St. Zita died in the Italian city of Lucca on this day in 1272. She is the patron saint of maids, housekeepers and servers. St. Zita was born in Tuscany in the early 13th century, which means that she was younger contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi...
-
1987: Austrian President Kurt Waldheim was Forbidden Entry into the United States
On this day the U.S. Justice Department announced that it had placed Austrian President Kurt Waldheim on the list of people banned from entering the United States. The decision was justified by Waldheim’s alleged ties to Nazi crimes committed during...
-
1945: Benito Mussolini Arrested while Trying to Escape from Italy
On this day, when World War II was drawing to a close, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was arrested while trying to escape to Switzerland. He was arrested by Italian communist partisans, in the town of Dongo on Lake Como, just a few kilometers fro...
-
1773: Why was the War of Independence Started by Tea?
On this day the British Parliament passed a law that would cause a revolt among the population of the American colonies. Specifically, according to that law, the American colonies were allowed to import tea only from the British East India Company. T...
-
1960: Togo – the African Country, not a Colony Administered by Czechoslovakia
The African Country of Togo became independent on this day in 1960. It covers an area of 56,785 square kilometers, with a population of more than 7 million. Togo was a part of Africa which was highly exploited in terms of acquisition of slaves. Indee...
-
1404: Philip the Bold: A King’s Son who Amassed Incredible Wealth in Europe
Duke Philip the Bold was the son of French king John II the Good. The death of Duke Philip the Bold (also known as Philip II of Burgundy) falls on this day in 1040. He ruled over a vast territory located in the wealthiest part of medieval Euro...
-
1941: Hitler’s Troops Enter Athens
They raised a flag with a swastika at the Acropolis of Athens. Soon, the whole of Greece fell under the rule of the Axis powers. The German troops triumphantly entered the conquered Athens on this day in 1941. They raised a flag with a swastik...
-
1989: Konosuke Matsushita: Capable Businessman who Founded Panasonic
Konosuke Matsushita spent his childhood in poverty. He founded his own company when he was 23 years old, but his business took a long time to finally get going. This day in 1989 marked the death of one of the most famous Japanese industrialists, Kono...
-
1865: A Steamboat Explosion in which More People were Killed than on Titanic
On this day in 1865 the greatest maritime disaster in United States history occurred, larger even than the much more famous sinking of the Titanic. Specifically, more than 1,500 people were killed in the explosion and sinking of the steamboat SS Sult...
-
1909: Sultan Abdul Hamid II Overthrown
On this day, the bloodthirsty Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II was finally ousted. He had earned his nicknames “Bloody” and “Damned” mostly because of the terrible massacres of the Armenian people which he committed during his reign. In fact, he conside...
-
1933: Gestapo Founded
Gestapo stands for GEheime STAatsPOlizei (secret state police) and was founded on this day in 1933, just three months after the Nazis came to power in Germany. The Gestapo was founded by the infamous Hermann Göring, soon after Hitler appointed him Mi...
-
1986: How did the Nuclear Disaster at Chernobyl Occur?
On this day in 1986, the greatest nuclear disaster in recorded world history occured. Reactor number four exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 110 kilometers north of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The explosion occurred during a react...
-
1802: Napoleon Allows the Return of the Majority of Emigrants to France
Napoleon Bonaparte allowed the return of the majority of emigrants to France on this day in 1802. Many people, especially the royalty, had left the country during the French Revolution. The radical revolutionaries issued regulations which confiscated...
-
1812: Steel Tycoon Alfred Krupp – The German “Cannon King”
German industrial tycoon Alfred Krupp was born on this day in 1812. He is notable for organizing the manufacturing of modern steel breech-loading cannons, which greatly transformed the way of waging war. Namely, cannons were earlier made mainly of br...
-
1983: American Girl Samantha Smith Invited to Visit the USSR
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov invited American girl Samantha Smith to visit the USSR on this day in 1983. It was his response to a letter which the girl had sent him. She was only ten years old at the time, and sent him a letter because she was concern...
