lead: Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies after a week's illness at his camp in Vindobona (modern Vienna). He is succeeded by his son Commodus (age 18). Twelve Christian inhabitants of Scillium in Numidia are executed in Carthage (also in North Africa) (known as the Scillitan Martyrs) – they had refused to swear an oath to the Emperor. Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, forming ash clouds as far as China and Europe.

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title: AD 180


lead: Napoleon and his French army (40,000 men)—not including the field artillery and baggage trains—(35,000 light artillery and infantry, 5,000 cavalry) begin crossing the Alps. He selects the shortest route through the Great St Bernard Pass, and invades after five days traversing the northern region of Italy. French general Jean-Baptiste Kléber is assassinated in Cairo by Syrian Kurdish Muslim student Suleiman al-Halabi. Fort William College is established by Lord Wellesley, British Governor-General of India, in Calcutta, to promote Bengali, Hindi and other vernaculars of the Indian subcontinent.

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title: 1800

license: CC BY-SA 4.0


lead: John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the United States. An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved, when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives. Toussaint Louverture promulgates a reforming constitution for Santo Domingo, declaring himself emperor for life of the entire island of Hispaniola, and nominally abolishing slavery.

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title: 1801


lead: Indigenous Australian Pemulwuy, a leader of the resistance to European settlement of Australia, is shot dead by Henry Hacking. Éleuthère Irénée du Pont founds E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the modern DuPont chemical company, as a gunpowder manufactory near Wilmington, Delaware. Gia Long captures Hanoi, completing his unification of Vietnam.

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title: 1802


lead: An Act of Mediation, issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, establishes the Swiss Confederation to replace the Helvetic Republic. Under the terms of the act, Graubünden, St. Gallen, Thurgau, the Ticino and Vaud become Swiss cantons. The wagonway between Wandsworth and Croydon is opened, being the first public railway line in England. The Balmis Expedition starts in Spain, with the aim of vaccinating millions against smallpox in Spanish America and the Philippines.

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title: 1803


lead: The First Serbian uprising begins the Serbian Revolution. By 1817, the Principality of Serbia will have proclaimed self-rule from the Ottoman Empire, the first nation-state in Europe to do so. The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River. Coronation of Napoleon I: At the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, Napoleon crowns himself as the first Emperor of the French in a thousand years. Witnessing this, Simón Bolívar dedicates himself to liberating Venezuela from Spanish rule.

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title: 1804


lead: Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted of impeachment charges by the United States Senate. Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition – Battle of Trafalgar: The British fleet, led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain; however, Admiral Nelson is fatally shot. Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Austerlitz – French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.

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title: 1805


lead: Invasion of Naples: Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies flees to the Kingdom of Sicily under British protection. Future President of the United States Andrew Jackson fights his third duel, killing lawyer Charles Dickinson following a dispute over payment of a forfeit. The last major Prussian field force, under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, surrenders to the French near Lübeck. Frederick William III has by this time fled to Memel in East Prussia.

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title: 1806


lead: A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr for treason. Chesapeake–Leopard affair: British Royal Navy fourth rate attacks and boards United States Navy frigate USS Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia, seeking deserters. This act of British aggression plays a role in the run-up to the War of 1812. Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Emperor Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powers a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.

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title: 1807


lead: Russia issues an ultimatum to Sweden, to join Napoleon's Continental System against the United Kingdom. The Congress of Erfurt, between the emperors Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia, begins. Banco do Brasil, a major financial group in South America, founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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title: 1808


lead: Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. When he announces that the Pope's secular power has ended, the Pope excommunicates him. The city of La Paz (in modern-day Bolivia) declares its independence from the Spanish Crown and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo. Prince Klemens von Metternich becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Empire.

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title: 1809


lead: Liang Long is captured and beheaded, and his rebellion is suppressed by general Zhu Juan. The volcano associated with Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, one of the largest on Earth in the last 5,000 years. The effects of this eruption are seen as far away as Rome and China. Imperator Lucius Aurelius Commodus and Lucius Antistius Burrus become Roman Consuls.

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title: AD 181


lead: 25 – May Revolution: Armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy and establish a provincial government for Argentina (the Primera Junta). Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros is removed. Grito de Dolores: Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest from Guanajuato, incites the revolt that becomes the Mexican War of Independence. A peace treaty in Haiti confirms its division between the northern State of Haiti, ruled autocratically by the gen de couleur Henri Christophe, and the southern Republic, ruled by mulatto Alexandre Pétion.

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title: 1810


lead: The Carlton House Fête is held at the Prince Regent's London residence Carlton House to celebrate the establishment of the Regency era. British explorer David Thompson posts a notice at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern-day Washington), claiming the area for the United Kingdom. Inventor John Stevens' boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry service, between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey.

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title: 1811


lead: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman River, and invades Russia. 18 – Battle of Smolensk: The Grande Armée (180,000 men) under Emperor Napoleon I defeats the Russian army on the road to Moscow. The M6.9–7.5 San Juan Capistrano earthquake affects Alta California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong) to IX (Violent), killing 40 parishioners at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

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title: 1812


lead: War of 1812 in North America: General William Henry Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough, and the expedition returns. The Carabinieri, the national military police of Italy, are founded by Victor Emmanuel I as the police force of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Creek War – Fort Mims massacre: A force of Creeks, belonging to the Red Sticks faction, kills hundreds of settlers in Fort Mims, Alabama.

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title: 1813


lead: War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. War of 1812 – Battle of Horseshoe Bend: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek Indians. Walter Scott's Waverley, his first prose fiction and one of the first significant historical novels in English, is published anonymously by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh, selling out in two days.

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title: 1814


lead: Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England. Battle of New Orleans: American forces led by Andrew Jackson defeat British forces led by Sir Edward Pakenham. American forces suffer around 60 casualties and the British lose about 2,000 (the battle lasts for about 30 minutes). Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Waterloo – Allied forces led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher decisively, and this time permanently, defeat Napoleon.

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title: 1815


lead: The Gorkha War between the United Kingdom and Nepal is ended after more than a year by the ratification of the Treaty of Sugauli, with Nepal ceding about one-third of its territory to British Indian control. Battle of Seven Oaks: The Hudson's Bay Company is defeated by the North West Company, near Winnipeg, Canada. The United Kingdom formally annexes the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean, ruling it from the Cape Colony.

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title: 1816


lead: The American School for the Deaf opens in Hartford, Connecticut. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church founds the General Theological Seminary, while meeting in New York City. The University of Michigan is founded in the U.S., initially near the intersection of Bates Street and Congress Street in Detroit. It will move its campus to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1837.

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title: 1817


lead: The Treaty of Mandeswar brings an end to the Third Anglo-Maratha War, ending the dominance of Marathas, and enhancing the power of the British East India Company, which controls territory occupied by 180 million Indians. First Seminole War: General Andrew Jackson and his American army invade Florida. First Seminole War – Battle of Miccosukee, Florida: General Andrew Jackson defeats chief Kinhagee.

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title: 1818


lead: June 21 – The French slave ship Le Rodeur sails from Bonny in West Africa to Guadeloupe in the West Indies. In the course of the transatlantic voyage many onboard become blind, and 30 slaves are thrown overboard as a consequence. The first Hep-Hep riots, communal pogroms against Ashkenazi Jews in the German Federation begin at Würzburg in Bavaria. They continue until October with many Jews killed. Salon of 1819 opens in Paris. Amongst the exhibits is The Raft of the Medusa.

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title: 1819


lead: Emperor Commodus escapes death at the hands of assassins, who have attacked him at the instigation of his sister Lucilla and a large group of senators. He puts many distinguished Romans to death on charges of being implicated in the conspiracy; Lucilla is exiled to Capri.

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title: AD 182


lead: And 6 – The Missouri Compromise becomes law, allowing admission of Missouri and Maine, as slave and free states respectively, as U.S. states. Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, receives his First Vision in Palmyra, New York. A Constitutionalist insurrection breaks out at Oporto, Portugal.

title: 1820


lead: The first edition of the Manchester Guardian newspaper (from 1959 simply The Guardian) is published in England. Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824): King Badi VII of Sennar surrenders his throne and realm without a fight to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of the Funj Sultanate in Sudan. Battle of Carabobo: Simón Bolívar wins Venezuela's independence from Spain.

