On January 31, 1865, Robert E. Lee was appointed general-in-chief of all Confederate armies, a decision that came during the final, desperate months of the American Civil War. By this point, the Confederacy was struggling against relentless Union advances, and its military situation was…
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On January 31, 1943, the German military catastrophe at Stalingrad reached its irrevocable conclusion. That day, Friedrich Paulus, commander of Germany’s Sixth Army, surrendered the southern pocket of his trapped forces to the Soviet Red Army. Two days later, the remaining German units in…
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On January 31, 2020, Great Britain struck out on its own, officially leaving the European Union in a historic move known as Brexit. This departure marked a significant milestone in European politics and ended a complex, often contentious relationship between the UK and the…
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On January 30, 1862, in the depths of the American Civil War, a vessel unlike any the world had ever seen slid into the waters of New York Harbor. The USS Monitor, squat, low-slung, and almost unsettling in appearance, marked a decisive break with…
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On January 30, 1835, a startling event took place in Washington, D.C., marking the first recorded assassination attempt against a sitting U.S. president. Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, became the target of an attack by Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter. The dramatic…
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In January 1649, England went through a radical upheaval. Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, faced execution after a tumultuous period of civil war and political upheaval. His authoritarian rule, clashes with Parliament, and attempts to impose Anglican worship across his kingdoms…
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On January 29, 1886, a German engineer named Karl Benz quietly filed a patent that would help remake the modern world. The document, submitted to the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin, described a “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” It carried little fanfare at…
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January 28, 1915, marked a pivotal moment in American maritime history when an act of Congress formally created the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces—quietly reshaping how the nation would protect its shores, commerce, and citizens at…
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On January 28, 1958, the LEGO Group filed a patent for a revolutionary concept that would forever change the toy industry: the design of the LEGO brick. This innovative idea marked a pivotal moment for the Danish company, solidifying its position as a global…
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On January 28, 1813, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice hit book stores in England. The story centers around Elizabeth Bennet, one of five daughters in a genteel yet financially strained family. Against the backdrop of rigid social norms, the narrative delves into themes of social class,…
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