Category Archives: History

History

On this day February 22

Today in History

  • 2011 185 people are killed during an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand

    The quake, while having a magnitude of only 6.3, had one of the highest intensities ever recorded in an urban area (MM IX).

  • 1986 The People Power Revolution begins in the Philippines

    The nonviolent campaign resulted in the fall of President Ferdinand Marcos and the restoration of the country’s democracy.

  • 1983 The play “Moose Murders” flops spectacularly on Broadway

    According to critic Frank Rich, “a visit to Moose Murders is what will separate the connoisseurs of Broadway disaster from mere dilettantes for many moons to come.”

  • 1948 Czechoslovakia becomes a communist state following a coup d’etat

    The country became a parliamentary republic following the non-violent “Velvet Revolution” in 1989 and was split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993.

  • 1879 The first Woolworth store opens in Utica, New york

    Frank Woolworth’s five-and-dime retail stores became one of the world’s most successful trading companies with branches in many countries around the world.

History

On this day February 19

Today in History

  • 2008 Fidel Castro steps down as Cuba’s president

    Castro was 81 years old at the time and had been in power for 49 years.

  • 1986 The “Mir” Space Station is launched

    The Soviet vehicle was the world’s first modular space station and remained in orbit for 15 years.

  • 1985 Iberia Airlines Flight 610 crashes

    All 148 people on board died in the accident that was blamed on pilot error.

  • 1945 U.S. troops land on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima

    The photo showing 4 marines erecting a U.S. flag on the island has become one of the best-known images of World War II.

  • 1878 Thomas Edison patents the phonograph

    It was the first machine able to reproduce recorded sound.

History

On this day February 15

 

Today in History

  • 2003 The largest peace demonstration in history takes place

    Up to 30 million people in 600 cities around the world protested against the Iraq War.

  • 2001 The first draft of the human genome is published

    The human genome contains the complete human genetic information.

  • 1989 The Soviet Union pulls out of Afghanistan

    Despite their military superiority, the Soviet and Afghan armies did not succeed in breaking the Mujahideen insurgents’ resistance.

  • 1971 The United Kingdom and Ireland decimalize their currencies

    Before the change, a pound sterling was made up of 240 pence, or 20 shillings.

  • 1965 Canada adopts its current national flag showing a maple leaf

    The leaf symbolizes the country’s forests, the middle white stripe the arctic snow, and the red stripes the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

 

History

On this day February 11

Today in History

  • 1990 Nelson Mandela is freed after 27 years as a political prisoner

    The anti-apartheid campaigner’s release was a high point in South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy.

  • 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power in Iran

    Few days after Khomeini’s triumphant return from French exile, the Iranian army steps aside, making way for the creation of an Islamic theocracy.

  • 1975 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female leader of the British Conservative Party

    Thatcher won the general elections in 1979 and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

  • 1938 The BBC broadcasts Karel Čapek’s “R.U.R.”, the world’s first science fiction TV program

    The Czech play whose abbreviated title stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots” introduced the word “robot” to the English language.

  • 1858 Bernadette Soubirous sees a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes

    The small town in southern France became one of the most important Christian places of pilgrimage.