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title: 1821


lead: The first freed slaves from the United States arrive on the west coast of Africa, founding Monrovia on April 25. The Holy Alliance sends the Ottoman Empire a final ultimatum after Ottoman repression of Austrian subjects in Bucharest during the Wallachian uprising, otherwise facing war with Austria. 13 – A sequence of earthquakes occurs in the northern part of the Ottoman Empire, causing severe damage from Gaziantep to Antakya in modern Turkey and from Aleppo to Khan Sheikhun in modern Syria. At least 20,000 people are killed.

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title: 1822


lead: (approx.) – The first officially recognised gold is found in Australia, by surveyor James McBrien at Fish River, near Bathurst, New South Wales, predating the Australian gold rushes. Joseph Smith first goes to the place near Manchester, New York, where the golden plates are stored, having been directed there by God through an angel (according to what he writes in 1838). According to tradition, William Webb Ellis invents the sport of rugby football at Rugby School in England.

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title: 1823


lead: First Anglo-Ashanti War: Battle of Nsamankow – forces of the Ashanti Empire crush British forces in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), killing the British governor Sir Charles MacCarthy. The Chumash Revolt of 1824 begins against the Spanish presence in Alta California (now the U.S. state of California) as an uprising by the Chumash people at Mission Santa Inés. With his crew and 29 convicts aboard the Amity, John Oxley arrives at and founds the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement at what becomes Brisbane, Queensland, in Australia, after leaving Sydney.

title: 1824


lead: History of Brisbane: The Australian city of Brisbane is founded. The Lady Margaret Boat Club is founded by 12 members of St John's College, Cambridge. December – Dispute between the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and the Empire of Brazil over the Banda Oriental region leads to the Cisplatine War.

title: 1825


lead: James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans is first printed, by a publisher in Philadelphia. 15 – The Auspicious Incident: Mahmud II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, crushes the last mutiny of janissaries in Istanbul. The Burney Treaty is signed in Bangkok between the United Kingdom and the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Siam, securing British power in southeast Asia.

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title: 1826


lead: In Laos, King Anouvong of Vientiane leads the Laotian Rebellion against Siam and successfully attacks Nakhon Ratchasima (the Siamese later invade Vientiane and nearly destroy the whole city). Greek War of Independence: Battle of Navarino – British, French and Russian naval forces destroy the Turko-Egyptian fleet in Greece. This is the last naval action to be fought under sail alone. The term "socialist" is coined by Robert Owen in his London periodical, The Co-operative Magazine and Monthly Herald.

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title: 1827


lead: The Cherokee Phœnix, the earliest newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and in one of their indigenous languages, Cherokee, is first issued in New Echota. The Sacramental Test Act in the United Kingdom removes most prohibitions on nonconformists and Catholics holding public office. In South America, the Empire of Brazil and United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina) recognize the independence of Uruguay, causing the end of the Cisplatine War. Simón Bolívar declares himself dictator of Gran Colombia.

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title: 1828


lead: August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust premieres in Braunschweig. The bloodless Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place at Battersea near London. King's College London is founded by Royal Charter, under the patronage of King George IV and the Prime Minister, The Duke of Wellington.

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title: 1829


lead: In Jiaozhi (present-day northern Vietnam), during the Second Era of Northern Domination, the local army launches a coup, captures the governor, and subsequently executes him. After the coup, Emperor Ling appoints a new Jiaozhi governor, who brings peace to the region, and is praised by the residents.

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title: AD 183


lead: It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy.

title: 1830


lead: Battle of Warsaw: The Army of Russia takes the Polish capital after a two-day battle to crush the Polish uprising. Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek head of state and founder of Greek independence, is assassinated in Nafplion. Charles Darwin embarks from Plymouth on the second voyage of HMS Beagle which will be the foundation for his life of scientific study.

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title: 1831


lead: November 24: U.S. state of South Carolina begins Nullification Crisis by asserting power to nullify U.S. government laws.

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title: 1832


lead: A mob in Jackson County, Missouri, destroys the printing office of the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints containing what becomes known as The Doctrine and Covenants. The settlement of Chicago is established by 350 settlers at the estuary of the Chicago River in the U.S. state of Illinois. The Parliament of the United Kingdom votes to pass the Factory Acts, limiting child labour.

title: 1833


lead: Wake Forest University is founded as the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute in Wake Forest, North Carolina. John Scott Russell's Scottish Steam Carriage Company begins operating a regular passenger service in west central Scotland on the open road between Glasgow and Paisley, Renfrewshire. The Peasants' Revolt in Egyptian-ruled Palestine begins; it is suppressed in August.

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title: 1834


lead: Matua, High Priest (taura tupua) of the Polynesian island of Mangareva, is baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. The Bertelsmann company is founded by Carl Bertelsmann as a religious printer and publisher in Prussia. Two London men, James Pratt and John Smith, are hanged in front of Newgate Prison in London, after a conviction of buggery. They are the last to suffer capital punishment for homosexual acts in England.

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title: 1835


lead: Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera, Les Huguenots is performed for the first time in Paris, France. Charles Darwin returns to England aboard , with biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution, having left South America on August 17. The University of London is established by Royal Charter, with University College London and King's College London named as the first affiliated colleges.

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title: 1836


lead: Queen Victoria moves from Kensington Palace into Buckingham Palace, the first reigning British monarch to make this, rather than St James's Palace, as her London home. The Tsarskoye Selo Railway, the first in the Russian Empire, opens between Saint Petersburg Tsarskoselsky station and Tsarskoye Selo (modern-day Pushkin), engineered by Franz Anton von Gerstner. In what will become the world's leading consumer goods brand, Procter & Gamble is founded in Ohio in the United States.

title: 1837


lead: At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph. A combination of rain and melting snow causes the Danube River to overflow its banks, washing away villages in western Hungary and inundating the twin cities that become Budapest. More than 150 people are drowned and Europe's nations come to Hungary's aid to prevent the spread of famine and disease. Austria: Moravia opens the final section of Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (Rajhrad–Brno) for exhibition (preliminary) use.

title: 1838


lead: The first parallax measurement of the distance to Alpha Centauri is published by Thomas Henderson. Prussia imposes the Child Labor Law of 1839, becoming the first nation in the world to place restrictions on child labor. Destruction of opium at Humen begins, casus belli for Britain to open the 3-year First Opium War against Qing dynasty China. A rapid rise in the sale of opium in China to over 40,000 chests (~56,000 kg per annum) has caused the Chinese government to dispatch scholar-official Lin Zexu to Guangzhou to deal with the growing problem of opium addiction.

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title: 1839


lead: Ling of Han places his brother-in-law, He Jin, in command of the imperial army and sends them to attack the Yellow Turban rebels. Zhang Jue leads the peasant revolt against Emperor Ling of Han of the Eastern Han dynasty. Heading for the capital of Luoyang, his massive and undisciplined army (360,000 men), burns and destroys government offices and outposts. The Yellow Turban Rebellion and Liang Province Rebellion break out in China.

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title: AD 184


lead: British colonists reach New Zealand, officially founding the settlement of Wellington. The Washingtonian movement for teetotalism is founded by a group of alcoholics in Baltimore, Maryland. Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut, and land troops on the coast, to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country.

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title: 1840


lead: St. John's College, later Fordham University, is founded in The Bronx by Jesuits. Queen's University is founded in Kingston, Ontario, by Rev. Thomas Liddell, who carries a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, and becomes the school's first principal. The first multilateral treaty for the suppression of the African slave trade, the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade, signed in London by the representatives of Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia.

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title: 1841


lead: Education in Sweden: A primary school system is established in Sweden. The Treaty of Nanking, an unequal treaty between the United Kingdom and Qing dynasty China, ends the First Opium War, and establishes Hong Kong as a British colony (later a British dependent territory until 1997). The University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana (United States) is established by Father Edward Sorin, of the Roman Catholic Congregation of Holy Cross.

title: 1842


lead: Victoria, British Columbia, is founded by the Hudson's Bay Company as a trading post and fort. Margaret Fuller's "The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women" appears in The Dial magazine in the United States. Ada Lovelace translates and expands Menabrea's notes on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, including an algorithm for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers, regarded as the world's first computer program.

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title: 1843


lead: In the Philippines, 1844 had only 365 days instead of 366, when Tuesday, December 31 was skipped as Monday, December 30 was immediately followed by Wednesday, January 1, 1845, the next day after. The change also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines; these became the first places on Earth to redraw the International Date Line.

title: 1844


lead: The United States Congress approves the annexation of Texas. HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with 134 men, comprising Sir John Franklin's expedition to find the Northwest Passage, sail from Greenhithe on the Thames. They will last be seen in the summer, entering Baffin Bay. HMS Terror and HMS Erebus of the Franklin Expedition go missing in the Davis Strait west of Greenland, while searching for the Northwest Passage.

