On a crisp autumn day, October 4, 1853, the Ottoman Empire, weakened but defiant, declared war on the Russian Empire, igniting what would become one of the most significant conflicts of the 19th century—the Crimean War. For decades, the Ottoman Empire had been struggling…
Read MoreOn September 28, 1781, the world began to turn upside down. On the battle-scarred fields of Yorktown, Virginia, the forces of destiny collided. General George Washington, leading the battle-hardened Continental Army, joined forces with French General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, to…
Read MoreOn September 27, 1066, William the Conqueror set sail on a trip that would change the course of world history, leaving Normandy and sailing toward Britain. He would soon face the most important battle in British history before World War II and be seated…
Read MoreOn September 21, 1792, the French National Convention made a groundbreaking decision that changed the course of French history: they abolished the monarchy. This act came at a crucial point during the French Revolution, a time of political, social, and economic upheaval. The monarchy,…
Read MoreOn 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…
Read MoreOn August 22, 1791, “The Pearl of the Antilles,” the French colony of Saint Domingue erupted in flames. The Haitain Revolution had begun as the enslaved held in bondage on the world wealthiest colony fought for their freedom. Spanning from 1791 to 1804, The…
Read MoreOn August 8, 1945 the United States, England, France and the Soviet Union joined together and signed the London Agreement, a new treaty to impose justice against the Nazis for their crimes. For two months during the summer of 1945, Robert H. Jackson and…
Read MoreOn July 15, 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign in Egypt, a French soldier stumbled across a huge black stone with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta, about 35 miles east of Alexandria. Made of black basalt with the writing of an ancient…
Read MoreOn July 14, 1789, during the early stages of the French Revolution, a state prison on the east side of Paris, the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The event marked a turning point in the history of France. The British…
Read MoreThe late 1790s marked a turning point in American foreign policy, and nothing tested the fledgling country more than the XYZ Affair. Rooted in a failed negotiation with France, the incident triggered a series of events that dramatically altered the course of the French…
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