HistoryPod

The Beatles were first flown by helicopter to a nearby helipad and then driven to Shea Stadium in an armoured van where they performed a 30 minute set on a stage set up on the infield, far from the attendees in the ...

The Aztec defence was led by the Emperor Cuauhtémoc but, despite determined resistance, the defenders were gradually overwhelmed and Cuauhtémoc was captured while trying to flee the ...

The IBM PC quickly became a commercial success and a standard in the emerging personal computer industry, establishing a broad market based on the IBM model that accelerated the spread of home ...

Operation Ranch Hand was part of a strategy by the U.S. to counter the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces by targeting agricultural areas and forest cover with chemicals such as Agent ...

Jacques Balmat, a local mountaineer and crystal hunter, and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard, a physician from Chamonix, set out on the evening of 7 August 1786 and made their way up Mont Blanc via what is now known as the Grands Mulets ...

The bombardment of the city's ring of forts by Germany's 'Big Bertha' howitzer caused extensive damage, and one by one, the forts were rendered inoperable. By 16 August, the forts had ...

The decision to end the privileges enjoyed by the nobility and clergy came in the early stages of the French Revolution, during a special session of the National Constituent Assembly of France and resulted in the August ...

No. 303 Squadron, which was composed primarily of Polish airmen who had escaped to Britain after the defeat of Poland, claimed the largest number of aircraft shot down of any RAF squadron during the Battle of ...

The operation, codenamed "W Hour," was launched by the Polish underground resistance movement, primarily the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), with the objective of liberating Warsaw from Nazi occupation before the arrival of Soviet ...

It was later revealed that German agents had infiltrated the site and deliberately ignited the munitions to prevent them from reaching the Allies as part of a broader German campaign of espionage and sabotage on American soil before the U.S. entered the war in ...

David Berkowitz was responsible for a series of attacks often involving young women with dark hair, and usually while they were in parked cars late at ...

The Sutton Hoo helmet featured a distinctive full-face design, including a nose, eyebrows, and moustache, as well as decorative panels showing scenes of warriors and ...

The Japanese government did not immediately respond formally to the declaration. As a result, the United States proceeded with plans to use atomic ...

After travelling more than 1,000 miles across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, the party of 148 Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley led by Brigham ...

On 22 July, after travelling more than 3,000 miles, Mackenzie and his party reached the Pacific tidewaters at Dean Channel, near present-day Bella Coola, British ...

Union troops, facing increasing resistance and mounting casualties, began to retreat in what soon turned into a disorganised ...

According to contemporary accounts, the Mary Rose had just fired a broadside at the French navy, and was turning when she keeled over and ...

Corrigan later claimed that a navigational error, caused by a faulty compass and poor weather conditions, had led him to fly east to Ireland instead of west to ...

After two days of fighting, the Crusaders breached Jerusalem's defences and entered the city, leading to intense fighting in the streets and buildings that led to a large-scale massacre of the city's Muslim and Jewish ...

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy restructured the Church in France to align with the new administrative divisions of the country, bringing the Church under the control of the state and reducing the influence of the papacy in French ecclesiastical ...

In May 1498, the expedition reached the Indian city of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama met with the the local ruler, and attempted to establish a trading ...

The public inquiry into the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster identified numerous failings in maintenance procedures, communication, design, and emergency ...

Although the Secret Service is now most commonly associated with the protection of national leaders, this didn't begin until after the assassination of President William McKinley in September ...

Prior to the last song of the performance, Bowie told the crowd, “Not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do.” Even some of the band members were taken by surprise at the ...

While retailers were unsure about the demand for a playback-only cassette device, Sony conducted street demonstrations and distributed units to celebrities and influencers that led to the Walkman selling over 30,000 units in Japan within its first two ...

The opening ceremony was attended by the Lord Chamberlain and the Home Secretary, H. H. Asquith, who watched the Prince of Wales formally declare the bridge open while a parade of vessels passed underneath the raised ...

Constructed of granite-lined concrete and reinforced with steel, the vault is located at the centre of the building. Gold began arriving in January 1937, transported by the U.S. Army in a series of high-security rail ...