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Deaths

title: 1845


lead: Led by Brigham Young, many Mormons in the U.S. begin their migration west from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake in what becomes Utah. The portion of the District of Columbia in the United States that was ceded by Virginia in 1790 is re-ceded to Virginia. Carl Zeiss, a major worldwide optoelectronics and digital camera brand, is founded in Thuringia, Germany.

title: 1846


lead: Verdi's opera Macbeth premieres at the Teatro della Pergola, in Florence, Italy. The , carrying Irish emigrants from Derry bound for Quebec, is wrecked off Islay, with only three survivors from more than 250 on board. E. H. Booth & Co. Ltd, which becomes the northern England supermarket chain Booths, is founded when tea dealer Edwin Henry Booth, 19, opens a shop called "The China House" in Blackpool.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
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Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1847


lead: 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the political and philosophical landscape and had major ramifications throughout the rest of the century.

title: 1848


lead: Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Romanian armed groups massacre 600 unarmed Hungarian civilians, at Nagyenyed. The Frankfurt Parliament completes its drafting of a liberal constitution, and elects Frederick William IV emperor of the new German national state. Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Hungarian Revolutionary Army, under the leadership of Arthur Görgey, starts the victorious Spring Campaign, which leads to the liberation of much of Hungary from the Austrian forces.

title: 1849


lead: The rebels of the Yellow Turban are defeated by the imperial army, but only two months later, the rebellion breaks out again. It spreads to the Taihang Mountains on the western border of Hebei Province. Irenaeus writes that there are only four Gospels (approximate date). Cleomedes discovers the refraction of light by the Earth's atmosphere.

sections:
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Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: AD 185


lead: The hippopotamus Obaysch arrives at London Zoo from Egypt, the first seen in Europe since Roman times. Richard Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin (including the Bridal Chorus) premieres under the direction of Franz Liszt, in Weimar. Papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae: The Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England and Wales, by Pope Pius IX and future Pope Pius X.

title: 1850


lead: The flip of a coin, subsequently named the Portland Penny, determines whether a new city in the Oregon Territory will be named after Boston, Massachusetts, or Portland, Maine, with Portland winning. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London is opened by Queen Victoria. The first protected submarine telegraph cable is laid, across the English Channel.

title: 1851


lead: Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is published in book form in Boston, Massachusetts. The first American intercollegiate athletic event, the Boat Race between Yale and Harvard, is held. The Western Railroad is chartered to build a railroad from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the coal fields of Egypt, North Carolina.

title: 1852


lead: Saint Paul Fire and Marine, as predecessor of The Travelers Companies, a worldwide insurance service, founded in Minnesota, United States. Indian Railways: The first passenger railway in India opens from Bombay to Thana, Maharashtra, 22 mi km. Compagnie Générale des Eaux, predecessor of Vivendi and Veolia, a global media conglomerate, is founded in Paris, France.

title: 1853


lead: The Grand Excursion takes prominent Eastern United States inhabitants from Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois, by railroad, then up the Mississippi River to Saint Paul, Minnesota, by steamboat. The Eureka Stockade Miners' Rebellion breaks out in Ballarat, Victoria (Australia). Pope Pius IX in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus defines ex Cathedra the dogma of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
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Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
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Deaths

title: 1854


lead: The Nepalese invasion of Tibet (west of China) to the north across the Himalaya Mountains (tallest and most rugged in the world) starts the Nepalese–Tibetan War (1855–1856). In Australia, the province of Victoria (named for then reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria) to the southeast is separated administratively from the earlier larger province of New South Wales to the north. The Port of Iloilo in the Philippines is opened to international trade, by Queen Isabella II of Spain. This year also the ports of Sual (modern-day Pangasinan) and Zamboanga City are opened to international trade.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
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Deaths

title: 1855


lead: The American Know Nothing Party convenes in Philadelphia to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. The province of Isabela is created in the Philippines, in honor of Queen Isabella II of Spain. Pottawatomie massacre: A group of followers of radical abolitionist John Brown kill 5 homesteaders in Franklin County, Kansas.

title: 1856


lead: The University of Calcutta is established in Calcutta, as the first multidisciplinary modern university in South Asia. The University of Bombay is also established in Bombay, British India, this year. Spanish financial group, Banco Santander founded in Cantabria, Spain. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is officially opened by Queen Victoria.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
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Deaths

title: 1857


lead: Abraham Lincoln accepts the Republican Party nomination for a seat in the United States Senate, delivering his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois. In Bengal, India, British officer William James Herschel uses the hand impression of Rajyadhar Konai, as a contract fingerprint signature. Cochinchina Campaign: French warships, under Charles Rigault de Genouilly, attack and occupy Da Nang, Vietnam.

title: 1858


lead: Construction begins on the first railway in northern India as tracks are laid between the modern-day locations of Allahabad and Kanpur. September 2 – The solar storm of 1859, the largest geomagnetic solar storm on record, causes the Northern lights to be visible as far south as Montería, Colombia and knocks out telegraph communication (this is also called the Carrington event). John Brown raids the Harpers Ferry Armory in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in an unsuccessful bid to spark a general slave rebellion.

title: 1859


lead: Roman governor Pertinax escapes an assassination attempt, by British usurpers. The Hatepe volcanic eruption extends Lake Taupō and makes skies red across the world. However, recent radiocarbon dating by R. Sparks has put the date at 233 AD ± 13 (95% confidence). Peasants in Gaul stage an anti-tax uprising under Maternus.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Climate & Environment
Births
Deaths

title: AD 186


lead: Expedition of the Thousand – Battle of Calatafimi: Troops under Giuseppe Garibaldi defeat the army of Naples in Sicily. Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire form a commission to investigate the causes of the massacres of Maronite Christians, committed by Druzes in Lebanon earlier in the year. John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant leave Zanzibar, to search for the source of the Nile River.

title: 1860


lead: This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire.

title: 1861


lead: Global financial group UBS is founded in Switzerland as the Bank in Winterthur. Battle of Baton Rouge – Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops drive Union forces back into the city. American Indian Wars: In Minnesota, more than 300 Santee Sioux are found guilty of rape and murder of white settlers, and are sentenced to hang.

title: 1862


lead: Master Lucius Tar Paint Company (Teerfarbenfabrik Meister Lucius), predecessor of Hoechst as a worldwide chemical manufacturing brand, is founded in a suburb of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Valuev Circular bans the publication of religious, educational and training books in Ukrainian in the Russian Empire. The pharmaceutical brand Bayer is founded by Friedrich Bayer in Germany.

title: 1863


lead: The Russian Empire begins the Circassian genocide. More than 1.5 million Circassians are driven from their homeland to the Ottoman Empire, ending the Russo-Circassian War. Battle of Brice's Crossroads – Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest defeat a much larger Union force, led by General Samuel D. Sturgis, in Mississippi. American Civil War: Battle of Johnsonville – At Johnsonville, Tennessee, troops under the command of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest bombard a Union supply base with artillery, and destroy millions of dollars' worth of material.

title: 1864


lead: Electric equipment and mobile brand Nokia founded in Tampere, Finland. The Mimosa sets sail with emigrants from Wales for Patagonia. The first speed limit is introduced in Britain: 2 mi/h km/h in town and 4 mi/h km/h in the country.

title: 1865


lead: Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of St Petersburg. Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premiered in Prague. The Ruse–Varna railway line (the first railway in Bulgaria) officially opens.

title: 1866


lead: There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 11 days instead of 12 during the 19th century. This change was made due to the territorial and geopolitical shift from the Asian to the American side of the International Date Line.

title: 1867


lead: The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is formed, in New York City. May 26 – President Andrew Johnson is twice acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate. The element later named as helium is first detected in the spectrum of the Sun's chromosphere, by French astronomer Jules Janssen, during a total eclipse in Guntur, British India, but is assumed to be sodium.

title: 1868


lead: Children's Hospital Boston is founded by Dr. Francis Henry Brown and other Harvard Medical School graduates, as a 20-bed facility in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts. The Irish Church Act 1869 is given royal assent by Queen Victoria, disestablishing the Church of Ireland effective January 1, 1871. Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace is published in complete book form, in Russia.

title: 1869


lead: Olympianus succeeds Pertinax as bishop of Byzantium (until 198). Clodius Albinus defeats the Chatti, a highly organized German tribe that controlled the area that includes the Black Forest. Septimius Severus marries Julia Domna (age 17), a Syrian princess, at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon). She is the youngest daughter of high-priest Julius Bassianus – a descendant of the Royal House of Emesa. Her elder sister is Julia Maesa.

