On this day in 1864, Nevada was recognized as a U.S. state, thus becoming the 36th state in the USA. It is interesting to note that the American Civil War was still in full swing at that time. Thus, Nevada earned the nickname “Battle Born State”. The...
American Charles Taze Russell, founder of the movement which became the Jehovah's Witnesses, died on this day in 1916. Charles Taze Russell was born in the town of Allegheny near Pittsburgh (Allegheny is today part of Pittsburgh). Pittsburgh was one...
On this day in 1922, Benito Mussolini officially became the Italian prime minister. He achieved this after the famous “March on Rome” in late October 1922, which spurred King Victor Emmanuel III to appoint him as prime minister. However, Mussolini ac...
Maximilian Njegovan was born on this day to a Croatian family in Zagreb. His family had a long tradition of producing professional soldiers. He graduated at the Naval Academy in Rijeka, Croatia, and was one of the best students of his generation. He...
Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister and daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was killed on this day by two of her Sikh bodyguards. This was done in reprisal for the Indian Army's strike against the Sikhs, which took place during one of their religious holi...
On this day it was decided that Stalin's body was to be removed from Lenin's Mausoleum, where it was interred together with that of the first Soviet leader, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. This decision was part of the destalinization efforts of the new Sovie...
The well-known bridge over the Bosporus in Istanbul was completed on this day in 1973. It was the first permanent bridge that connected Europe to Asia. The idea of such a bridge was conceived almost 2,500 years ago, when the Persians under Emperor Xe...
This day in 1923 marked the death of the only British Prime Minister who wasn't born in Britain. His name was Andrew Bonar Law, and he was born on the territory of what is now Canada, in the town of Kingston (now Rexton). At the time of his birth, th...
The first king in the history of the German Württemberg dynasty died on this day in 1816. His name was Frederick I, and he belonged to the dynasty which had ruled Württemberg since medieval times (in the 11th century the held the title of count, in t...
The incredible momentum of the Arab expansion was amply demonstrated on this day in 758. The Arabs attacked the far-off Chinese city of Guangzhou, also known as Canton. They achieved this with the help of their powerful navy, which crossed an incredi...
The oldest astronaut in history was sent into space on this day in 1998. It was 77-year-old John Glenn, who had previously already become a famous American astronaut. Namely, he had first gone into space in 1962, within the frame of Project Mercury....
One of the most infamous Nazis and one of Hitler's closest associates, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, was born on this day. He was born in western Germany, in the town of Rheydt near Mönchengladbach. At the time of his birth, this town was called München-Glad...
This day is celebrated as Republic Day in Turkey, because on that day in 1923 Turkey was officially declared a republic. The first President of Turkey was the famous Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His surname means “Father of the Turks”, and it was officiall...
Sisavang Vong, King of Laos, died on this day in 1959. In his time, he was known as something of a “playboy”. He had around 15 wives, two of whom were his half-sisters, while one was his niece. He had a total of around 50 children. It is important to...
The well-known English explorer and aristocrat, Sir Walter Raleigh, was executed on this day. He was one of the most famous people at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and is known for leading the first English voyages of discovery in the Americas. Thi...
The oldest university in the USA was founded on this day in 1636. It was originally called the New Collage, and was renamed in 1639, in honor of John Harvard, who had left half of his estate to help finance the university. The university is located i...
The founder of the H&M company died on this day in 2002. His name was Erling Persson, and he lived in Sweden. The abbreviation H&M stands for “Hennes & Mauritz”. The company was established in the following manner: the aforementioned Erli...
On this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was solemnly unveiled in New York. Today it is, of course, one of the icons of that city. The statue was donated by the French citizens, but the base of the statue was financed by the American citizens thems...
One of the most important events for the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the Jews took place on this day. Namely, the Jews were finally absolved of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The document by which this decision wa...
One of the most fateful papal elections in history took place on this day in 1958. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who took the name John XXIII upon his inauguration. He is important because he called the Second Vatican Council, at which the Catholic Churc...
One of the most famous nuclear physicists in history – Lise Meitner – died on this day in 1968. She was a member of the team whose research led to the discovery of nuclear fission, for which her colleague Otto Hahn was even awarded the Nobel Prize. T...
An unusual, but potentially extremely dangerous incident took place on this day in 1981, when the Soviet submarine S-363 ran aground dangerously close to the greatest Swedish naval base at Karlskrona. Because of this, the Swedes raised the alarm – th...
Napoleon Bonaparte achieved one of the greatest triumphs in his life on this day in 1806. He victoriously entered the Prussian capital of Berlin. Prussia was at that time one of the five greatest powers in Europe, along with France, Britain, Russia,...
On this day the state of Congo was renamed Zaire. The latter word is derived from nzere or nzadi, which means “the river that swallows all rivers”. This is in fact an alternative name for the Congo River, which dominates the geography of that country...
At the initiative of Pope St. John Paul II, the first common prayer of world religions was held in the Italian town of Assisi, on this very day in 1986. That central Italian town, in the province of Umbria, is known as the birthplace of St. Francis o...
On this day in the town of Tombstone in Arizona, one of the most famous confrontations in the history of the Wild West took place. Two gangs that fought for supremacy in Tombstone clashed. One was made up of law enforcers – the Earp brothers (Wyatt,...
On this day in 1999, the House of Lords of the British Parliament voted in a new law according to which hereditary lords lost their right to have a seat in the Parliament by default. Namely, until 1999 almost all UK citizens possessing a British aris...
Japanese prince Itō Hirobumi – the first Prime Minister in the history of Japan – was killed on this day. The office of Prime Minister was introduced in Japan only in 1885, during the time of Emperor Mutsuhito (also known as Meiji). The emperor aboli...
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is widely known as one of the (if not the) most capable among Hitler's military commanders in World War II. Fewer people know that he became a hero back in World War I (the Great War). Namely, on this day Erwin Rommel achi...
On this day in 1689, a catastrophic fire broke out in Skopje, destroying a large part of the city within only a few days. The fire was allegedly started by the Austrian invaders, who had managed to penetrate deep into the Ottoman Empire. Namely, afte...