The aircraft used was a tethered hydrogen balloon named l'Entreprenant, operated by the French army's newly established Company of Aeronauts, and it represented an innovation in military ...

Henry's joint coronation with his wife, Catherine of Aragon, marked the start of a 38 year rule, during which England experienced political, religious, and dynastic changes that dramatically altered the landscape of English ...

The two armies met near the village of Palashi, on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, in present-day West Bengal. Despite commanding an estimated 50,000 troops, his army was ineffective so the Nawab fled the battlefield and was later captured and ...

St Paul's Cathedral was completed in 1710, and was the first cathedral in England to be completed under the direction of a single ...

The introduction of the Deutsch Mark sought to stabilise the German economy and curb widespread inflation and black-market activity in the aftermath of the Second World War, but caused concern in the Soviet Union which implemented its own currency reform in the eastern zone and soon after began the Berlin ...

Tensions escalated throughout the day, with reports indicating that initial pushing and shouting developed into running battles between the two ...

Over the course of nearly three days, Valentina Tereshkova orbited the Earth 48 times on board Vostock 6, maintaining radio contact with Bykovsky using the call sign "Chaika," meaning "Seagull" in ...

The trial lasted over nine months, making it the longest murder trial in U.S. history at that time. In January 1971, Manson and three of his followers were found ...

Although the emperor Galerius had previously issued an Edict of Toleration towards Christians, the Edict of Milan went further by establishing religious freedom throughout the empire and granting Christians the right to practice their religion without interference or ...

The idea for the race came from two students, Charles Merivale of Cambridge and Charles Wordsworth of Oxford, who proposed a race between their two universities. It took place over approximately 2¼ miles of the River Thames from Hambleden Lock to Henley ...

Ray arrived in London in late May 1968 and, on 8 June, went to Heathrow Airport where he was detained after attempting to board a flight to Brussels using a false Canadian ...

Officially known as the Representation of the People Act 1832, the Great Reform Act was introduced to improve the outdated and unrepresentative electoral system in England and Wales by eliminating rotten boroughs, creating new constituencies to represent industrial towns, and standardising voting ...

The Profumo affair was one of the defining political scandals of post-war Britain, damaging the credibility of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and was seen as contributing to the erosion of public trust in ...

The royal charter marked one of the earliest recorded examples of legal protection for a specific regional food product in Europe by ensuring that only cheese matured in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon could bear the name "Roquefort," preventing producers in other regions from marketing similar cheeses under the same ...

Marconi filed a patent application in London for a spark-gap transmitter that generated radio waves and a coherer as a receiver to detect the signals, which was the first patent for a communication system based on radio ...

Beginning in May 1946, Ion Antonescu's trial was overseen by the People's Tribunal in Bucharest that found him guilty of war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to death by firing ...

While the British lost 14 ships and over 6,000 personnel, compared to Germany's 11 ships and 2,500 personnel, the strategic outcome of the Battle of Jutland favoured ...

Charles arrived in Dover on 25 May and entered London on 29 May, which was also his 30th birthday. He was welcomed with public celebrations and a general sense of relief, and was formally crowned at Westminster Abbey the following ...

While precise details are unclear, it's known that the engagement lasted only about 15 minutes. Around a quarter of the French soldiers were killed, including their commander, Joseph Coulon de ...

The first race began at 4 p.m. on 26 May 1923 and concluded at the same time on the following day. Taking place on public roads closed for the occasion, the circuit of just over 17 kilometres included long straights, village roads, and tight ...

West Germany was a federal parliamentary republic with a Chancellor as head of government and a President who held a largely ceremonial ...

Officially known as the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organisation in honour of the recently deceased Bolshevik leader, the Young Pioneers were modelled in part on scouting organisations, but with a strong political and ideological framework aligned with the principles of the Communist ...

The Parliament sought to draft a constitution to unify the independent German states into a single nation governed by liberal principles, but faced significant challenges from the outset and was dissolved by force in June ...

The Seven Years' War is widely regarded as the first truly global conflict as the declaration of war marked the start of full-scale hostilities between the major European powers and their colonies across the ...