sections:
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Religion & Belief
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: AD 187


lead: The first message by electric telegraph using the Great Britain to India submarine cable is sent from London. Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan – Prussian forces defeat the French armies and take Emperor Napoleon III and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner at Sedan, France. Capture of Rome; With Bersaglieri soldiers entering Rome at Porta Pia, the unification of Italy is completed, ending the last remnant of the Papal States and Papal temporal power.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1870


lead: The Universities Tests Act 1871 removes restrictions which have previously limited access to Oxford, Cambridge and Durham universities to members of the Church of England. Chinese massacre of 1871: In Los Angeles' Chinatown, 19 Chinese immigrants are killed by a mob of 500 men. German chancellor Otto von Bismarck tries to ban Catholics from the political stage by introducing harsh laws concerning the separation of church and state.

title: 1871


lead: Filipino priests José Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza, are executed in Bagumbayan Fields, Manila, Philippines by the authorities of New Spain, on charges of subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite mutiny. Rangers F.C., founded in March as an Association football club in Glasgow (Scotland) by brothers Moses and Peter McNeil, Peter Campbell and William McBeath, play their first ever game on the public pitches of Glasgow Green, a 0 to 0 draw against Callander. Mexican President Benito Juarez dies of a heart attack, and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada becomes interim president.

title: 1872


lead: The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco. Censorship: The United States Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail. The Preakness Stakes horse race is run for the first time in Baltimore.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1873


lead: The Pangkor Treaty (also known as the Pangkor Engagement), by which the British extend their control over first the Sultanate of Perak, and later the other independent Malay States, is signed. The Republic of Ecuador is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, carried out by President Gabriel García Moreno and supported, blessed and specified by Pope Pius IX. The first issue of Japanese-language newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun is published in Tokyo, Japan.

title: 1874


lead: Tanaka Manufacturing, a telecommunications factory in Ginza, Tokyo, a predecessor of Toshiba, a Japanese electromechanics giant, is founded. Hibernian F.C. is founded by Irishmen in Edinburgh, Scotland. English Association football team Birmingham City F.C. is founded as Small Heath Alliance in Birmingham by a group of cricketers from Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, playing its first match in November.

title: 1875


lead: Lars Magnus Ericsson starts a small mechanical workshop in Stockholm, Sweden (from April 27 partnering with Carl Johan Andersson), dealing with telegraphy equipment, which grows into the worldwide company Ericsson. The Ems Ukaz, a secret decree, is issued by Tsar Alexander II of Russia in the German city of Bad Ems, aimed at stopping the printing and distribution of Ukrainian-language publications in the Russian Empire. The Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco via the first transcontinental railroad, 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City.

title: 1876


lead: The University of Tokyo is officially established in Japan. Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878): Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire. (May 9 O.S.) – By a speech in the Parliament of Romania by Mihail Kogălniceanu, the country declares itself independent from the Ottoman Empire (recognized in 1878 after the end of the Romanian independence war).

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1877


lead: Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore debuts in London at the Opera Comique, with a first run of 571 performances. July 13 – The Congress of Berlin convenes to discuss the Ottoman Empire.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
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Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
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Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1878


lead: Yasukuni Shrine is officially renamed from Tokyo Shokonsha Shrine in Japan. Henry George self-publishes his major work Progress and Poverty. Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance opens at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City (following a token performance the day before for U.K. copyright reasons in Paignton, Devon).

sections:
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Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
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Deaths

title: 1879


lead: Queen Himiko (or Shingi Waō) begins her reign in Japan (until 248). Publius Helvius Pertinax becomes pro-consul of Africa from 188 to 189.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: AD 188


lead: Australian police capture bank robber Ned Kelly, after a gun battle at Glenrowan, Victoria. Competing circus owners P. T. Barnum and James A. Bailey sign a contract in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to create the Barnum & Bailey Circus. In 1907, the circus will merge forces with another competitor, the Ringling Brothers Circus. The first stone is laid for the Clarkson Memorial in Wisbech, England.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
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Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
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Deaths

title: 1880


lead: Carlos Finlay introduces his discovery of the transmission of Yellow Fever by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, in the Fifth International Sanitary Conference held in Washington, D.C. Determined to bring about the revival of the Hebrew language as a way of unifying Jews, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda has what is believed to be the first conversation in Modern Hebrew, with friends living in Paris. A meteorite strikes the Earth near the village of Großliebenthal, a few kilometers southwest of Odesa, Ukraine.

title: 1881


lead: Polygamy is made a felony by the Edmunds Act, passed by the United States Congress. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization, is founded in New Haven, Connecticut. 13 – Anglo-Egyptian War: The British Mediterranean Fleet carries out the Bombardment of Alexandria, its forces capturing the city of Alexandria, Egypt, and securing the Suez Canal.

title: 1882


lead: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is first published complete in book form, in Italy. Battle of Gia Cuc: A French force defeats the Vietnamese in northern Vietnam in the run-up to the Sino-French War. In five Civil Rights Cases the Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, allowing individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1883


lead: Prince Leopold, the youngest son and eighth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, dies, aged 30 in Cannes (France) following a fall complicated by his haemophilia. His son, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, is born nearly 4 months later. LaMarcus Adna Thompson opens the "Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway" at Coney Island, New York City. 1884 United States presidential election: Democratic governor of New York Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest, to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.

title: 1884


lead: The Richmond Football Club is officially formed at the Royal Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria. First legal cremation in England: widowed painter Jeanette Pickersgill of London, "well known in literary and scientific circles", is cremated by the Cremation Society at Woking, Surrey. The largest ever explosion for a non-military purpose is set off in the East River of New York City as part of a scheme for the removal of Hell Gate rocks by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

title: 1885


lead: The West End Riots following a popular meeting in Trafalgar Square, London. William Stanley Jr. demonstrates the first commercial alternating current generator and transformer system in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The Werkstätte für Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik (Workshop for Fine Mechanics and Electronics) is founded in Baden-Württemberg, Germany by Robert Bosch. The company will later become the home appliance and power tool brand, Robert Bosch GmbH.

title: 1886


lead: James Blyth operates the first working wind turbine at Marykirk, Scotland. Hibernian F.C. of Scotland defeats Preston North End F.C. of England to win the 'Championship of the World', after the two teams win the Association football Cup competitions in their respective countries. The Association football club Celtic F.C. is formed in Glasgow, Scotland, by Irish Marist Brother Walfrid, to help alleviate poverty in the city's East End by raising money for his charity, the 'Poor Children's Dinner Table'.

title: 1887


lead: Kahisakan (可否茶館), the first coffee shop in Japan, opens in Tokyo. Nippon Oil Corporation, predecessor of Eneos, a petroleum and gas energy brand in Japan, is founded in Niigata Prefecture. 1888 United States presidential election: Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland wins the popular vote, but loses the Electoral College vote to Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison, therefore losing the election.

title: 1888


lead: President Grover Cleveland signs the Enabling Act of 1889, admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states. Rubber tire company Michelin is registered by Édouard and André Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, France. North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states, respectively.

title: 1889


lead: Pope Victor I succeeds Pope Eleuterus as the fourteenth pope, the first from Africa. Liu Bian succeeds Emperor Ling, as Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty. Plague (possibly smallpox) kills as many as 2,000 people per day in Rome. Farmers are unable to harvest their crops, and food shortages bring riots in the city.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Health & Medicine
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: AD 189


lead: Kashihara Shrine, a landmark spot in Nara Prefecture, Japan, is officially built by Emperor Mutsuhito (Emperor of Meiji). Royal Dutch Petroleum, predecessor of Royal Dutch Shell, the major worldwide energy production and sales company, is founded in the Netherlands to develop an oilfield in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra. Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, moves to a building on London's Victoria Embankment, as New Scotland Yard.

title: 1890


lead: 1st Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald wins a 4th consecutive parliamentary victory over the Liberal Party. The first penalty kick is awarded in an Association football match: John Heath scores it for Wolverhampton Wanderers in England. Eugène Dubois finds the first fragmentary bones of Pithecanthropus erectus (later redesignated Homo erectus), or "Java Man", at Trinil on the Solo River.

title: 1891


lead: In Samoa, 1892 had 367 days instead of 366, repeating July 4 twice. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west.

title: 1892


lead: Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii: Lorrin A. Thurston and the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety in Hawaii, with the intervention of the United States Marine Corps, overthrow the government of Queen Liliuokalani. Thomas Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio in West Orange, New Jersey. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1893 is signed, as the Kingdom of Siam cedes all of its territories east of the Mekong River to France, creating the territory of Laos.

