On this day in 1885, Gottlieb Daimler is granted a patent for a four-stroke engine, he uses it to create the world’s first motorcycle, the ‘Daimler Reitwagen’.
On this day in 1922, Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
On this day in 1940, Soviet troops murder 22 000 Polish nationals in the Katyn massacre.
On this day in 2007, a French TGV sets a new rail speed record of 574.8 km/h.
On this day in 1800, Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
On this day in 1912, RMS Titanic begins its sea trials.
On this day in 1935, physicist Robert Watson-Watt receives a patent for RADAR.
On this day in 1947, Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is sentenced to death.
On this day in 2020, the total number of confirmed cases during the COVID-19 pandemic reach one million.
On this day in 1924, Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch; but serves only nine months.
On this day in 1939, General Franco proclaims victory in the Spanish civil war.
On this day in 1948, the Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.
On this day in 2001, the Netherlands becomes the first modern country to grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.
On this day in 1492, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile issue the Alhambra Decree, ordering 150 000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion from Spain.
On this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is officially inaugurated.
On this day in 1966, the Soviet Union launches Luna 10, the first space probe to orbit the Moon.
On this day in 1991, the Warsaw Pact is formally disbanded.
On this day in 1856, the signing of the Treaty of Paris ends the Crimean War. Russia lost the war to a coalition of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain, and Sardinia.
On this day in 1863, Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg is chosen as King George I of Greece.
On this day in 1945, during WW2, Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna. Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland).
On this day in 1430, the Ottoman Empire captures Thessaloniki from the Republic of Venice.
On this day in 1968, the funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, is attended by thousands.
On this day in 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO.
On this day in 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May invokes Article 50, formally starting the Brexit process of leaving the EU.
On this day in 845, Paris is sacked by Viking raiders.
On this day in 1854, France and England declare war on Russia, starting the Crimean War.
On this day in 1910, inventor Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, nicknamed “Le Canard”.
On this day in 1939, during the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco captures the capital city of Madrid en route to his overthrow of the democratic Spanish republic.
On this day in 1871, the first international rugby match is held, Scotland defeats England.
On this day in 1942, Nazi Germany and Vichy France begin the deportation of 65 000 Jews from Drancy camp to German extermination camps.
On this day in 1981, the Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which over 12 million Poles walk off their jobs.
On this day in 2020, North Macedonia joins NATO.
On this day in 1927, the first Mille Miglia, the legendary car race across Italy, was held.
On this day in 1942, the first “Eichmann transports” to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps begin.
On this day in 1995, the Schengen Agreement enters into force, abolishing regular border checks between participating member states in Europe.
On this day in 2000, ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin is elected president of Russia for the first time.
On this day in 421, the city of Venice is founded.
On this day in 1306, Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scotland at Scone.
On this day in 1957, six countries sign the Treaties of Rome to establish the European Economic Community, a foundational step towards European integration and the creation of the European Union.
On this day in 1988, the Candle Demonstration in Czechoslovakia is the first step towards the Velvet Revolution.
MediaFaro Magazine