HistoryPod
1,354 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★ - 234 ratingsThe 'on this day in history' podcast, with a new episode every single day. Featuring historical events that range from the Roman Empire to the World Wide Web, HistoryPod proves that there is always something to be remembered 'on this day'. Written and presented by Scott Allsop, creator of the award-winning www.mrallsophistory.com
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Episodes
19th January 1920: Foundation of the American Civil Liberties Union
January 19, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe organization now boasts more than 1.2 million members and continues to provide legal support where individual rights and liberties are ...
18th January 1911: Eugene Ely lands the first aircraft on a ship when he touches down on USS Pennsylvania
January 18, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteFollowing a brief flight, Ely executed a successful landing on USS Pennsylvania in a Curtiss Model D 'Pusher', despite being caught off-guard by the sudden updraft that struck the aircraft as he reached the temporary wooden landing ...
17th January 1966: Palomares incident sees a B-52 break apart after a mid-air collision, dropping four nuclear bombs
January 17, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe B-52 bomber was taking part in Operation Chrome Dome when it collided with a KC-135 Stratotanker and broke apart, resulting in the deaths of 8 airmen and dropping 4 thermonuclear bombs onto the Spanish fishing village of ...
16th January 1919: Nebraska becomes the vital 36th of the 48 states to approve prohibition in the 18th Amendment
January 16, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteNationwide prohibition began on 17 January the following year, and existed until its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendment in ...
15th January 1892: Rules for basketball published for the first time by James Naismith
January 15, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteOn 15 January, 1892, Naismith published his original list of thirteen rules in the Springfield College school newspaper, The Triangle. According to documents found after his death, these were inspired by a game he played as child called ‘duck on a rock’ and he was nervous about whether the game would catch on since he had previously introduced games that his students did not ...
14th January 1967: The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park
January 14, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Human Be-In was conceived by Visionary artist Michael Bowen as a "Gathering of the Tribes" to unite various counterculture factions, from the emerging hippie movement to activists advocating for social ...
13th January 1910: First public radio broadcast features a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York
January 13, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe broadcast included performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci featuring acclaimed Italian tenor Enrico ...
12th January 1848: The first of the Revolutions of 1848 begins in Palermo on the island of Sicily
January 12, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteBeginning in Sicily, revolutions quickly spread across the continent and by the end of the year a series of uncoordinated uprisings had broken out in dozens of countries including France, Germany, and the Austrian ...
11th January 1964: US Surgeon General publishes groundbreaking report on the health effects of tobacco smoking
January 11, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe report drew three main conclusions focused on the effect of smoking on the functioning of the respiratory ...
10th January 1776: Thomas Paine publishes the pamphlet Common Sense advocating American independence
January 10, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe 47-page pamphlet is credited with having a dramatic impact on public opinion in the colonies, and helped to consolidate the idea of independent ...
9th January 1861: Star of the West fired upon by South Carolina batteries as it approached Fort Sumter
January 09, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteAs Star of the West approached Fort Sumter on the morning of 9 January it was met with cannon shots from cadet George E. Haynsworth on nearby Morris ...
8th January 1828: Democratic Party established in the United States to become the oldest active voter-based political party in the world
January 08, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe presidential election of 1828 served as the catalyst for the Democratic Party’s formation as Andrew Jackson secured a resounding victory at the forefront of a movement with a clear ...
7th January 1782: The Bank of North America, the nation’s first chartered bank, opens in Philadelphia
January 07, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe bank played a pivotal role in stabilizing the nation’s finances in the early years of new republic, contributing to the establishment of credit that laid the groundwork for a more organized and sophisticated financial ...
6th January 1912: Continental Drift hypothesis first presented by German scientist Alfred Wegener
January 06, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteWegener’s continental drift hypothesis laid the groundwork for the concept of plate tectonics, which became increasingly accepted by the ...
5th January 1925: Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first woman in the United States to be sworn in as governor of a state
January 05, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteRoss later achieved another ‘first’ in 1933 when she was appointed Director of the U.S. Mint by President Franklin D. ...