-
Did you know that Sicilian separatists wanted their island to become part of the USA?
The unification of Italy in the 19th century was at first greeted with enthusiasm, but this soon evaporated among the Sicilians. Namely, the island was poor and many Sicilians felt the central government neglected them just as badly as foreign rulers...
-
1965: 500 DM Banknotes with Pictures of Eltz Castle Issued
The castle was the property of the Eltz family for centuries, and is still owned by a descendant of one of its branches. This day in 1965 marked the issuing of West German 500 DM (German mark) banknotes. Their dimensions were 170 mm x 85 mm, and thei...
-
1964: Tanzania Founded by Uniting Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Tanzania is one of the greatest countries in the world according to the number of natural landmarks. This day in 1964 marked the founding of Tanzania, which was formed by uniting Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Its name was a portmanteau of the first syllab...
-
1782: Maria Amalia – The Last Queen of France
Queen Maria Amalia allegedly gave 80% of her income to charities. Maria Amalia de Bourbon was born on this date in 1782. She was the last queen in the history of France. To elaborate, she was the wife of the last French king Louis Philippe I, also kn...
-
1925: Conservative Hindenburg Wins the Election for the President of the Reich
The final round of the 1925 presidential elections was held in Germany on this day, where for the first time in the history the German President was directly elected. As many as 17 candidates entered the first round of the elections, but no one recei...
-
1894: Hitler’s Deputy Rudolf Hess Born in Egypt
Nazi Rudolf Hess, one of Hitler’s closest associates, was born on this day. Hess became “Deputy Führer” (Stellvertreter des Führers) after Hitler came to power, making him the second man in the Nazi hierarchy. Interestingly, Hitler and Hess even shar...
-
1974: Louis XX – Today’s Direct Successor of the French Royal Crown and the Great-grandson of Francisco Franco
Louis Alphonse, the Duke of Anjou, was born on this day in 1974. It is interesting that he is the present-day head of the famous dynasty of Capet, the most powerful dynasty in the history of Europe (including the Habsburgs whose male line died off)....
-
1843: How did Hemophilia Come into the Russian Royal Family?
Princess Alice of Great Britain was born on this day. It is she who passed on hemophilia to the Russian imperial family. Namely, Alice was the daughter of the famous Queen Victoria, and she passed on Victoria’s gene for hemophilia to her daughter, wh...
-
1792: The First Execution by Guillotine during the French Revolution
The guillotine was used as a means of carrying out the death penalty for the first time in history on this day. That device was named after Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a doctor who was actually very humane and opposed to the death penalty. As a fir...
-
1472: Leon Battista Alberti – The Ingenious Predecessor of Leonardo da Vinci
Leon Battista Alberti, probably the earliest example of a versatile Renaissance man, like the one Leonardo da Vinci later became, died on this day. Namely, Alberti was born nearly half a century before the famous Leonardo, and was in some way Leonard...
-
1939: How did the Famous Batman come to be?
On this day the comic starring the superhero Batman was launched for the first time. It was in the 27th issue of the American magazine “Detective Comics“. This comic was published by DC Comics, Marvel’s main competitor. Just to recall, Marvel Comics...
-
PHOTO: Sari Temple on Java
Sari is a famous Buddhist temple located in a hamlet near Yogyakarta on Java, Indonesia. It dates from the 8th century and was probably originally a monastery for the monks who served at the nearby Kalasan temple. The ruins were only discovered in th...
-
1214: Birth of Louis IX – The Only Saint among French Kings
Many saints were contemporaries of Louis IX, such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Albert the Great. St. Louis IX was born on this day in 1214. He became the only French king to be proclaimed a saint. He was a devout...
-
404 BC : Sparta Wins Peloponnesian War
Despite the vast wealth and war efforts of the Athenians, Sparta won the war. The Peloponnesian War ended on this day in 404 BC. Sparta finally defeated Athens after over 25 years of conflict. The war had, namely, begun in 431; only 18 years after th...