Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia, 1968
In January 1968, Alexander Dubček became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Dubček was previously leader of the party in Slovakia, where he had implemented a programme of…
Haitian Revolution, 1791
At the time of the Storming of the Bastille in Paris, the French territories on the island of Hispaniola, known as Saint-Domingue, produced forty per cent of the world’s sugar…
British capture of Hong Kong, 1839
During the eighteenth century, the demand in Britain for Chinese luxury goods, such as porcelain, silk and tea, created an enormous trade deficit because the British lacked any profitable product…
First man swam across the English Channel, 1875
Matthew Webb was born at Dawlish, Shropshire, on 18th January 1848 to a country doctor of the same name and his wife, Sarah. By the age of eight, Webb had…
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789
On 17th June 1789 the deputies from the third-estate along with some representatives of the first two estates of the realm – the clergy and the aristocracy – withdrew from…
The shortest war in history, 1896
On the 27th August 1896 the shortest war in history was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar. Three days earlier the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwain died, resulting in…
Tom Thumb beat a horse, 1830
In 1826, two Baltimore bankers, Philip E. Thomas and George Brown, visited England to investigate rail transportation systems. In the year since the Erie Canal opened, providing a new transportation…
last Beatles tour ended, 1966
By the mid-sixties, the Beatles had become the biggest popular music group in the World. The fanatical response of their fans – particularly young females – who screamed through their…
Slave rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, 1800
On August 30th 1800, a group of slaves from Henrico County, Virginia, marched on Richmond. The slaves had planned the insurrection for months, under the leadership of Gabriel Prosser. They…
Garry Sobers hit six sixes in an over, 1968
Born in 1936 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Garfield St. Auburn Sobers grew up to be a great sportsman representing the island at golf, football, table-tennis and even dominoes, but it was…