Category: This Day in History

2002 Israeli forces besieged the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem The Israel Defense Force had occupied Bethlehem to capture wanted Palestinians. The 39-day siege ensued after some militants fled into the church, which is believed to stand on the birthplace of…

2001 The Netherlands becomes the first country to allow same-sex marriage Despite opposition from conservative factions, gay and lesbian couples are today allowed to marry in many other countries also. 2001 Slobodan Milošević is arrested The former President of Serbia was arrested…

1999 The film The Matrix is released The science fiction story about the adventures of a computer programmer, Neo, was not only a commercial success but also left a lasting impression on action film-making through its creative use of slow-motion and spinning…

1981 U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot A lone gunman opened fire outside a hotel in Washington D.C. The mentally ill assassin claimed his only motive was to become famous. 1976 Thousands of Palestinians protest against Israel’s massive land expropriation In the…

2010 Two Chechen suicide bombers detonate their devices in the Moscow underground 40 people died in the attack allegedly carried out by so-called “black widows”, or Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers. 2004 Ireland becomes the first country to ban smoking in all…

1990 Jesse Owens receives the Congressional Gold Medal The African American athlete dominated the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, which was held during the reign of Adolf Hitler’s racist Nazi regime. 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant experiences a partial meltdown…

1998 Viagra is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Pfizer’s pill was the first drug against male impotence to be approved in the United States. In 2012, the company made 2 billion U.S. Dollars from Viagra alone. 1994 Silvio Berlusconi…

2000 Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia The ex-KGB officer has been lauded for leading Russia out of the 1990 economic crisis and criticized for building a regime that many have described as authoritarian and undemocratic. 1995 The Schengen Agreement enters…

1995 WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki, is launched Ward Cunningham introduced the wiki or user-editable website. Today, Wikipedia is the world’s most well known and widely used wiki. 1988 Thousands of people join the first peaceful demonstrations against the communist regime in…

1999 For the first time in its history, NATO attacks a sovereign country The military alliance bombed Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War – without a UN mandate. 1989 Oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska The mishap resulted…