In protest against Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia, student Jan Palach burned himself in Prague on January 16, 1969. Namely, eleven days earlier the forces of the Communist Warsaw Pact, led by the USSR, stifled the so-called. Prague Spring, or...
The brutal repression of the military regime in El Salvador has forced opposition to armed resistance. Between 1980 and 1991, 70,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the civil war. More than a million people fled the country. Guerrilla groups...
Philip II. The Habsburgs, one of the most powerful kings to ever rule, was crowned King of Spain on January 16, 1556. Philip was crowned after the abdication of his even more powerful father, Emperor Charles V. (the imperial title was attributed to K...
Fuad II. was banished from Egypt as a 17-month-old baby. On this day, the last king in Egypt's history was born. His name was Fuad II. and it was the end of a monarchical tradition in Egypt that lasted almost 5000 years. Namely, the famous early rule...
Today, in 1605, the first edition of the famous novel Don Quixote by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid. The full title of the piece was El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (Bistri knight Don Quixote de Manche), and t...
This day, the 27th year BC Cr. it can be symbolically regarded as the day when the Roman Empire came into existence, because on that day the Senate proclaimed Octavian Augustus, which became the actual ruling title of that empire. Later, the title,...
Hitler’s bunker was actually not dug especially deep in the ground – only around 8.5 meters. On this day Hitler permanently moved into the bunker and his closest associates, including his personal secretary Martin Bormann, came with him. On this day...
George Dewey, with his six admiral stars, surpasses even the highest-ranking American admirals from World War II. On this day the admiral with the most senior rank in the U. S. Navy died. His name was George Dewey, and he has attained the unique rank...
On this day in Prague a Czech student Jan Palach set himself on fire as a sign of protest against the Soviet intervention in that country. Namely, the Soviets in 1968 crushed the so-called Prague Spring, the program of liberal reforms of the Presiden...
Severe punishments were introduced for those who attended a Catholic Mass or practiced Catholicism in some other way. This happened during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who persecuted Catholics. On this day the English Parliament passed a law accor...
Till that time the local rulers wore the title of the Grand Prince of Moscow and Ivan was the first real Emperor (Tsar). There are many stories of his cruelty. On this day in 1547, Ivan IV the Terrible was crowned the Russian Emperor (Tsar). Until th...
On this day in 1962, the oldest preserved European manuscript has been found at the Derveni site in Greece. It is a text written on papyrus in the letters of the Greek alphabet. Unlike Egyptian papyrus texts, Greek specimens are much rarer because th...
Lesotho was a British colony and gained independence in 1960. On this day in 1996, the first king in the history of Lesotho has died. It was named Moshoeshoe II and was born in 1938, at a time when the area of Lesotho still belonged to the British...
Gaddafi declared himself the Fraternal Leader of the Libyan Revolution in 1979. On this day, controversial Colonel Moamer Gaddafi has become Prime Minister of the Libyan Republic. Gaddafi actually came to power in 1969, as the leader of a group of of...
On January 15, 1992, the Republic of Croatia was recognized by 20 countries, all 12 members of the then European Community (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal) and Austr...
Initially, Le Figaro was a satirical newspaper launched on January 15, 1826. It was named after the barber character from the opera The Barber of Seville and Figar's Pir. After 40 years of irregular publication, it was turned into a daily newspaper....
Richard Martin advocated for the rights of Catholics, who were in his time in a very bad position on British territory. Namely, the Catholics were discriminated against and were not equal before the law to members of the Anglican Church. On this day...
His Eminence Cardinal John Joseph O’Connor was of the few people in history who had the rank of admiral and also the position of a cardinal in the Catholic Church. On this day a man who, during his career, had the rank of an American admiral and the...
The famous American civil rights activist was born on this day in the American South. Little Martin Luther King was such an advanced student that he even skipped two grades in school. On this day Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta in the U.S....
Upon coming to power, Sultan Murad III had his younger brothers strangled, which was standard practice at that time. In that way sultans made sure their own sons would inherit the throne. This day marked the death of Ottoman sultan Murad III. Among o...
Her body was cut into two along the waist, while her face was cut into a horrible ear-to-ear grin. On this day the body of a murdered 22-year-old girl named Elizabeth Park was found in a park in Los Angeles. Her body was naked and horribly mutilated....
On January 14, 1936, Norway declared annexation of a large area of Antarctica called Queen Maud Land. The annexation of the area was justified by the fact that the Norwegians first set foot on that part of Antarctica. Namely, Norwegian explorer Hja...
Before Roosevelt, US foreign presidents traveled exclusively on ships. On January 14, 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew to Morocco to attend the famous Allied Conference in Casablanca. It is historically interesting that this was the fir...
Marilyn and Joe spent their honeymoon in Japan, where there was a jealousy incident. On this day, there was a wedding between actress Marilyn Monroe and the famous athlete, baseball star Joe DiMaggio. It was a civil wedding and it was arranged on the...
Anthony Eden married for the second time Winston Churchill' niece, who was his boss at the time of his second term as Foreign Secretary. On this day, in 1977, Anthony Eden, formerly British Prime Minister and holder of numerous other political functi...
On January 14, 1900, the premiere of the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini took place in Rome. It is one of the most performed operas in the world today, which has gained and retained great popularity. Tosca is based on the story of singer Florida Tosca...
The Great Wall of China is the name given to a series of fortifications that runs from east to west along China’s northern border. Its purpose was to defend the country against invasions from the nomads who lived in the Eurasian Steppe. It is importa...
The airplane with which most of his first presidential trips were carried out was a Boeing 314 Clipper. On this day the U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew to Morocco to attend the famous Allied Casablanca Conference. Historically, that is...
The last Ottoman Sultan – Mehmed VI – was born in the extravagant Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, located on the Bosphorus shores. Around 14,000 kilos of gold were spent just for gilding the ceilings of the palace. On this day the Ottoman sultan Mehme...
It is interesting that the famous city of Berkeley in California was named after Bishop George Berkeley. A renowned university (University of California, Berkeley) is located there. This day in 1753 marked the death one of the most famous philosopher...