a savage attack on Soviet Jews, accusing them of being pro-Western and antisocialist.

Samuel Putnam publishes his new translation of "Don Quixote", the first in what we would consider modern English. It is instantly acclaimed and, in 2008, is still in print.

The first 20 mm M61 VulcanGatling gun prototypes are completed.

The Malta Labour Party is founded.

The musical "Kiss Me, Kate" opens for the first of 1,077 performances

King Michael of Romania abdicates.

Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK-47assault rifle is accepted as the standard small arm of the Soviet military.

The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigations into communism in Hollywood.

By the discovery of promethium in the products of nuclear fission, the last remaining gap of the periodic table is closed.

Cambridge University begins to admit women as full students.

In a cave in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea), several tall pottery jars containing leather scrolls are discovered, which later become known as the "'Dead Sea scrolls"'.Year by Year 1947 ndash History Channel International

The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is introduced.

Women's suffrage is granted in Argentina.

Raytheon produces the first commercial microwave oven.

Hans Asperger publishes his paper on Asperger syndrome.

WWII: Battle of Leyte: Tens of thousands of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers are killed in action, in a significant Filipino and Allied military victory.

Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren publishes her first book, "Pippi Longstocking".

WWII: Hungary declares war on Nazi Germany.

Last known evidence for the existence of the Asiatic lion in the wild in Iran (Khuzestan Province).

Edward Stettinius Jr. becomes the last United States Secretary of State of the Roosevelt administration, filling the seat left by Cordell Hull.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence is established in the United States.

In Sweden, Erik Wallenberg and Ruben Rausing invent a way to package milk in paper and start the company Tetra Pak.

The 1944 Summer Olympics, scheduled for London (together with the February Winter Olympics scheduled for Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy), are suspended due to WWII.

King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving his throne vacant.

Canadian ArcticexplorerHenry Larsen becomes the first person to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage in both directions in a schooner. He chronicles the event in his autobiography, "The Big Ship".()ref name=ReferenceA/

The Belzec extermination c is closed and dismantled by the Nazis

Subhash Chandra Bose sets up a pro-Japanese Indian government at Port Blair, India.

Arana Hall, Otago is founded in New Zealand.

Bengal Famine.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau co-invents, with Emile Gagnan, the first commercially successful open circuit type of scuba diving equipment, the Aqua-lung.Year by Year 1943 – History Channel International

Publication of Martin Noth's groundbreaking "Uberlieferungsgeschischtliche Studien: Die sammelnden und bearbeitenden Geschichtswerke im Alten Testament" Schriften der Konigsberger Gelehrten Gesellschaft: Geisteswissenschaftliche Klasse 18,2 (trans: Writings of the Konigsberger Scholarly Society:Spiritual Scientific Class No. 18.2): (HalleHalle an der Saale: M. Niemeyer, 1943)

The Colossus computer is invented by the British to break German encryption (see History of computing hardware).

The Mondragón Cooperative Corporation begins in Basque Country in Spain.

California's first modern freeway, the future State Route 110, opens to traffic in Pasadena, California, as the Arroyo Seco Parkway (now the Pasadena Freeway).

Olympic Games, assigned to Tokyo, Japan, and later to Helsinki, Finland, are suspended due to WWII.

US historian Arthur Marder publishes "The Anatomy of British Sea Power: a history of British naval policy in the pre-Dreadnought era, 1880-1905".

In Sweden, Victor Hasselblad forms the Victor Hasselblad AB Camera Company.

In Korea, the "Hunminjeongeum" (1446) is discovered, explaining the basis of the Hangulalphabet.

Adolf Hitler is "Time" magazine's Man of the Year, as the most influential person of the year.

Family plots produce 22% of all Soviet agricultural produce on only 4% of all cultivated land.

Women are limited by law to a maximum of 10% of the better-paying jobs in industry and government in Italy.

Establishment of Majlis Khuddam-ul Ahmadiyya by Khalifat-ul Masih II, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, the second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

In West Java, Daeng Soetigna tunes the traditionalangklung to play the diatonicscale.

The Schomburgk's Deer becomes extinct by this date.

The ballet "Romeo and Juliet" with music by Prokofiev receives its first full performance at the Mahen Theatre in Brno, Czechoslovakia.

Herbert E. Ives and G. R. Stilwell execute the Ives-Stilwell experiment, showing that ions radiate at frequencies affected by their motion.

The Walther P38 pistol is introduced in Germany.

The first cartoon to feature a prototypical Bugs Bunny, "Porky's Hare Hunt", is released.

The "British Broadcasting Corporation" is granted a Royal Charter of Incorporation.

World population reaches two billion.

The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers is founded to bring about the repeal of prohibition of alcohol in United States.

The first Japanese commuter metro line, the Ginza Line in Tokyo, opens.

Harold Stephen Black invents the feedback lifier.

In Britain, 1,000 people a week die from an influenza epidemic.

International Union of Official Organizations for Tourist Propaganda.

Astronomer Edwin Hubble announces that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe.