4th January 1903: Topsy the elephant electrocuted at Luna Park in Coney Island, New York
January 04, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteAfter being fed carrots laced with potassium cyanide, she was subjected to 6,600 volts of AC electricity that brought her to the ground. At this point, steam winches pulled nooses tight around her ...
3rd January 1911: The Siege of Sidney Street gunfight takes place in London’s East End
January 03, 2024 03:06 - 1 ByteThe police officers in charge sought permission from the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, to bring in Scots Guards from the nearby Tower of London to ...
2nd January 1959: USSR launches Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon
January 02, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteLuna 1, also known as Mechta (Russian for "Dream"), was planned to crash into the Moon before which its range of instruments and communication were intended to study cosmic rays, solar wind, magnetic fields, and ionizing ...
1st January 1739: Discovery of Bouvet Island, the world’s most remote island
January 01, 2024 03:05 - 1 ByteThe fact that Bouvet island, with a total area of just 19 square miles, lies almost 1,000 miles from the nearest uninhabited land makes the chance discovery even more ...
31st December 1600: The East India Company officially established with a charter from Elizabeth I
December 31, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteFormally titled "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies," the East India Company was established to capitalise on the lucrative spice ...
30th December 1916: “Mad Monk” Grigori Rasputin murdered by Russian nobles
December 30, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteOn the night of 29 December, 1916, Rasputin was invited to the home of Prince Felix Yusupov. The exact details of what transpired are shrouded in legend and mystery, but the most commonly-accepted version of events is based on Yusupov’s own ...
29th December 1937: Constitution of Ireland comes into effect as the longest continually operating republican constitution in the E.U.
December 29, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe 1937 Constitution of Ireland was born out of a desire to fully assert Irish independence following the Statute of Westminster 1931, which granted parliamentary autonomy to the six British ...
28th December 1958: ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ in the NFL Championship Playoff
December 28, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe game of American football was the first to be decided in sudden-death ...
27th December 1845: Manifest Destiny introduced in a newspaper column by John L. O’Sullivan
December 27, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteManifest Destiny was a belief that the United States had a divinely-inspired right to expand across North America, and that this expansion was ...
26th December 1825: The Decembrist Revolt takes place in Russia against autocratic Tsarist rule
December 26, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Decembrists were driven by ideals of constitutionalism, liberal reforms, and a desire for a more participatory government but were defeated when Nicholas I ordered a cavalry charge and subsequent artillery attack using ...
25th December 1776: George Washington crosses the Delaware with a column of the Continental Army
December 25, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAs night fell amidst a harsh winter storm, Washington and approximately 2,400 soldiers began the treacherous river crossing at McConkey’s ...
24th December 1818: ‘Stille Nacht’, known in English as Silent Night, performed for the first time
December 24, 2023 03:05 - 1 Byte‘Silent Night’ is based on a six-stanza poem written by Joseph Mohr, a young priest who arrived at the Nikolauskirche in the small Austrian town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg the previous ...
23rd December 1688: James II of England flees to exile in France during the Glorious Revolution
December 23, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteFacing the inevitability of conflict amidst diminishing support following the invasion by William of Orange, James II made the decision to flee to France where he found refuge under the protection of his cousin, Louis ...
22nd December 1882: The first use of electric lights on a Christmas tree
December 22, 2023 03:05 - 1 Byte80 red, white, and blue walnut-sized glass light bulbs were hand-wired and placed around a large Christmas tree in the home of Edward H. Johnson's New York home on Fifth ...
21st December 1825: The Fredonian Rebellion begins when American settlers in Mexican Texas declare their independence
December 21, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteHaden Edwards, believing that the Mexican government had unjustly annulled his an empresario contract to establish a colony in East Texas, led a group of settlers to declare the independent Republic of ...
20th December 1860: South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States of America
December 20, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteOther states soon followed South Carolina’s lead, setting the stage for the American Civil ...
19th December 1918: Ripley’s ‘Believe it or Not!’ published for the first time in the New York Globe
December 19, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteIt has since been adapted into numerous formats and is still printed in more than 40 ...
18th December 1916: End of the Battle of Verdun during the First World War
December 18, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteGerman forces under the command of Crown Prince Wilhelm had begun the Battle of Verdun with the objective of "bleeding France white" by forcing the French army into a protracted, resource-draining defence of the historic fortress of ...
