Thursday, October 9, 2025
Today: 1648: Boston shoemakers form the first American labor organization. This marked an early instance of organized labor in the colonies. 1685: King Louis XIV of France revokes the Edict of Nantes. This decision stripped the Protestant Huguenots of religious and civil liberties. 1767: The Mason-Dixon line is agreed upon. This line established the boundary […]
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Today: 1871: The Great Chicago Fire began, allegedly when a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn. The fire burned for two days, destroying a large portion of the city. 1912: The First Balkan War commenced as Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire. 1918: During World War I, U.S. Corporal Alvin C. York […]
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Today: 1765: The Stamp Act Congress convened in New York City. Representatives from nine of the American colonies met to organize a protest against the British Stamp Act. 1826: The Granite Railway in Massachusetts, one of the first railroads in the United States, began operations. 1849: American author Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore at […]
Monday, October 6, 2025
Today: 1683: The first organized group of German immigrants arrived in Philadelphia, establishing the settlement of Germantown. 1889: The Moulin Rouge, a now-famous cabaret, opened in Paris, France. 1927: “The Jazz Singer,” one of the first feature-length films to include synchronized dialogue and singing, premiered in New York City, heralding the age of “talkies.” 1973: […]
Sunday, October 5, 2025
Today: 610: Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Emperor Phocas, and becomes the Byzantine Emperor. 1789: The Women’s March on Versailles begins, a pivotal event in the French Revolution. 1813: During the War of 1812, Shawnee chief Tecumseh is killed in the Battle of the Thames in present-day Ontario, Canada. 1877: After a lengthy pursuit, Chief […]
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Today: 1582: Pope Gregory XIII implemented the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar system used by most of the world today. This change required skipping 10 days to correct the drift of the Julian calendar. 1777: During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Germantown was fought in Pennsylvania. General George Washington’s Continental Army launched […]
Friday, October 3, 2025
Today: 52 BC: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrendered to Julius Caesar after the Battle of Alesia. This marked a decisive victory for the Romans in the Gallic Wars. 1226: Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, died. He is a revered saint in the Catholic Church, known for his love of nature […]
Thursday, October 2, 2025
Today: 1187: Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, captures Jerusalem after an 88-year Crusader rule. 1780: British spy Major John André is hanged by the Continental Army in Tappan, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. He was discovered with papers revealing Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point to the British. 1835: The […]
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Today: 331 BC: Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela. This decisive victory led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. 1890: Yosemite National Park was established by the United States Congress. This act protected the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. 1903: The first-ever World […]
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Today: 420: Saint Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate Bible, dies in Bethlehem. 1399: Henry IV is proclaimed King of England, beginning the reign of the House of Lancaster. 1791: Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” premieres in Vienna, Austria. 1882: The world’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation in Appleton, Wisconsin. 1927: Babe Ruth […]