title: 1893


lead: Blackpool Tower is opened in Blackpool, in north-west England, as a visitor attraction. War is declared between the Qing Empire of China and the Empire of Japan over their rival claims of influence on their common ally, the Joseon dynasty of Korea. The event marks the start of the First Sino-Japanese War. Wedding of Nicholas II of Russia and Alix of Hesse in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace at Saint Petersburg.

title: 1894


lead: In Munich, Germany, bicyclists have to pass a test and display license plates. The city of Tainan, last stronghold of the Republic of Formosa, capitulates to the forces of the Empire of Japan, ending the short-lived republic, and beginning the era of Taiwan under Japanese rule. Flamengo, a well known professional football club in Brazil, is officially founded.

title: 1895


lead: Walter Arnold, of East Peckham, Kent, England, is fined 1 shilling for speeding at 8 mph km/h, exceeding the contemporary urban speed limit of 2 mph km/h, the first speeding fine. The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, are held in Athens, Greece. 1896 United States presidential election: Republican William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan. The event is viewed by some as a political realignment for the United States Republican Party.

title: 1896


lead: 19 zinc miners die of carbon monoxide poisoning at Snaefell Mine on the Isle of Man. The Klondike Gold Rush begins when the first successful prospectors arrive in Seattle. Juventus FC is founded as an association football club in Turin.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1897


lead: New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island. In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopt a constitution which will become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia. The American steam boat Walkatomica, which has made regular runs for travelers along the Gulf Coast of Florida since 1885, is destroyed by fire while in port in Tallahassee.

title: 1898


lead: The Suntory whisky distiller and worldwide alcoholic and soft drink brand of Japan is established by Shinjiro Torii in Osaka as a store selling imported wines. Jules Massenet's Cendrillon, the first opera based on the fairy tale of Cinderella, premieres in Paris at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. American boxer James J. Jeffries wins the world heavyweight boxing championship when he knocks out Cornish-born Bob Fitzsimmons at Coney Island, New York.

title: 1899


label: 19 CE

lead: Germanicus Julius Caesar, commander in chief of the Roman legions in the East and beloved by the legionaries, falls ill and dies. On his deathbed he accuses Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria, of poisoning him. King Vonones I is removed to Cilicia and kept under house arrest. He escapes, but is caught and killed by a retired Roman legion veteran. Agrippina the Elder accuses Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso of having assassinated her husband Germanicus Julius Caesar in Antioch. However, there is no credible evidence and the charge is never proven. (In ancient times, when medical science was not advanced, poison was usually suspected whenever a young, healthy person died suddenly. There was no way to pinpoint and trace the substance after death; therefore, it was considered a quick, easy and non-traceable form of homicide.).

sections:
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Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 10s


lead: A Roman road crosses the Alps, by the Simplon Pass. At the climax of his power, the freedman Marcus Aurelius Cleander appoints 25 men as Roman consuls. Amongst these is Lucius Septimius Severus, who later becomes emperor during the Year of the Five Emperors). The Campaign against Dong Zhuo begins. During the Battle of Xingyang, Cao Cao's army is defeated by Dong Zhuo.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Science & Discovery
Disasters & Accidents
Culture & Society
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title: AD 190


lead: The Galveston hurricane devastates Texas, killing about 8,000 people; The Siege of the International Legations becomes the climax of the Boxer Rebellion; The 1900 Summer Olympics are held in Paris; The Exposition Universelle showcases innovation in Paris; The Russian invasion of Manchuria heightens tensions in East Asia; The Thanksgiving Day Disaster kills 23 during San Francisco's Big Game; The Zeppelin LZ 1 makes its first flight; The Battle of Paardeberg marks a major Second Boer War victory; Umberto I of Italy is assassinated.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
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title: 1900


lead: President William McKinley is assassinated, making Theodore Roosevelt president; Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era; The Anglo-Aro War expands British colonial rule in present-day Nigeria; The Boxer Protocol ends the Boxer Rebellion; The Battle of Holy Apostles Monastery marks the last major Armenian resistance in Eastern Anatolia; The Federation of Australia unites six colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia.

title: 1901


lead: The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée devastates Saint-Pierre in Martinique, killing nearly 30,000 and becoming one of history’s deadliest volcanic disasters; The Second Boer War ends with the Treaty of Vereeniging, bringing the Boer republics under British control; The Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra at Westminster Abbey formally begins the Edwardian era; The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 sees European powers blockade Venezuelan ports over debts, prompting U.S. diplomatic intervention; The Anthracite coal strike of 1902 leads to President Theodore Roosevelt mediating labor demands for higher wages and shorter workdays; The French silent film A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès premieres, becoming an iconic early cinematic work.

title: 1902


lead: The Wright Flyer makes the first powered, controlled flight at Kitty Hawk, as the Wright brothers launch the era of aviation; The inaugural 1903 World Series sees the Boston Americans defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, establishing baseball’s championship tradition; The Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago kills over 600, becoming the deadliest U.S. theater fire and driving new safety reforms; The May Coup results in the assassination of King Alexander I and Queen Draga, reshaping Balkan politics; The Paris Métro train fire claims more than 80 lives, one of France’s worst transit disasters; The Great Train Robbery premieres, revolutionizing cinema with innovative storytelling.

title: 1903


lead: The Russo-Japanese War begins as Japan’s surprise attack on Port Arthur signals its rise as a global power; The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis become the first Games held in the United States; The Great Baltimore Fire devastates the city’s core, destroying over 1,500 buildings and prompting new firefighting standards; The Kuta Reh massacre in Aceh sees hundreds of villagers killed by Dutch colonial forces during the Aceh War; The Herero Wars in German South West Africa escalate into genocide against the Herero and Nama peoples; The Dogger Bank incident sees Russian warships mistakenly fire on British fishermen, nearly triggering war.

title: 1904


lead: The Russian Revolution of 1905 erupts after Bloody Sunday, sparking strikes, uprisings, and the creation of the Duma; The First Moroccan Crisis begins with Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit to Tangier, straining Franco-German relations; The Battle of Tsushima ends in a decisive Japanese victory, reshaping power in East Asia; The Maji Maji Rebellion challenges German colonial rule in East Africa but is brutally suppressed; Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia is assassinated in Moscow; The Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden peacefully grants Norway independence.

title: 1905


lead: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires devastate the city, killing thousands and displacing many more; The Courrières mine disaster in France kills over 1,000 miners, one of Europe’s worst industrial tragedies; The 1906 Atlanta race massacre leaves dozens dead amid racial tensions; The Algeciras Conference attempts to resolve European disputes over Morocco; The Denshawai incident in Egypt sparks nationalist outrage after harsh British reprisals; The Bambatha Rebellion in Natal sees Zulu resistance crushed by colonial forces.

title: 1906


lead: The Panic of 1907 triggers a U.S. financial crisis, sparking bank runs and paving the way for the Federal Reserve; The Santa María School massacre in Chile sees government troops kill hundreds of striking nitrate workers and their families; The 1907 Tiflis bank robbery by Bolsheviks shocks the Russian Empire and funds revolutionaries; The vast 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt erupts against landlords, ending in brutal crackdowns and thousands dead; The 1907 Kingston earthquake devastates Jamaica’s capital, killing more than 800; The Cornu helicopter achieves the first free flight in France, a milestone in aviation.

title: 1907


lead: The devastating 1908 Messina earthquake strikes southern Italy, killing around 82,000 and leveling Messina and Reggio Calabria; The 1908 Summer Olympics in London introduce standardized rules and the opening ceremony parade; The mysterious Tunguska event flattens over 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest, likely from a meteoroid airburst; The Lisbon Regicide sees King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir Luís Filipe assassinated, shocking the nation; The Young Turk Revolution forces Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman constitution; The Ford Model T begins mass production, revolutionizing global transportation.

sections:
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Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 1908


lead: American explorer Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole, sparking debate over who arrived first; The Adana massacre in the Ottoman Empire kills thousands of Armenians; The Cherry Mine disaster in Illinois claims 259 miners, one of the deadliest U.S. coal accidents; The New York shirtwaist strike of 1909 sees mainly immigrant women demand better wages and working conditions in the largest U.S. women's strike; The Second Melillan campaign involves Spain fighting Rif tribes in northern Morocco; The 31 March Incident in the Ottoman Empire is suppressed, strengthening Young Turk control.

