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A contemporary cartoon of the "Skandalkonzert". (SWR) On this day in 1913, a musical performance was held at the prestigious Musikverein concert hall in Vienna, Austria. Intended as a showcase for music in the style of the Second Viennese School - a radical and experimental form of classical music - the concert was a gathering…
A Colton's map of Alaska and surrounding geography. (ArcGIS Storymaps) On this day in 1867, the United States government purchased Alaska, a far-northern part of the North American continent, from Imperial Russia. For the Americans, Alaska represented an easy means for establishing trade in Asia and expanding their regional foothold. For the Russians, Alaska was…
On this day in 845, nearly 5,000 Viking raiders arrived in Paris. After months of sailing along the Seine river, the Vikings - warriors from Scandinavia led by Ragnar Loþbrók - were hungry for blood. Facing them was a Frankish army under Charles the Bald, a Carolingian ruler and incredibly hairy individual. The Vikings had…
Some of the 12 million Poles on the morning of March 27th. Government officials were alarmed to learn that a huge proportion of Communist Party members took part in the strike. (Teller Report) At 8 AM on this day in 1981, 12 million Poles laid down their tools and walked away from their jobs. Armbands…
One of the many battles of the Reconquista, painted in 1837 by Charles Auguste Guillaume Steuben. (History Net) On this day in 1342, Muslim defenders in the city of Al-Jazeera Al-Khadra surrendered to the attacking Castilian Christians. The city - located on the southern coast of modern-day Spain - was a stronghold in the Muslim…
Continue reading ➞ 03/26 – The Siege of Al-Jazeera Al-Khadra
Ginsberg in San Francisco - site of a variety of American counter-culture movements - in the 1950s. (The Times of Israel) On this day in 1957, United States Customs authorities confiscated 520 print copies of Howl, a poem by American writer Allen Ginsberg. Howl - a groundbreaking poem written in "breath-length" form, a new style…
The Quebec flag flies near Parliament Hill, Ottawa - the centre of Canadian Federal government. (QMI Agency) On this day in 1961, the The Quebec Board of the French Language (or Office québécois de la langue française, OQLF) was established in Montreal, Canada. Officially, the OQLF's mandate was to ensure that French remained the primary…
Continue reading ➞ 03/24 – The Quebec Board of the French Language
Members of the pro-RUF "West Side Boyz" on the move in Sierra Leone. This group - and many of the other belligerents - recruited children extensively and indoctrinated them with extreme doses of drugs and violence. (ThingLink) On this day in 1991, rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) entered Sierra Leone, a diamond-rich…
One of the first encounters between the Vikings and the Saxons in Wessex. (Pinterest) On this day in 871, hundreds of armed men under the command of King Æthelred I formed up for battle in a field somewhere in Wessex (in the south of the modern-day United Kingdom). Across the field from Æthelred's Saxon men…
When: 1945 - 1989 Out of WWII came the Cold War in 1945. The Allies - aligned roughly along Western/Eastern geographic delineations - were ideologically at odds and tensions rose quickly. The newly-dominant Americans and Soviets were the primary aggressors during the "conflict", and the rest of the world was forced to choose sides. Economic…
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