On September 4, 476 AD, a defining moment in history marked the end of the Western Roman Empire—a political entity that had dominated the Mediterranean world for centuries. This date saw the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor of the West, by…
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September 3, 1939, the world drew battle lines, and World War II officially began following England and France’s declaration of war against the Nazis following Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The invasion was a brazen act of aggression, violating international norms…
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The Battle of Actium, fought on September 2, 31 BC, was a decisive naval confrontation that marked the culmination of the power struggle between Octavian (later Augustus, the first Roman Emperor) and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt. This…
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On September 1, 1715, the sun set on the longest-reigning monarch in history. “The story of Louis XIV’s death is worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy,” writes the Palace of Versailles. His health started to decline on August 10 1715 upon his return from a hunting trip…
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On August 31, 1997, one of the most beloved figures in the world lost her life, shocking a nation and stunning fans across the globe. Princess Diana, along with her companion Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul, was involved in a high-speed car…
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On August 29, 1966, in San Francisco, the Fab Four played their last planned concert, marking a major change in pop culture. Taking place at Candlestick Park the Beatles rocked to a crowd of 25,000 adoring fans in the final concert of Beatlemania. By…
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The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records was published in Great Britain on August 27, 1955, marking the beginning of what would become a global phenomenon. Conceived as a book to settle pub arguments, it quickly transformed into one of the most…
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“Rome, once the capital of the world, is now the grave of the Roman people,” wrote Saint Jerome of a cataclysm in 410 of a disaster that few could have predicted. On August 27 of that year, following 800 years of military domination and…
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On August 26, 1883, the loudest sound ever recorded happened in Indonesia on a caldera situated in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The volcano known as Krakatoa erupted with such force that it…
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On August 25, 1609, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galilei Galileo debuted something to Venetian merchants that would make him both a legend and a heretic–his telescope. The Guardian writes, “A refinement of models first devised in the Netherlands, Galileo’s slim, brown stick was puny…
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