17th December 1969: Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force’s systematic study of UFOs, officially terminated
December 17, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteProject Blue Book began in 1952 to systematically assess and analyse reports of UFOs, and accumulated data from 12,618 ...
16th December 1944: The Battle of the Bulge begins on the Western Front of the Second World War
December 16, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Ardennes Counteroffensive marked a desperate attempt by the Nazis to turn the tide of the war in their favour and was conceived by Hitler ...
15th December 1791: United States Bill of Rights becomes law after ratification by the Virginia General Assembly
December 15, 2023 03:06 - 1 ByteThe significance of the Bill of Rights lies not only in its immediate impact on the legal framework of the United States but also in its enduring ...
14th December 1972: Gene Cernan becomes the last person on the Moon at the end of the Apollo 17 mission
December 14, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAs Cernan prepared to climb the ladder of the lunar module at the end of the final moonwalk, he paused to deliver the words, "We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all ...
13th December 1636: The Massachusetts Bay Colony organises a formal militia, laying the foundations for the US National Guard
December 13, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteSome modern-day Massachusetts National Guard regiments are able to trace their history back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony of ...
12th December 2000: Bush v. Gore decision reached by the United States Supreme Court
December 12, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteIn a momentous decision the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, effectively halted the ongoing manual recount in Florida and handed Florida's electoral votes to George W. Bush. This secured his victory in the state and, consequently, the ...
11th December 1941: Nazi Germany declares war on the USA
December 11, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteApproximately six hours after Germany’s declaration of war, the United States declared war on ...
10th December 1541: Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham executed for affairs with Catherine Howard
December 10, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe charges against Culpeper and Dereham were grave – accusations of treasonous affairs with the queen that threatened the very foundation of the Tudor monarchy. The evidence, combined with the political expediency of eliminating potential threats to the crown, led to their convictions for treason on 1 ...
9th December 1868: The world’s first traffic lights go into operation outside the Houses of Parliament in London
December 09, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe signal stood 6 metres (20 feet) high at the junction of Great George Street and Bridge Street, and was manually operated by a policeman stationed at the ...
8th December 1912: German Imperial War Council discusses the possibility of a European war
December 08, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteWhile the Council itself did not trigger the First World War, historians have seen its deliberations as emblematic of the geopolitical tensions that would eventually erupt with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in ...
7th December 1837: The Battle of Montgomery’s Tavern during the Upper Canada Rebellion
December 07, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe defeat marked the end of the armed phase of the Upper Canada Rebellion but, while the rebels’ immediate objectives were not achieved, resistance continued until 1838 and contributed to the eventual establishment of responsible government in ...
6th December 1648: “Pride’s Purge” stops MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England from entering the House of Commons
December 06, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteEngland’s only recorded military coup d'état resulted in the removal of 140 moderate and Royalist Members of Parliament who backed a negotiated settlement with Charles, of which 45 were ...
5th December 1848: President James K. Polk sparks the California Gold Rush as a result of his State of the Union Address
December 05, 2023 03:05 - 1 BytePolk’s speech was intended to warn Congress about the risks of inflation, labor shortages, and the potential for disorder on the West Coast, but only served to fuel the Gold ...
4th December 1971: A fire during a concert at the Montreux Casino inspires the song “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple
December 04, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe burning Montreux Casino was to leave an indelible mark on music history thanks to Deep Purple, who watched from their hotel as the smoke from the fire spread over Lake ...
3rd December 1775: The first national US Grand Union Flag flown for the first time on the ship ‘Alfred’
December 03, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAlso known as the Continental Colors, the Grand Union Flag remained in use until the Flag Resolution of 14 June ...
2nd December 1805: The Battle of Austerlitz sees Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée defeat Russia and Austria
December 02, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe vast Moravian plains near the town of Austerlitz became the battleground for one of Napoleon’s finest ...
1st December 1919: Lady Nancy Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons
December 01, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAfter a short campaign in which she won the election with 51.9% of the vote she entered the House of Commons on December 1, 1919, as a Unionist or Tory Member of ...