Historic vs. Historical

[Detlef]

Hi there

Could somebody please explain to me the difference between 'historic' and ' historical'.
I already tried to make a few sentences, here they are:

- The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 against England is/was a historical/ historic event.

- Obama won this years' presidential elections, which was a historic/ historical event.

Which one should I choose, let me guess. In my first sentence: historical, in my second: historic. Am I right or wrong?

Detlef
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The Importance Of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) I just love him!

[Tortoise]

Please refer to this site:

http://grammar.about.com/od/alightersideofwriting/a/historicgloss.htm

Examples:

•"America has entered one of its periods of historic madness, but this is the worst I can remember." (John Le Carre)
•"The Sixties are now considered a historical period, just like the Roman Empire." (Dave Barry)

Usage Notes:

•"How to avoid: Historic is a word which implies judgment, since by definition it describes something significant. But . . . historical is an essentially neutral term, describing anything which occurred in the (distant) past."
(Philip Gooden, Who's Whose: A No-Nonsense Guide to Easily Confused Words, Walker & Company, 2004)

•"Do we say that the President's visit to this small town was a historic or historical event?
The event was historic. Use historic (Greek histor, 'learned man') when the thing referred to is important, memorable, or famous. True, it may figure in history and may, in fact, be historical. But historical is a broad term meaning concerned with or relating to history. In other words, historical has to do with history; historic usually pertains to the event or thing itself. Armstrong's walk on the moon was a historic event. It was history-making. The Alamo is a historic building; Gone with the Wind is a historical novel.

"Use the article a, not an, before historic, historical, and history."

(Morton S. Freeman, The Wordwatcher's Guide to Good Writing & Grammar, Writer's Digest Books, 1990)

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Hope this helps!

[Detlef]

I'm afraid it doesn't, but thanks anyway. On second thought it is clear to me.
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The Importance Of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) I just love him!

[Milanya]

Usage Note: Historic and historical have different usages, though their senses overlap. Historic refers to what is important in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its association with persons or events in history: a historic house.
Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as important or not: a minor historical character. Historical also refers to anything concerned with history or the study of the past: a historical novel; historical discoveries. While these distinctions are useful, these words are often used interchangeably, as in historic times or historical times.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/historic
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Cerberus™]

Milanya, you are always great at giving well-structured explanations. And I like you new picture (which you've had for some time already).