circa 3400 BCE — The Sahara Desert assumes its modern form
It wasn’t always a desert. The Saharan plain was once open grassland with occasional forests. As late as the time...
August 1, 2023
Queen
circa 605 BCE — The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are constructed
One of the Seven Wonders of the World (the original seven, now usually called the wonders of the Ancient World),...
December 19, 2022
April 2, 33 CE — Jesus predicts his betrayal by Peter
It’s a well-known story. At the Last Supper, after Jesus bluntly tells his twelve closest friends that one of them...
July 31, 2022
May 31, 1043 — Lady Godiva makes her famous ride
While there actually was a real Lady Godiva – although, as a Saxon, her name was more likely Godgifu or...
May 4, 2022
November 7, 1728 — James Cook born
James Cook, better known to history as Captain Cook, was born in Yorkshire, the second of eight children. After a...
September 4, 2021
1789 — Marie Antionette (allegedly) says “Let them eat cake”
The French phrase “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” is usually translated as “Let them eat cake”, and is widely attributed...
June 14, 2021
March 29, 1912 — Scott of the Antarctic writes the final entry in his diary
It’s really not clear when exactly Robert Falcon Scott – better known as Scott of the Antarctic – actually died....
December 24, 2019
May 21, 1929 — The Great King Rat is born
Little is known of the circumstances of the Great King Rat’s birth, other than its date of May 21st. Even...
June 14, 2019
October 30, 1938 — Orson Welles broadcasts “War of the Worlds”
It is probably the most infamous radio broadcast of all time: Orson Welles’ Halloween 1938 dramatisation of H.G. Wells’ “The...
March 29, 2019
November 27, 1942 — Jimi Hendrix born
While Jimi Hendrix may not have been the greatest guitar player of all time – although that’s not a bet...
December 4, 2018
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