Category: This Day in History

1964 The Rolling Stones release their debut album The album The Rolling Stones, released in the United States with the added title “England’s Newest Hit Makers”, topped the UK charts for twelve weeks. 2012 The trial of Anders Behring Breivik begins in…

1861 The American Civil War begins The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina marked the beginning of hostilities. The conflict was sparked by deepening economic, social, and political differences between the southern and northern states, which were most palpably embodied by…

2006 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has enriched uranium The Iranian nuclear program has become a source of great controversy. Several countries, some of them possessing nuclear weapons themselves, accuse Tehran of developing an Iranian atom bomb. 2006 Mafia boss Bernardo…

2005 Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles Charles was formerly married to Diana, Princess of Wales. His second marriage to Camilla made him the first member of the British Royal Family to have a civil wedding. 1967 The first Boeing 737 takes…

1959 One of the first modern programming languages is created. The Common Business-Oriented Language or COBOL was primarily designed by a woman, Grace Hopper. Also known as Amazing Grace, she is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field. 2005 Over…

1969 The internet is born The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awarded a contract to build a precursor of today’s world wide web to BBN Technologies. The date is widely considered as the internet’s symbolic birthday. 1990 An arson attack on the…

1994 The Rwandan genocide begins The assassination of Rwandan President, Juvénal Habyarimana, and Burundian President, Cyprien Ntaryamira, triggered a mass slaughter of ethnic Tutsis with up to 1 million victims. 1965 The first commercial communications satellite is launched Intelsat I, also known…

1895 Oscar Wilde loses his criminal libel case triggered by accusations of homosexuality The Marquess of Queensbury had left his calling card in the Albemarle Club with the added inscription, “For Oscar Wilde posing Somdomite” (sic). 1998 The world’s largest suspension bridge…

1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is executed The former President of Pakistan had been deposed by a coup d’etat. He was hanged despite international calls to stop the execution. 1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen establish Microsoft Microsoft has developed into a multinational…

1948 Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan $12.4 billion was allocated to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and prevent communists from seizing control. 1996 The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, is arrested The mathematician who was driven…