Category Archives: History

History

On this day September 21

Today in History

  • 2013 The Westgate Mall is attacked in Nairobi, Kenya

    In a daring siege, militants of the extremist group al-Shabaab took over the Mall. 63 shoppers were killed during the attack that lasted a few hours, and before the Kenyan security forces rescued the hostages, 4 terrorists were also killed. Al-Shabaab declared that it had undertaken the attack as retaliation for the presence of Kenyan armed forces in Somalia.

  • 1964 Malta gains its independence from the UK

    The southern European island country came under British control in 1814 as part of the Treaty of Paris. The country initially retained the Queen of England as its head of state but declared itself a republic on December 13, 1974.

  • 1961 Boeing CH-47 Chinook takes flight for the first time

    The American-made helicopter has been used by the US military in a variety of conflict-related operations including during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has also been often used for medical evacuation and search and rescue operations during natural disasters around the world.

  • 1942 Boeing B-29 Superfortress flies for the first time

    The bomber was used extensively by the US in World War II and the Korean War. The two planes – Enola Gay and Bockscar – that dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were from the silverplate series of Boeing B-29s.

  • 1937 JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published for the first time

    The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a young adult fantasy novel that follows the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he traverses through Middle Earth to find treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug.

History

On this day September 19

Today in History

  • 2010 Oil rig Deepwater Horizon is declared sealed after a 5-month long spill in the Gulf of Mexico

    Thought to be one of the biggest accidents in the oil and gas industry, the Deepwater Horizon spill or the BP oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the rig and killed 11 people.

  • 2006 A Military coup overthrows the elected government in Thailand

    Forces loyal to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and dissolved the parliament and the constitution.

  • 1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis gain their Independence from the British Crown

    The first Europeans set foot on the Island country in the West Indies in the late 15th century during an expedition led by Columbus. In 1713, the control over the islands was passed from the French to the British.

  • 1973 Carl XVI Gustaf succeeds his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf as the King of Sweden

    Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In 1980, Swedish law was changed to allow the firstborn of a monarch to become the crown’s heir apparent, irrespective of their gender.

  • 1944 The Moscow Armistice ends the Continuation War

    The peace treaty was signed between the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and Finland. It put an end to the conflict between the USSR and Finland between 1941 and 1944.

History

On this day September 17

 

Today in History

  • 1978 Camp David Accords are signed

    The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The accords were the precursor to the 1974 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty

  • 1939 Man runs 10,000 meters in less than 30 minutes for the first time in recorded history

    Finnish runner, Taisto Mäki, broke his previous record by running the distance in 29 minutes 52 seconds.

  • 1894 A day after Japan wins the Battle of Pyongyang it defeats China in the Battle of the Yalu River

    Also known as the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the conflict was fought between Japan and China during the First Sino-Japanese War.

  • 1862 Bloodiest Single Day of the American Civil War takes place

    The Battle of Antietam was fought near the Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Thought to be the deadliest single day of the American Civil War – at least 4000 soldiers on both sides died – the battle ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee incursion into the North. While there were no clear victors, many believed that the withdrawal of Confederate soldiers from the battlefield before the Union Army did meant that the Union had won the battle.

  • 1809 Treaty of Fredrikshamn is signed between Sweden and Russia

    Also known as the Treaty of Hamina, it concluded the Finnish War and ceded Swedish territories, which later formed Finland to Russia.

 

History

On this day in history – September 16

 September 16

  • 1982 Members of a right-wing Lebanese militia massacre 1500-3000 people in two Beirut-area refugee camps

    The killings took over three days in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila and were led by the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia.

  • 1978 An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale rocks the city of Tabas in Iran

    More than 11,000 people were killed during the natural disaster.

  • 1963 Malaysia is created

    The Federation of Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore to create Malaysia. Singapore left the arrangement two years later.

  • 1920 A bomb explodes on Wall Street, New York killing 38 people

    The Wall Street Bombing, as the incident is known, was the deadliest such act on American soil to that date. It is still not known who was responsible for the bombing.

  • 1908 General Motors Corporation is founded in Flint, Michigan by William C. Durant and Charles Stewart Mott

    The company, also known as GM, was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cars and trucks. Most notably, the company manufactured Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Hummer brand cars.