Today:
235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed Roman Emperor after the assassination of Emperor Alexander Severus. This marks the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century.
1602 – The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is established. It becomes one of the most powerful and influential trading companies in history.
1760 – The Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings, significantly impacting the city’s landscape.
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte returns to power in France for the “Hundred Days” after escaping exile on Elba.
1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published in book form, fueling the abolitionist movement in the United States.
1916 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity, revolutionizing physics and our understanding of gravity.
1922 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first aircraft carrier, USS Langley (CV-1), marking the beginning of carrier-based aviation.
1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France, ending decades of colonial rule.
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono get married in Gibraltar, later celebrating with their famous “Bed-In for Peace.”
2003 – The United States, along with coalition forces, begins the invasion of Iraq, launching Operation Iraqi Freedom.