HistoryPod
1,354 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 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
30th November 1803: Balmis Expedition sets sail to vaccinate inhabitants of Spanish colonies against smallpox
November 30, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe expedition systematically infected orphaned boys with cowpox throughout the duration of the voyage so that the live vaccine survived all the way to the ...
29th November 1929: Richard E. Byrd completes the first flight over the South Pole
November 29, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe four-man crew boarded a Ford Trimotor airplane, and at 1am on 29 November reached the South Pole where they flew beyond and to the left and right in case of any navigational ...
28th November 1925: The Grand Ole Opry, the longest-running radio show in the USA, broadcast for the first time
November 28, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Grand Ole Opry moved to its current home at the 4,000-seater Grand Ole Opry House in ...
27th November 1978: San Francisco politicians George Moscone and Harvey Milk shot dead by former Supervisor Dan White
November 27, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteWhite was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter after pleading a state of mental diminished capacity, and the lenient sentence sparked the White Night riots of 21 May ...
26th November 1789: The first formal National Day of Thanksgiving in the United States
November 26, 2023 03:05 - 1 BytePublic celebrations were held throughout the country, while President George Washington gave thanks in New York ...
25th November 1783: The British Army departed New York City, nearly three months after the end of the American Revolutionary War
November 25, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteCannons fired as the British departed, acting as a signal for General George Washington to ride into the city with Governor George ...
24th November 1835: Texas Rangers formally instituted by Texan lawmakers
November 24, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe General Council passed an ordinance that created three companies of 56 Rangers, each commanded by a captain, first and second lieutenants, and with a major in ...
23rd November 1876: William “Boss” Tweed delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain following his escape from prison for corruption
November 23, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteTweed's corrupt practices were exposed by investigative journalists such as those at The New York Times and he was regularly attacked by Thomas Nast, the political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly whose cartoons helped to identify Tweed in ...
22nd November 1943: Cairo Conference begins when leaders of Britain, the USA and China meet to discuss the Allied position regarding Japan
November 22, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAlongside senior military leaders, the meeting brought together President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Chairman of the Chinese National Government Chiang Kai-shek of ...
21st November 1953: Piltdown Man fossils exposed as a forgery, undermining studies of human evolution
November 21, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe use of fluorine dating revealed that the skull and jawbone, which were once believed to be a crucial 'missing piece' in the study of human evolution, did not belong to the same individual and were far younger than previously ...
20th November 1910: Uprising by Francisco Madero against Porfirio Díaz triggers the Mexican Revolution
November 20, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteMadero's “Plan of San Luis Potosí” called for an uprising on November 20, 1910, and laid out a vision for a democratic ...
19th November 1919: United States Senate votes to reject the Treaty of Versailles
November 19, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteLodge and Senate Republicans proposed amendments and, on November 19, 1919 the Senate voted down the Treaty of Versailles by 55 in favour to 39, falling short of the required two-thirds ...
18th November 1872: Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting in a Presidential election
November 18, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteAnthony and fourteen other women successfully cast their votes despite it being illegal under federal ...
17th November 1978: CBS broadcast the heavily-criticised Star Wars Holiday Special
November 17, 2023 03:05 - 1 Byte13 million people tuned in, securing it the second-highest audience share, but the film garnered an almost universally-negative ...
16th November 1933: The USA establishes formal diplomatic relations with the USSR
November 16, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteRoosevelt announced the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the USSR on 16 November, and appointed William C. Bullitt as the first Ambassador to the Soviet ...
15th November 1864: Sherman’s March to the Sea begins when the Civil War Union General leads his troops from Atlanta, GA, to the port of Savannah
November 15, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteSherman’s March to the Sea is remembered for brutal tactics that confiscated or destroyed food, livestock, and supplies. Railroads were dismantled, and industry disrupted. The devastation was widespread, and not only limited to military targets. Homes, farms, and civilian infrastructure became casualties of the ...