title: 1909


lead: c. 191–192 – The sculpture of Commodus as Hercules, from Esquiline Hill, Rome, is made (it is now kept at Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome). A coalition of Chinese warlords from the east of Hangu Pass launches a punitive campaign against the warlord Dong Zhuo, who seized control of the central government in 189, and held the figurehead Emperor Xian hostage. After suffering some defeats against the coalition forces, Dong Zhuo forcefully relocates the imperial capital from Luoyang to Chang'an. Before leaving, Dong Zhuo orders his troops to loot the tombs of the Han emperors, and then destroy Luoyang by fire, to leave behind nothing for the coalition. Battle of Jieqiao: Yuan Shao narrowly defeats Gongsun Zan, in northern China.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Births
Deaths

title: AD 191


lead: The death of Edward VII ends the Edwardian era and begins George V’s reign in the United Kingdom; The Mexican Revolution ignites a decade-long struggle reshaping the nation’s politics and society; The Great January Comet of 1910 captivates observers worldwide with a spectacular celestial display; The 5 October 1910 revolution in Portugal topples the monarchy and establishes the First Portuguese Republic; The Great Fire of 1910 burns over three million acres in the northwestern United States, one of the largest wildfires in American history; The Tonypandy riots erupt in Wales during a coal miners’ strike, highlighting labor unrest and industrial hardships.

title: 1910


lead: The 1911 Revolution in China ends over two millennia of imperial rule and establishes the Republic of China; The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City kills 146 workers, prompting major labor and safety reforms; The Italo-Turkish War begins as Italy invades Ottoman territories in North Africa, marking the first war with aerial bombardment; The Agadir Crisis heightens tensions between Germany and France in Morocco, escalating prewar rivalries; Roald Amundsen becomes the first person to reach the South Pole; The Coronation of George V and Mary at Westminster Abbey inaugurates the new reign in the United Kingdom.

title: 1911


lead: The Titanic sinks on her maiden voyage, killing over 1,500 people and becoming one of history's deadliest maritime disasters; The 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden introduces electronic timing and public address systems; The First Balkan War sees the Balkan League of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro push the Ottoman Empire out of Europe; The Lena massacre in the Russian Empire kills hundreds of striking gold miners, fueling revolutionary anger; The death of Emperor Meiji ends the Meiji era in the Japanese Empire and begins the Taishō period; The Novarupta eruption in the U.S. Territory of Alaska becomes the century's most powerful volcanic event.

title: 1912


lead: The Second Balkan War sees former allies fight over territory, escalating tensions in Southeast Europe; The Battle of Bud Bagsak ends the Moro Rebellion as U.S. forces defeat Moro fighters in the southern Philippines; At the Epsom Derby, suffragette Emily Davison is fatally struck by King George V's horse, drawing global attention to women's rights; The Senghenydd colliery disaster kills 440 miners in Wales, Britain’s worst mining tragedy; The Great Flood of 1913 devastates the American Midwest, killing hundreds and causing massive damage; The 1913 Ottoman coup d'état places the Committee of Union and Progress in power, consolidating control under the Three Pashas.

title: 1913


lead: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip triggers the July Crisis, leading to the outbreak of World War I; The Serbian campaign begins as Austria-Hungary invades Serbia, facing fierce resistance; The Battle of Liège sees German forces delayed by Belgian defenders, disrupting the Schlieffen Plan; The Battle of Tannenberg results in a decisive German victory over the Russian Second Army on the Eastern Front; The Siege of Tsingtao marks Japan’s entry into the war as Allied forces capture the German port in China; The First Battle of the Marne halts the German advance into France, beginning the prolonged stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front.

title: 1914


lead: The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat kills nearly 1,200 people, including 128 Americans, heightening tensions between Germany and the United States; The Gallipoli campaign begins as Allied forces attempt an amphibious invasion of the Ottoman Empire, ending in failure; The Armenian genocide starts with the arrest, deportation, and mass extermination of up to 1.5 million Armenians; The Gorlice–Tarnów offensive breaks Russian lines in Galicia, shifting the Eastern Front in favor of the Central Powers; The Second Battle of Ypres marks the first large-scale use of poison gas on the Western Front; Italy joins the Allies, opening the Italian Front against Austria-Hungary.

sections:
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Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
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Climate & Environment
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Deaths

title: 1915


lead: The Battle of the Somme begins as British and French forces attack German lines in northern France, causing over one million casualties; The Battle of Verdun between France and Germany leaves nearly 700,000 dead or wounded, symbolizing the Western Front stalemate; The Brusilov Offensive gives Russia major gains against Austria-Hungary but with heavy losses; The Battle of Jutland in the North Sea, the war’s largest naval battle, ends without a clear victor but secures British naval dominance; The Arab Revolt is launched against Ottoman rule with British support and T. E. Lawrence; The Easter Rising in Dublin sees Irish republicans stage a doomed revolt against British rule.

title: 1916


lead: The Zimmermann Telegram reveals Germany's secret offer to Mexico, helping push the United States into World War I; The Russian Revolution sees the fall of Tsar Nicholas II and the rise of Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks, beginning the Russian Civil War; France's Nivelle Offensive fails, causing huge losses and mutinies; The Battle of Passchendaele inflicts over half a million casualties in Flanders with little gain; The Battle of Jerusalem ends with British capture of the city from the Ottoman Empire; The Halifax Explosion devastates the Canadian port city when a munitions ship detonates, killing nearly 2,000 people and leveling much of Halifax.

title: 1917


lead: The Spanish flu pandemic begins, killing an estimated 50 million worldwide; The Armistice of 11 November 1918 ends fighting on the Western Front and concludes World War I; The Dissolution of Austria-Hungary leads to new states such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, and Hungary; The German Revolution of 1918–1919 forces Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate and creates the Weimar Republic; The Hundred Days Offensive breaks German lines and collapses military resistance; The Murder of the Romanov family ends the Russian imperial dynasty.

title: 1918


lead: The Treaty of Versailles ends World War I between Germany and Allied Powers, imposing reparations and redrawing borders; the Greco-Turkish War begins as Greece invades Anatolia, sparking the Turkish War of Independence; the Polish–Soviet War erupts over borderlands between Poland and Soviet Russia; the Irish War of Independence starts as the Irish Republican Army fights British rule; the May Fourth Movement rises in China against imperialism and Japanese encroachment; and the Hungarian Soviet Republic briefly becomes Europe’s first communist state before falling in the Hungarian–Romanian War.

title: 1919


lead: Lü Bu assassinates warlord Dong Zhuo, who has controlled the central government of the Han Dynasty (since 189). Emperor Commodus alarms the Senate, by appearing dressed as a gladiator for his new consulship on January 1. His mistress Marcia finds her name on the imperial execution list, and hires champion wrestler Narcissus to assassinate Commodus; the Antonines Dynasty ends. Syriac Christians establish an early Christian community in Kerala, India.

sections:
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Exploration & Expansion
Disasters & Accidents
Births
Deaths

title: AD 192


lead: The Prohibition era begins as the Eighteenth Amendment and Volstead Act ban alcohol across the United States, sparking speakeasies and organized crime; the League of Nations is established in Geneva, Switzerland to maintain global peace; the 1920 Summer Olympics are held in Antwerp, Belgium, introducing the Olympic flag and athlete's oath; the Battle of Warsaw turns the Polish–Soviet War in Poland's favor, repelling the Red Army; the Red Army invasion of Armenia and Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan bring both nations into the Soviet Union; and the Wall Street bombing kills 38 and injures hundreds in New York City's financial district.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
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Deaths

title: 1920


lead: The Tulsa race massacre destroys the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing hundreds and razing thousands of homes and businesses; the Russian famine of 1921–1922 kills an estimated five million in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, prompting limited international aid; the Red Army invasion of Georgia brings the Democratic Republic of Georgia under Soviet control; the Anglo-Irish Treaty ends the Irish War of Independence, creating the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion; the Rif War begins as Berber tribes led by Abd el-Krim resist Spanish colonial rule in northern Morocco; and the Kronstadt rebellion sees Soviet sailors and workers rise against Bolshevik rule before being crushed by the Red Army.

title: 1921


lead: The Irish Civil War erupts between pro- and anti-Treaty forces after the creation of the Irish Free State, plunging Ireland into a brutal struggle; the March on Rome brings Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party to power in the Kingdom of Italy, launching fascist rule; the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter sparks worldwide fascination with ancient Egypt; the Burning of Smyrna devastates the city in the final phase of the Greco-Turkish War, causing massive destruction and a humanitarian crisis; the Washington Naval Treaty limits naval arms among leading powers to prevent another costly race; and the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics forms the Soviet Union, uniting multiple republics under one federal government.

