On This Day

Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S.

Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S.

Jan 4, 2026

3 January 1990

Reconquest of Spain

Reconquest of Spain

Jan 2, 2026

2 January 1492.

Haitian independence proclaimed

Haitian independence proclaimed

Jan 1, 2026

1 January 1804

The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time on New Year’s Day

The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time on ...

Jan 1, 2026

1 January 45BC

Archbishop Thomas à Becket is murdered

Archbishop Thomas à Becket is murdered

Dec 29, 2025

29 December 1170

First commercial movie screened

First commercial movie screened

Dec 28, 2025

Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast

Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast

Dec 26, 2025

The tsunami was the deadliest in recorded history, taking 230,000 lives in a mat...

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR

Dec 25, 2025

Mikhail Gorbachev announces that he is resigning as president of the Soviet Unio...

Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

Dec 24, 2025

24 December 1979

Vincent van Gogh chops off his ear

Vincent van Gogh chops off his ear

Dec 23, 2025

23 December 1888

Fyodor Dostoevsky spared from execution

Fyodor Dostoevsky spared from execution

Dec 22, 2025

22 December 1849

Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Scotland

Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Scotland

Dec 21, 2025

21 December 1988

Berlin Wall opened for first time

Berlin Wall opened for first time

Dec 20, 2025

20 December 1963

Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov released from internal exile

Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov released from internal...

Dec 19, 2025

19 December 1986. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (1921-1989) was a Soviet nuclear p...

First airplane flies

First airplane flies

Dec 17, 2025

17 December 1903

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