14th November 1680: German astronomer Gottfried Kirch uses a telescope to discover a comet for the first time
November 14, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteOfficially known as C/1680 V1, Kirch's discovery soon became known as the Great Comet of 1680 and was visible for many weeks, growing to become the brightest object in the night sky and one of the brightest comets of the seventeenth ...
13th November 1982: Vietnam Veterans Memorial formally dedicated in Washington, D.C.
November 13, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial was designed by a 21-year-old architecture student, Maya Lin, following a national competition. Her minimalist design featured two black granite walls set into the ground, forming a ...
12th November 1970: A dead whale is blown up with dynamite by the Oregon State Highway Division
November 12, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Oregon State Highway Division blew up a dead whale that had washed up on a ...
11th November 1831: Nat Turner executed for leading a violent slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia
November 11, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteNat Turner was supported by a group of more than seventy enslaved and free Blacks who sought to liberate enslaved people while brutally killing around 60 white individuals, including men, women, and ...
10th November 1983: Bill Gates announces the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface for PCs
November 10, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteBill Gates publicly announced Windows 1.0 on November 10, 1983, at a reception in New York ...
9th November 1979: A computer error at NORAD reports that the USSR had fired hundreds of nuclear missiles at the USA
November 09, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteWhen news of the incident reached the Soviet Union, party leader Leonid Brezhnev wrote to Carter condemning the ‘tremendous danger’ caused by the ...
8th November 1861: The Trent Affair nearly causes a war between Britain and the United States
November 08, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteWhen news of the interception of a neutral ship reached Britain at the end of November, the government responded ...
7th November 1919: Palmer Raids in the United States result in the arrest of thousands of suspected communists and anarchists
November 07, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe raids were ruthless in their execution and consisted of numerous warrantless searches and arrests across 12 cities, often targeting immigrants and prominent leftist ...
6th November 1869: First intercollegiate American football match played between Rutgers College and the College of New Jersey
November 06, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteDespite the absence of regulation and structured plays, the match turned out to be fiercely competitive. While the scoring was different from modern football, Rutgers won ...
5th November 1925: Sidney Reilly, the ‘Ace of Spies’, executed in the Soviet Union
November 05, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe circumstances of Sidney Reilly's execution and the location of his remains have remained a mystery although it is known he was ensnared in an elaborate counter-espionage deception by the ...
4th November 1890: City and South London Railway, the world’s first deep-level underground ‘tube’ railway, officially opened
November 04, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe construction of the railway presented numerous engineering challenges including the need to tunnel under the River Thames, but it was achieved using the ‘Greathead Shield’ which allowed workers to dig and line the tunnel ...
3rd November 1868: John Willis Menard became the first African-American to be elected to Congress
November 03, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteRunning against Caleb S. Hunt, Menard secured approximately 64 percent of the vote, and on 3 November 1868 became the first African-American person to be elected to the United States ...
2nd November 1988: Release of the Morris Worm signalled the first major internet security attack
November 02, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteBy the time the Morris Worm attack was brought under control over the next few days, between 2,000 and 6,000 major systems had been ...
1st November 1765: The Stamp Act went into force in the Thirteen Colonies
November 01, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Stamp Act levied a direct tax on American colonists without ...
31st October 1913: Formal dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States
October 31, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteThe Lincoln Highway connected New York City on the East Coast to San Francisco on the West Coast, traversing 13 states along the ...
30th October 1942: German Enigma machine ciphers retrieved from submarine U-559 by British sailors
October 30, 2023 03:05 - 1 ByteA British party of Lieutenant Francis Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier, and canteen assistant Tommy Brown, boarded the slowly-sinking submarine after it had been damaged by depth charges and retrieved the Enigma codebooks and all the current settings for the U-boat ...
29th October 1964: ‘Murf the Surf’ and two accomplices carry out the biggest jewel heist in New York’s history
October 29, 2023 03:05 - 1 Byte‘Murf the Surf’ and two accomplices committed the biggest jewel heist in New York’s history when they stole priceless gems from the American Museum of Natural ...