title: 1922


lead: The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing over 100,000 and leveling much of the region; the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne forcibly relocates 1.5 million people, reshaping both nations’ demographics; Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic renders the German mark nearly worthless, causing widespread economic and social upheaval; the Occupation of the Ruhr by French and Belgian forces begins over World War I reparations, worsening political unrest and the economic crisis; the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich sees Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party fail to seize power, shaping Hitler’s future strategy; and the Second Italo-Senussi War ends with Italian consolidation of Libya, completing their colonial ambitions in North Africa.

title: 1923


lead: The death of Vladimir Lenin sparks a Soviet power struggle, aiding Joseph Stalin’s rise; the Abolition of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk accelerates Turkey’s secularization; the 1924 Summer Olympics are held in Paris, introducing the first Olympic Village; the Second Zhili–Fengtian War intensifies China’s Warlord Era; the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 causes months of urban warfare; and the August Uprising in Georgia is brutally suppressed by Bolsheviks.

title: 1924


lead: The 1925 serum run to Nome sees mushers race across Alaska to deliver life-saving diphtheria antitoxin, capturing global attention; the deadly 1925 Tri-State tornado sweeps through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 and becoming the deadliest U.S. tornado; the Great Syrian Revolt erupts as Syrian nationalists rise against French rule; the Scopes Trial in Tennessee sparks a nationwide debate on evolution and religion in public education; the St. Nedelya Church bombing in Sofia, Bulgaria, kills hundreds during a funeral, escalating political violence; and the Locarno Treaties are signed to secure peace and stabilize postwar borders in Western Europe.

title: 1925


lead: The 1926 Miami hurricane devastates southern Florida and parts of the Caribbean, killing hundreds and causing massive destruction; the 1926 United Kingdom general strike brings the nation to a standstill as millions of workers walk out in support of coal miners; the Northern Expedition is launched by the Kuomintang to unify China under its rule, marking a turning point in the Chinese Civil War; the Cristero War erupts in Mexico as Catholic rebels take up arms against the government’s anti-clerical policies; the May Coup sees Marshal Józef Piłsudski overthrow the government in a three-day military coup; Hirohito ascends the throne as Emperor of Japan, beginning the Shōwa era; NBC is founded.

title: 1926


lead: The Chinese Civil War intensifies as the Shanghai massacre sees Chiang Kai-shek purge Communists from the Kuomintang, while the Autumn Harvest Uprising led by Mao Zedong marks an early Communist insurrection; the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 devastates seven U.S. states, displacing hundreds of thousands; aviator Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris; the Ararat rebellion erupts as Kurdish nationalists resist Turkish rule in eastern Anatolia; the Bath School disaster in Michigan kills 45 in the deadliest U.S. school bombing; and The Jazz Singer introduces synchronized sound, launching the era of “talkies” and transforming cinema.

title: 1927


lead: The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming revolutionizes medicine as the first true antibiotic; the Kellogg–Briand Pact sees major powers renounce war as national policy, reflecting interwar idealism; the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam mark the first women’s track and field events; the Huanggutun incident assassinates warlord Zhang Zuolin, aiding Nationalist consolidation in China; the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane kills thousands in Florida and the Caribbean; and Steamboat Willie debuts Mickey Mouse, launching a new era in animation and pop culture.

title: 1928


lead: The Wall Street Crash of 1929 devastates global markets, sparking the Great Depression and years of economic hardship; the Lateran Treaty establishes Vatican City as an independent state, resolving the “Roman Question”; the 1929 Palestine riots erupt across Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed, killing hundreds and deepening Jewish-Arab tensions; the Sino-Soviet conflict (1929) erupts over the Chinese Eastern Railway, leading to a brief military clash; the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre shocks Chicago with the murder of seven North Side Gang members during Prohibition; and the 1st Academy Awards are held in Hollywood, inaugurating the Oscars.

title: 1929


lead: Pertinax is assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard, who storm the imperial palace. The Empire is auctioned off; Marcus Didius Julianus the highest bidder, offers 300 million sesterces for the throne. Roman governors Clodius Albinus (Britannia) and Pescennius Niger (Syria) claim, with support of their troops, the imperial throne. Lucius Septimius Severus is proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Carnuntum, in Pannonia Superior (Balkans). He marches with his army to Rome. Septimius Severus enters the capital, and has Julianus put to death. He replaces the Praetorian Guard with a 15,000-man force from the Danubian legions, and gains control of the Roman Empire, beginning the Severan dynasty.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: AD 193


lead: The Salt March, led by Mahatma Gandhi, begins as nonviolent civil disobedience against the British salt monopoly, inspiring the Indian independence movement; the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay inaugurates the world’s premier international football tournament, with the host nation defeating Argentina; Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto at Lowell Observatory, expanding knowledge of the solar system; the Revolution of 1930 overthrows Brazilian President Washington Luís, bringing Getúlio Vargas to power; the 1930 Argentine coup d'état deposes President Hipólito Yrigoyen, starting the "Infamous Decade"; and the Musha Incident sees the Seediq people rise against Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, resulting in a brutal suppression.

title: 1930


lead: The catastrophic 1931 China floods submerge vast regions along the Yangtze, Huai, and Yellow Rivers, killing 1–4 million and becoming one of history's deadliest natural disasters; the European banking crisis of 1931 begins with the collapse of Creditanstalt, spreading financial turmoil across Austria and Germany and deepening the Great Depression; the Mukden Incident in Manchuria sees a staged explosion by Japanese forces used to justify invasion, setting the stage for the Second Sino-Japanese War; the Hawke's Bay earthquake strikes New Zealand's North Island, killing 256 and prompting a massive Art Deco rebuilding of Napier; the Ahmed Barzani revolt erupts in northern Iraq as Kurdish forces challenge the government, highlighting ethnic tensions; and the Empire State Building opens in New York City, becoming the world's tallest skyscraper and a symbol of modern ambition.

title: 1931


lead: The Chaco War erupts between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the Gran Chaco, becoming one of South America’s deadliest conflicts of the 20th century; the Siamese revolution of 1932 peacefully ends centuries of absolute monarchy in Siam and establishes a constitutional government; the 1932 Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles, showcasing athletic achievement amid the hardships of the Great Depression; the January 28 incident in Shanghai sees Japanese forces clash with Chinese troops, heightening tensions in East Asia and foreshadowing broader conflict; the Colombia–Peru War breaks out over disputed Amazonian territory, leading to months of fighting before a negotiated settlement; and the May 15 incident in Japan results in the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi by young naval officers, signaling a shift toward militarism in Japanese politics.

title: 1932


lead: The Enabling Act of 1933 grants Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers following the Reichstag fire, allowing the Nazis to suppress opposition; the USS Akron disaster kills 73 off the New Jersey coast, becoming one of the deadliest airship accidents; the Repeal of Prohibition in the United States ends the nationwide alcohol ban, restoring legal liquor sales after 13 years; the 1933 Long Beach earthquake strikes Southern California, killing 120 and prompting stricter building codes; the Kansas City massacre shocks the nation as gangsters ambush law enforcement, killing four; and the release of King Kong captivates audiences with groundbreaking effects and iconic storytelling.

title: 1933


lead: The Night of the Long Knives sees Hitler purge SA leaders and rivals, solidifying his dictatorship; the Assassination of Alexander I of Yugoslavia shocks Europe as the king and French Foreign Minister Barthou are killed; the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy ends with the hosts defeating Czechoslovakia, boosting Mussolini’s propaganda; the Long March begins as Chinese Communists retreat across thousands of kilometers from Nationalist forces; the Austrian Civil War erupts as Social Democrats clash with the Austrofascist government, ending in authoritarian consolidation; and the Revolution of 1934 sparks uprisings across Spain by workers and leftist factions, foreshadowing wider political conflict.

title: 1934


lead: The Second Italo-Ethiopian War begins as Italy invades Ethiopia, signaling growing tensions in Europe and Africa; the Nuremberg Laws are enacted in Nazi Germany, depriving Jews of citizenship and basic rights and cementing the regime’s racial policies; the 1935 Greek coup attempt unfolds in March but is swiftly suppressed, highlighting political instability in Greece; the 1935 Yangtze flood devastates large parts of China, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions; the Harlem riot of 1935 breaks out in New York City, the city’s first modern race riot, reflecting deep social and racial tensions; and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane strikes the Florida Keys with unprecedented force, becoming one of the most intense hurricanes in U.S. history.