Alice Vanderbilt Morris, a wealthy heiress, founds the International Auxiliary Language Association in New York

In the United States both the Renegade Period and the Apache Wars end which brings the American Indian Wars to a close after 302 years.

U.S. bootleggers begin to use Thompson submachine guns.

The powerful opiate hydromorphone is developed in Germany.

André Breton defines surrealism as pure psychic automatism in the first Surrealist Manifesto.

The Earth Inductor Compass is invented in New York City.

Earl W. Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and makes rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging at Stirling, Alberta Canada.

Sometime in October the Russian Civil War ends with the colonies remaining part of Russia.

Following the annexation of former German colonies after the First World War, the British Empire reaches its height and largest extent, covering a quarter of the world and ruling over one in four humans.

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasiacome together to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

"Kurd Istigdul Djemijetin", the Kurdish Independence Committee, is founded.

"Vegemite" is invented by Australian Fred Walker.

The Barbary Lion becomes extinct in the wild, with the last killed in Morocco, in the area of the Zelan and Beni Mguild Forests.

The Amur Tiger becomes extinct in South Korea.

Wracked by rapid inflation and political assassinations and motivated by hostility and arrogance as well, the Weimar Republic announces its inability to pay more and proposes a moratorium on reparations for 3 years.

Japan signs a naval arms limitation treaty with the Western powers and returns some of its control over the Shandong Peninsula to China.

The Molly Pitcher Club is formed to promote the repeal of prohibition in the United States.

Thompson Webb founds the Webb School for Boys.

The year ends with hyperinflation showing no sign of slowing down in Germany, with 7,000 marks now needed to buy a single American dollar.

Earl W. Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and makes rodeo's first hornless bronc saddle at Lethbridge, Alberta Canada.

The California grizzly bear becomes extinct.

Bronisław Malinowski's influential ethnological text "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" is published.

Humberto Gómez and his mercenaries seize Arauca in Colombia and declare the "Republic of Arauca". He proceeds to pillage the region before fleeing to Venezuela.

Italy returns the "Mona Lisa" to France.

The British steamship "Calvadas" disappears in the Marmara Sea with 200 hands on board.

The value of world trade reaches roughly $38 billion.

The United States Soccer Federation is formed.

French physicist Georges Sagnac shows that the speed of light is independent of the speed of a rotating platform.

The Camelcigarette brand is introduced by R. J. Reynolds in the United States, the first packaged cigarette.

Female suffrage is enacted in Norway.

Establishment of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Bangladesh

The First Balkan War ends temporarily: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League countries) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month-long war.

Alfred Wegener proposes the theory of continental drift.

Wilfrid Voynich discovers the eponymous manuscript in the Villa Mondragone.

The Scoville Unit (used to measure the heat of peppers) is devised and tested by Wilbur Scoville.

Casimir Funk identifies vitamins.

The East Boston Tunnel opens.

Osea Island in Maldon, Essex, England was bought by Mr. Frederick Charrington.

The first box of Crayolacrayons was made and sold for 5 cents. It contained 8 colors brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and black.

The Lincoln-Lee Legion is established to promote the temperance movement and signing of alcohol abstinence pledges by children.

Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago kills 600.

The Potawatomi Zoo (the oldest zoo in Indiana) opens in South Bend.

The insurrection ends in the Philippines.

Discovery Expedition: Scott, Shackleton and Wilson reach the furthest southern point reached thus far by man, south of 82°S.

Capital of French Indochina moved from Saigon (in Cochinchina) to Hanoi (Tonkin).

Completion of Paul Doumer Bridge linking both sections of Hanoi.

Nathan B. Stubblefield demonstrates his mobile phone device in Kentucky.

The word computer, meaning an electronic calculation device, is first used.

Zhejiang University is founded.

France allows women to study at the "Ecole des Beaux-Arts".

Hiram Percy Maxim develops the muffler in conjunction with the suppressor.

The Philippine Revolution is settled with Spanish promises to reform.

Karl Lueger becomes mayor of Vienna.

The Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry, a BritishYeomanry Cavalry Regiment, adopts the sub-title "Earl of Carrick's Own" in honour of the future King Edward VII.

"Dos Equis" is first brewed in anticipation of new century.

Émile Durkheim publishes his classic study "Suicide".

Natal annexes Zululand.

J. J. Thomson discovers the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the nucleus).

Bayer first produces Aspirin.

Construction of the Uganda Railway starts.

The United States Republican Party is realigned.

France establishes an administrative post in Abengourou, Côte d'Ivoire.

Jose Rizal, Filipino scholar and poet, is executed by Spanish authorities in the Philippines.

Clarkson University (in Potsdam, New York)

The Philippine Revolution erupts.

The Pontifical University of Maynooth is established by decree of the Vatican.

Pleasure Beach Blackpool, a popular English theme park ("Britain's Biggest Tourist Attraction"), is founded by Alderman William George Bean.

Founding of

Nepalese archaeologists rediscover the great stone pillar of Ashoka at Lumbini, using Fa Xian's records.

The New York Telephone Company is formed.

