Category: History Daily
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On This Day in History, a Fire in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Kills More Than 600 People. December 30, 1903.
Image: Iroquois Theatre in a 1903 photo. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 30, 1903, a fire in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, kills more than 600 people. It was the deadliest theater fire in American history. Barred fire exits, and the absence of a fire-safety plan caused most of the fatalities.…
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The Second Great Fire of London, on the Evening of December 29, 1940, Resulted From One of the Most Devastating Air Raids of the Blitz During World War II.
Image: The view from the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral towards the Old Bailey after the second Great Fire of London. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 29, 1940, London, England, suffered its most destructive air raid when the German Luftwaffe firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires initiated by the igniting incendiary bombs…
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British Naturalist Charles Darwin Sails From Plymouth, England, Aboard the HMS Beagle on a Five-Year Scientific Expedition of the Southern Atlantic and Pacific. December 27, 1831.
Image: Charles Darwin, late 1830s. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 27, 1831, British naturalist Charles Darwin sails from Plymouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle on a five-year scientific expedition of the southern Atlantic and Pacific. By visiting diverse places like the Galapagos Islands and New Zealand, Darwin understood many territories’ fauna, flora,…
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William the Conqueror is Crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, Completing the Norman Conquest of England. December 25, 1066.
Image: King William I (‘The Conqueror’) (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 25, 1066, William the Conqueror is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman conquest of England. William was born to Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. His mother had another child with Robert and then…
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Wang Mang, Who Ruled China as Emperor for Fourteen Years, Was Overthrown and Killed. December 24, 23 CE.
Image: Portrait of Wang Mang. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 24, 23 CE, Wang Mang, who ruled China as Emperor for fourteen years, was overthrown and killed. Wang Mang was a Chinese statesman and emperor. A government official under the former Han dynasty, he overtook the Han throne and founded the Hsin…
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Lech Walesa, Founder of the Solidarity Trade Union, is Sworn in as Poland’s 1st Popularly Elected President. December 22, 1990.
Image: Lech Walesa in 1996. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 22, 1990, Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity trade union, is sworn in as Poland’s 1st popularly elected president. Walesa was a labor activist who helped form and lead (1980-1990) communist Poland’s first independent trade union, Solidarity. He received the Nobel Prize…
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John Kehoe, the Last of the “Molly Maguires,” is Executed in Pennsylvania. December 18, 1878.
Image: John “Black Jack” Kehoe (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 18, 1878, John Kehoe, the last of the “Molly Maguires,” is executed in Pennsylvania. The Molly Maguires, an Irish secret society that had purportedly been accountable for some vigilante justice occurrences in eastern Pennsylvania’s coalfields, upheld their acts as efforts to protect…
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Legendary Big Band Leader Captain Glenn Miller’s Plane Would Go Missing Over the English Channel En Route to France for a Concert for American Troops That Had Assisted in the Liberation of Paris. December 15, 1944.
Glenn Miller On this day in history, December 15, 1944, trombonist and legendary big band leader Captain Glenn Miller, the biggest star of the American pop-music scene in the years directly before World War II and a man who set aside his dazzling career right at its pinnacle in 1942 to serve America as leader…
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The Mysterious Kidnap-for-Hire Case of Four-Year-Old Charley Ross. December 14, 1874.
Image: A likeness of kidnapped Charles Brewster Ross. (Public Domain) On this day in history, December 14, 1874, a failed burglary attempt further confuses one of the first kidnap-for-ransom occurrences. As he was about to go to bed, rich New Yorker Holmes Van Brunt heard thieves breaking into his brother’s house next door. After gathering…
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Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia Resisted Several Attacks by General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac and Defeated the Federals at Fredericksburg, Virginia. December 13, 1862.
Image: Gallant Charge of Humphrey’s Division at the Battle of Fredericksburg. (Public Domain). On this day in history, December 13, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia resisted several attacks by General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac and defeated the Federals at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The rout of the Union Army was…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 