title: 1935


lead: The Spanish Civil War begins as Franco’s Nationalists rise against the Republicans; at the 1936 Summer Olympics, Jesse Owens wins four gold medals, defying Nazi racial ideology; the death and state funeral of George V shocks Britain, followed by the Abdication of Edward VIII; the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland violates the Treaty of Versailles, emboldening Hitler; the Anti-Comintern Pact is signed by Germany and Japan against the Soviet Union; the February 26 incident, a failed coup attempt in Japan, leads to political purges.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
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Deaths

title: 1936


lead: The Second Sino-Japanese War erupts after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, as Japan invades China and commits atrocities including the Nanjing Massacre; the Hindenburg disaster shocks the world when the German airship bursts into flames in New Jersey, killing 36 and ending the airship era; the New London School explosion in Texas kills nearly 300, prompting gas safety reforms; aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanish over the Pacific while attempting a global flight; the Ohio River flood of 1937 displaces over a million across multiple states; and Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres as the first full-length cel-animated feature film.

sections:
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Conflict & Security
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Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
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title: 1937


lead: The Anschluss sees Nazi Germany annex Austria, escalating Hitler's expansionist agenda; Kristallnacht erupts across Germany and Austria, with Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues destroyed, thousands of Jewish people killed or arrested; the Munich Agreement is signed as Britain and France appease Hitler by allowing the annexation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia; the 1938 FIFA World Cup is held in France, with Italy winning their second consecutive title; the 1938 Yellow River flood in China, caused by intentional dike breaches during the Second Sino-Japanese War, displaces millions; and Orson Welles broadcasts "The War of the Worlds", causing panic among listeners.

title: 1938


lead: The Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1 triggers World War II as Britain and France declare war; the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union establishes a non-aggression treaty with secret plans to divide Eastern Europe; the Winter War breaks out as the Soviet Union invades Finland, leading to fierce resistance and heavy losses on both sides; the Battles of Khalkhin Gol see Soviet and Mongolian forces decisively defeat the Japanese in Manchuria, halting Japanese expansion into Siberia; the Italian invasion of Albania results in the swift occupation of the country, expanding Mussolini's influence in the Balkans; and the release of Gone with the Wind becomes a cultural milestone, later recognized as one of the most iconic and successful films in cinema history.

title: 1939


lead: Galen writes his manual on pathology, The Art of Curing (approximate date). Irenaeus declares Gnostic doctrines to be heretical (approximate date). Battle of Yan Province: Warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu fight for control over Yan Province; the battle lasts for over 100 days.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: AD 194


lead: Nazi Germany conquers France in the Battle of France; the United Kingdom endures the Battle of Britain and The Blitz; the Dunkirk evacuation saves trapped Allied troops; Germany occupies Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung; Italy’s invasion of Greece sparks the Greco-Italian War; the Soviets carry out the Katyn massacre; the Tripartite Pact forms the Axis alliance; the 1940 Vrancea earthquake strikes Romania; and Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico.

title: 1940


lead: The Attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan brings the United States into World War II; Operation Barbarossa launches Nazi Germany’s massive invasion of the Soviet Union; the Babi Yar massacre sees over 33,000 Jews killed by Nazi Einsatzgruppen near Kyiv; the Siege of Leningrad begins, starting one of history’s deadliest sieges; the Invasion of Yugoslavia leads to rapid Axis occupation; Orson Welles’ film Citizen Kane premieres, revolutionizing cinema; the East African campaign ends with Allied victory over Italian forces; the Anglo-Iraqi War secures British control in Iraq; and the German invasion of Greece results in swift Axis occupation.

title: 1941


lead: The Battle of Stalingrad begins, a major turning point on the Eastern Front; the Battle of Midway sees the United States defeat the Empire of Japan in the Pacific; the Internment of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066 forces over 100,000 people into camps; the Fall of Singapore results in the capture of around 80,000 Allied troops; the Doolittle Raid becomes the first U.S. air attack on Japan, boosting morale; the Second Battle of El Alamein forces Axis retreat from Egypt; the Manhattan Project formally launches to develop atomic weapons; the Battle of Los Angeles causes anti-aircraft barrages over California after a false alarm; and the Battle of the Coral Sea halts Japan’s advance toward Australia.

title: 1942


lead: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising sees Jewish fighters revolt against Nazi Germany; the Battle of Kursk is the largest tank battle in history and a decisive Soviet victory; the Allied invasion of Sicily begins, leading to the fall of Benito Mussolini; the Tehran Conference brings together Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin to plan Nazi Germany’s defeat; the Bengal famine of 1943 kills 2–3 million in British India; the Zoot Suit Riots erupt in Los Angeles, highlighting racial tensions; the Battle of the Bismarck Sea sees Allied air power destroy a Japanese convoy; the Bombing of Rome in World War II causes civilian casualties and historic damage; and the Bombing of Hamburg in World War II kills tens of thousands and cripples the city’s industry.

title: 1943


lead: The Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day launches the largest amphibious assault in history, turning the Western Front; the Warsaw Uprising sees Polish fighters rise against Nazi occupation but are crushed with massive civilian losses; the 20 July plot fails as officers including Claus von Stauffenberg attempt to kill Adolf Hitler; the Battle of the Bulge is Nazi Germany’s final Western offensive, ultimately failing; Operation Bagration destroys Germany’s Army Group Centre and liberates Belarus; the Battle of Monte Cassino sees Allied forces breach the Gustav Line after months of fighting; the Battle of Saipan gives the United States a strategic Pacific foothold near the Japanese homeland; the 1944 San Juan earthquake devastates Argentina’s San Juan Province; and the Hartford circus fire kills nearly 170 in Connecticut, one of the deadliest U.S. fire disasters.

title: 1944


lead: The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki devastate Japan and force the Surrender of Japan, ending World War II; the Battle of Berlin brings the fall of Nazi Germany, the death of Adolf Hitler, and the end of World War II in Europe; the Battle of Iwo Jima sees the United States capture a vital island after fierce fighting; the Yalta Conference unites Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin to shape postwar Europe and establish the United Nations; the Bombing of Dresden levels the city with heavy civilian losses; the death of Benito Mussolini marks the collapse of Fascist Italy; the Bombing of Tokyo becomes one of the deadliest air raids of the war; the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt sees Harry S. Truman assume the U.S. presidency; 1945 Empire State Building B-25 crash in New York City, killing 14 people; A Sherman Firefly during the Battle of the Bulge, which ended in a decisive Allied victory; and Ho Chi Minh reading the declaration of independence, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

title: 1945


lead: The Nuremberg Trials deliver landmark verdicts against top Nazi leaders, establishing precedents in international law; the Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll begins as the United States detonates atomic bombs in the Pacific, ushering in the nuclear age; the Greek Civil War erupts, one of the first proxy conflicts of the Cold War; the First Indochina War begins as the Viet Minh fight French colonial rule in Vietnam; the launch of the ENIAC computer marks a milestone in modern computing; the King David Hotel bombing by Irgun targets British headquarters in Jerusalem, escalating tensions in Mandatory Palestine; the Iran crisis of 1946 tests Western resolve as Soviet troops delay withdrawal from northern Iran; Direct Action Day sparks deadly communal riots in Calcutta, intensifying tensions ahead of Partition; and the release of It's a Wonderful Life which becomes an enduring film classic.

title: 1946


lead: The Partition of India creates India and Pakistan, sparking mass migrations, violence, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 over Kashmir; the Roswell incident and the 1947 flying disc craze fuel UFO speculation; the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine escalates after the UN Partition Plan for Palestine; the February 28 incident in Taiwan is violently suppressed, killing 18,000–28,000 and leading to decades of martial law; the Marshall Plan offers U.S. aid to rebuild Europe and counter Soviet influence; the Truman Doctrine commits the U.S. to support nations threatened by communism, marking the start of the Cold War; the Texas City disaster kills at least 581 people in a massive explosion; the Hachikō Line derailment kills 184 in Japan; and Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

title: 1947


lead: The Israeli Declaration of Independence establishes the State of Israel, sparking the 1948 Arab–Israeli War; Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi; the 1948 Summer Olympics open in London, the first since World War II; the Berlin Blockade begins, leading to the U.S.-led Airlift; the Malayan Emergency erupts against British forces; the 1948 United States presidential election sees Harry S. Truman's surprise victory; the Treaty of Brussels is signed, forming a Western defense alliance; the Jeju uprising in South Korea is brutally suppressed; and the 1948 Fukui earthquake devastates Japan.

title: 1948