In the midst of the First World War—a conflict that had engulfed the globe and pitted empires against each other—King George V of the United Kingdom took a decisive step to distance the British monarchy from its German roots. On July 17, 1917, he…
Read MoreThe execution of Tsar Nicholas II on July 17, 1918, changed the course of history, symbolizing the definitive end of the Romanov dynasty and the old imperial order in Russia and ushering in the Soviet Union. The event, shrouded in mystery and controversy, occurred…
Read MoreOn July 17, 1945, the three leaders of the Allies met in Potsdam, Germany, to discuss the post-war landscape, especially in Europe and Germany. Gathered around the table were three powerful leaders: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and newly inaugurated…
Read MoreOn July 16, 1861, at the direction of President Abraham Lincoln, thousands of Union soldiers crossed the Potomac River and began a grueling 25-mile march toward Manassas Junction, Virginia. The operation, undertaken with the hopes of swiftly crushing the Confederate rebellion, would culminate just…
Read MoreOn July 16, 1054, Christendom split in two. On that day, National Geographic explains, “Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated from the Christian church based in Rome, Italy. Cerularius’s excommunication was a breaking point in long-rising tensions between the Roman church based in Rome…
Read MoreOn July 15, 2002, John Walker Lindh—the California-born man dubbed the “American Taliban”—pleaded guilty in federal court to two felony charges: supplying services to the Taliban and carrying explosives during the commission of a felony. The plea marked a stunning conclusion to one of…
Read MoreOn July 14, 1960, a 26-year-old British woman named Jane Goodall arrived at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania), launching what would become one of the most significant and enduring studies of animal behavior in history. With no formal scientific training…
Read MoreThe Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of four laws passed by the Federalist-dominated 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams on July 14, 1798. These laws were ostensibly enacted in response to the perceived threat of French…
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 MoreOn July 13, 2024, President Donald J. Trump was shot and wounded during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in what authorities have classified as an attempted assassination. The attack, which occurred just after 6:00 p.m. at the Butler Farm Show grounds, stunned the…
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