History
On this day in 1786: The city of Reykjavík was designated the administrative capital of Iceland.
Reykjavík’s rise from trading settlement to Icelandic capital On 18 August 1786, Reykjavík was designated as the administrative capital of...
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On this day in 1886: The Klondike Gold Rush starts
On 17 August 1896, a group of prospectors filed claims for gold discovered along a remote creek in Canada’s Yukon...
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On this day in 1947: Independence for India
Seventy-nine years ago today, on 15 August 1947, India emerged as an independent nation after generations of resistance to British...
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On this day in 1880: Cologne Cathedral completed after 632 years of construction
On 14 August 1880, one of Europe’s most extraordinary building projects reached its conclusion when Cologne Cathedral was completed, 632...
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On this day in 1521: Fall of the Aztec empire
On 13 August 1521, the magnificent city of Tenochtitlan surrendered after a devastating siege by Spanish forces and their Indigenous...
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On this day in 1877: Phonograph invented by Thomas Alva Edison
On 12 August 1877, Thomas Alva Edison is traditionally credited with completing the design that became the phonograph—the first practical...
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On this day in 1942; Hedy Lamarr’s hidden invention helped shape wireless communication
On 11 August 1942, American actress Hedy Lamarr and avant-garde composer George Antheil received a US patent for an ingenious...
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On this day in 1793: The Louvre opened in Paris
On 10 August 1793, amid the turmoil of the French Revolution, the Louvre opened its doors in Paris as a...
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On this day in 48 BC: Pompey’s fall at Pharsalus reshaped the Roman world
On 9 August 48 BC, Julius Caesar won one of antiquity’s most decisive military victories, defeating Pompey the Great at...
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On this day in 1945: The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France signed the London Agreement
On 8 August 1945, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France signed the London Agreement, establishing...
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