Category Archives: History

History

On This Day – November 2

On This Day – November 2

  • 1982 Ronald Reagan signs a bill to create Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

    The day, observed every year on the third Monday of January, commemorates the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

  • 1964 Coup in Saudi Arabia

    Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud takes over the government of Saudi Arabia while his half-brother, King Saud is overseas for medical reasons.

  • 1938 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation established

    Officially known as CBC/Radio-Canada, the network is Canada’s public radio and television broadcaster.

  • 1930 Haile Selassie I becomes the emperor of Ethiopia

    Considered as a leading figure in the Rastafari movement, Selassie reigned over Ethiopia for 44 years.

  • 1917 Balfour Declaration

    Originally sent as a letter on this day to Baron Rothschild from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, it declared BRitish support for a Jewish state in Palestine. The letter was eventually added to Sevres peace treaty.

History

On This Day – November 1

On This Day – November 1

  • 1993 Maastricht Treaty comes into force

    The Maastricht Treaty that created a common currency, the Euro, for European Union countries came into force

  • 1955 United Airlines Flight 629 blows up over Colorado

    A bomb hidden in checked luggage of United Airlines Flight 629 exploded over Longmont, Colorado killing all 44 people on board.

  • 1952 First large hydrogen bomb tested by the U.S.

    The bomb, codenamed Mike, was part of Operation Ivy and was tested in the Eniwetok atoll in the Marshall Islands.

  • 1911 First bomb dropped from an aircraft

    Prior to this, bombs were dropped using unmanned balloons. The first bomb launched from an aircraft was used by the Italians in the Italo-Turkish War.

  • 1894 Nicholas II became Tsar of Russia

    The last Tsar of Russia took over the reign of the empire after his father, Alexander III died. Nicholas was forced to abdicate in 1917 and was executed a year later along with his family.

History

On This Day – October 31

On This Day – October 31

  • 2011 Day of Seven Billion

    The world’s official population reached 7 billion on approximately this day. The United Nations Population Fund designated it as the Day of Seven Billion.

  • 1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 crash

    EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the Eastern coast of the US, killing all 217 people aboard.

  • 1992 Catholic church regrets its handling of Galileo Galilee’s case

    Then Pope John Paul II acknowledged the errors committed by the Catholic Church while dealing with Galileo Galilei in the 17th century.

  • 1984 Indira Gandhi assassinated

    Indira Gandhi, the first female prime minister of India, was assassinated by two of her bodyguards. Her death sparked riots in India and New Delhi, where several thousand Sikhs were killed.

  • 1978 South Yemen adopts constitution

    The short-lived People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, or South Yemen, adopted its constitution. South Yemen eventually unified with North Yemen in 1990 to create what is today called Yemen

History

On This Day – October 30

On This Day – October 30

  • 2014 Sweden Recognizes Palestine

    By doing so, it became the first EU country in Western Europe to recognize the State of Palestine. Yasser Arafat declared an independent Palestine on November 15, 1988. The UN General Assembly recognized it a month later.

  • 1973 Bosphorous Bridge in Istanbul Opens for the First Time

    Construction on the suspension bridge over the Bosphorus began in February 1970. The bridge, which connects Asia with Europe, was designed by British engineers Gilbert Roberts and William Brown.

  • 1961 Biggest Bomb in History is Detonated

    The Soviet Union detonated Tsar Bomba or Big Ivan over the Mityushikha Bay test range on the Novaya Zemlya Island in the Arctic Circle. The 57 Megatons nuclear bomb was one-of-a-kind and the flash of light when it exploded at a height of 13,000 feet was visible over 1000 kilometers away.

  • 1908 First cross-country flight in Europe

    French aviator Henri Farman flew from Bouy to Reims in France. The 14-mile journey took him about 20 minutes. Farman was also the co-founder of the Farman Aviation Works, an airline and engine manufacturing company.

  • 1905 Russian Tsar Issues the October Manifesto

    The manifesto, which was issued by Nicholas II, was a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905 in which there were widespread strikes and protests directed towards the government. The key features of the manifesto included the creation of an elected legislative body called Duma and universal suffrage for men. It also paved the way for a new constitution in 1906.