Devonport High School for Boys (in PlymouthUK)

The Transvaal becomes a republic and Paul Kruger becomes its first president.

Piezoelectricity is discovered by Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie.

"The Pirates of Penzance" is first performed in Paignton, Devon, England.

Juan Prim, prime minister of Spain, is assassinated.

The USS ''Monitor'' sinks in storm in the Atlantic off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The USS "Monitor" sinks in storm in the Atlantic off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Alexander Wood invents the hypodermic syringe.

1853–1873 ndash More than 130,000 Chinese laborers come to Cuba.

Stephen Foster writes "My Old Kentucky Home".

Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.

Georges-Eugène Haussmann is selected as "prefect" to begin the re-planning of Paris.

The Swiss watch company "Tissot" is founded.

The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China is incorporated in London by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is founded.

The Independent Santa Cruz Maya of Eastern Yucatan are recognized as an independent nation by the British Empire.

Donald McKay builds the "Great Republic", the world's biggest sailing ship, which at 4,500 tons is too large to be successful.

Iesada succeeds Ieyoshi as Japanese Shogun. The Late Tokugawa shogunate (the last part of the Edo period in Japan) begins.

The University of Florida is established.

Wheaton Academy founded in West Chicago, Illinois.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel begins work on the "Great Eastern" passenger steamer.

Golden year in the history of the piano: Bechstein, Julius Blüthner and Steinway Sons, three prominent piano makers, are founded.

The clothing company Levi Strauss Co. is founded.

Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway are incorporated in Ireland.

Elizabeth Barret Browning writes her "Sonnets from the Portuguese" (1845–1846).

In the "United States Magazine and Democratic Review" editor John L. O'Sullivan declares that foreign powers are trying to prevent American annexation of Texas in order to impede the fullfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.

The Republic of Yucatán separates for a second time from Mexico.

In the "United States Magazine and Democratic Review" editorJohn L. O'Sullivan declares that foreign powers are trying to prevent American annexation of Texas in order to impede the fullfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.

Ephraim Bee reveals that the Emperor of China has given him a special dispensation: that he has entrusted him with certain sacred and mysterious rituals through Caleb Cushing, the U.S. Commissioner to China, to extend the work and influence of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clus Vitus in the New World.

Frederick Douglass publishes his autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave".

Heinrich Hoffmann publishes a book introducing his character Struwwelpeter, in Germany.

Queen\\\'s Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway are incorporated in Ireland.

George Catlin ends his 6-year tour of 50 tribes in the Dakota Territory.

The New Board brokerage group is founded in New York City.

Parliament passes a law making census data available to the public (a boon for genealogists and historians).

Chatsworth Head found near Tamassos on Cyprus.

The first printed literature in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is produced by Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary.

James Peter Allaire's company, the Howell Works, is at its peak.

In Saint Petersburg, the Lehman Theater catches fire, killing 800 people.

The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now the Woodford Reserve Distillery), the oldest KentuckyBourbondistillery, is established along Glenn's Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky.

The Bishop James Madison Society is founded at the College of William Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.

The capital of Finland is moved from Turku to Helsinki.

Convention of Tauroggen is signed.

British recruits to the British East India Company and subsequently to the Indian Civil Service are required to learn at least one Indian language fluently.

William Combe begins publication of the verse "Tour of Dr Syntax in search of the Picturesque" in Ackermann's "Political Magazine" (London), illustrated with cartoons by Thomas Rowlandson, depicting comic and ridiculous scenes involving a hapless country physician and coming to represent British Regency humour.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck publishes "Philosophie Zoologique", outlining the concept of evolution.

Louis Poinsot describes the two remaining Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra.

Wearing masks at balls is forbidden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The (Old Ironsides) is recommissioned as the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron.

Delaware designated a separate colony.

Siege of St. Augustine lifted.

The Académie royale d\\'architecture is founded by Louis XIV of France in Paris, the world's first school of architecture.

University of Basel is founded.

A monk, Leonardo da Pistoia, arrives in Florence from Macedonia with the Corpus Hermeticum.

Portuguese navigator Pedro de Sintra reaches the coast of modern Sierra Leone.

Battle of Wakefield: A Lancastrian army under Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland defeats a Yorkist army under the Duke of York and his son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland. Both York and Rutland are killed, the latter murdered after the battle. York's son Edward becomes leader of the Yorkist faction.

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona conquers Tortosa from the Moors.

Upon the death of Stenkil, King of Sweden, his son Eric Stenkilsson and his rival Eric the Pagan battle for power in Sweden, both claiming the throne, until the next year.

Hedeby is destroyed by a Slavic army and permanently abandoned.

Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.

Sima Guang completes the compilation of a large dictionary, an important work of Chinese lexicography.

The Genoese, jealous of the recent successes of their former allies, launch a naval assault on the Republic of Pisa.

Magnus II Haraldsson is crowned King of Norway.

Japanese shipwrights build a 100-foot oar-powered vessel for Emperor Ōjin. The Japanese will not use sails for another 7 centuries.

Pope Felix I dies in Rome after a 5-year reign.