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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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)....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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1849: Felix Klein – The Mathematician after whom the Famous Klein Bottle was Named
Felix Klein, the famous German mathematician, was born on this day in 1849. The Klein bottle was named after him. It is a mathematical example of a non-orientable surface which has no boundaries. Similarly, the Möbius strip is also a non-orientable s...
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1945: Great German Reich Cut in Two
This day in 1945, near the end of World War II, marked the first time the troops of the Western Allies and the Soviets came into direct contact in Germany. It was a turning point because the territory of the Third Reich was then divided into two sepa...
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1854: The Wedding of Emperor Francis Joseph and Empress Sissi
On this day, Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I and Bavarian princess Elisabeth, known by the nickname Sissi, were married in Vienna. The two of them met the year before. It is interesting that Elizabeth was Francis Joseph’s first cousin (their mothe...
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2011: The Unexpected Death of Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba died on this day in 2011, in Puttaparthi, the same place where he was born. He died at the age of 84, due to respiratory problems, at the hospital that he himself built for poor Indians. His funeral allegedly brought together over 500...
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1903: Birh of José Antonio Primo de Rivera
On this day was born the right-wing Spanish politician Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. He is the founder of the known Spanish Falange, a right-wing party with fascist characteristics. Interestingly, Falange under Primo de Rivera was not a monarchist an...
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1967: First Human Victim during a Space Mission – Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov
The first human being died during a space mission on this day in 1967, at least according to the official records. The Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died during the return of the spacecraft Soyuz 1 to the Earth. The spacecraft crashed in Russia,...
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1913: The Woolworth Building Opened in New York
The tallest building in the world, the Woolworth Building, was opened in New York on this day in 1913. This building was the tallest skyscraper in the world from 1913 to 1930 (height of 241 meters). Today, the Woolworth Building is over 100 years old...
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1918: First Tank Battle in World History
The Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in northern France took place during the last year of World War I. This day in 1918 marks the anniversary of the first tank battle in world history. Even though the first tanks of World War I appeared on the battlefie...
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1800: Library of Congress Founded in Washington
The Library of Congress claims it is the largest in the world with 160 million titles and 1350 km of shelves. The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was founded on this day in 1800. It is one of the largest libraries in the world and de facto th...
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1970: Red Threat: The Chinese Start Conquering Space
China’s first successful launch of an object into space was historically important because China then entered the so-called “Space Club”. On this day China launched its first satellite into space. It was called Dong Fang Hong I, which is Chinese for...