28th October 1922: Benito Mussolini’s Blackshirts approach the Italian capital in the March on Rome
October 28, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteMussolini and up to 30,000 supporters from across the country, the Blackshirts, embarked on a calculated and audacious march to Rome to seize ...
27th October 312: Constantine the Great receives his Vision of the Cross, marking the start of his conversion to Christianity
October 27, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteWhile preparing for the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine reportedly witnessed a Christian cross which may have been accompanied by a Latin inscription which roughly translates as ‘In this sign, you will ...
26th October 1776: Benjamin Franklin departs America for France to secure a formal alliance and treaty
October 26, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteOn February 6, 1778, France formally allied with the American colonies when they signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance that brought much-needed military aid including troops, naval support, and ...
25th October 1854: Charge of the Light Brigade undertaken by British forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War
October 25, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteDue to miscommunication and a lack of clear orders Lord Cardigan led the Light Brigade, a cavalry unit consisting of approximately 670 horsemen, in a frontal assault against a fortified Russian artillery position at the end of the ...
24th October 1648: Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War that ravaged Europe
October 24, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteThe Peace of Westphalia confirmed the autonomy of states with the Holy Roman Empire and redefined the borders and sovereignty of numerous European ...
23rd October 1910: Blanche Stuart Scott becomes the first American woman to pilot an aircraft in public
October 23, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteShe continued making exhibition flights until 1916, earning her the nickname the ‘Tomboy of the ...
22nd October 1884: The International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. adopts Greenwich as the prime meridian
October 22, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteThe Greenwich Meridian became the international standard for zero degrees longitude, ensuring continuity with most existing nautical ...
21st October 1921: U.S. President Warren G. Harding publicly condemns lynching in a speech in Alabama
October 21, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteIn October 1921 Harding travelled to Alabama. Here he expressed his support for anti-lynching laws that would hold counties responsible for the illegal hangings, and lodge federal murder cases against the ...
20th October 1977: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crashes during an emergency landing, killing three members of the band
October 20, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteLead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing singer Cassie Gaines were all killed in the ...
19th October 1953: Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 first published
October 19, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteSet in the distant future where books are outlawed, the story focuses on Guy Montag whose job as a fireman sees him burn houses that are found to contain ...
18th October 1867: The Alaska Purchase completed with the formal transfer from Russia to the United States
October 18, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteAlthough ridiculed shortly afterwards as ‘Seward’s Folly’, the Alaska Purchase has since been reinterpreted as one of President Andrew Johnson’s greatest ...
17th October 1860: Oldest golf tournament in the world begins with The Open at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland
October 17, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteThe Open was initially restricted to professional golfers, with a prize of a red Moroccan leather belt with a silver buckle awaiting the ...
16th October 1939: First German air raid on Britain during WW2 took place when bombers attacked Rosyth naval base in Scotland
October 16, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteThe light cruiser HMS Southampton and the destroyer Mohawk were damaged, while sixteen Royal Navy sailors died and 44 were ...
15th October 1966: The Black Panther Party founded in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
October 15, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteIn the wake of the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, and the killing of unarmed black teen Matthew Johnson by police the following year, the two men established the Black Panther Party for ...
14th October 1947: Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to officially break the sound barrier in the experimental Bell X-1
October 14, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteFlying at 45,000 feet, Yeager reached Mach 1.06 or approximately 700 miles per hour over the Rogers Dry Lake of the Mojave Desert in ...
13th October 1908: Suffragette Margaret Travers Symons becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons when she burst into the main chamber
October 13, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteAs she was accompanied through the Members’ Lobby, Travers Symons broke away from her escort and burst into the chamber where MPs were debating a bill regarding issues related to ...
12th October 1928: ‘Iron lung’ respirator used for the first time
October 12, 2023 02:05 - 1 ByteAn iron lung respirator was used for the first time at Boston Children’s ...