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A modern interpretation of warrior queen Dandara. (Youtube) On this day in 1694, warrior queen Dandara, a leader of free Alagoan Afro-Brazilians, committed suicide in order to avoid enslavement. Dandara was renowned throughout Alagoas for her expertise in capoeira - a form of martial combat developed by Brazilian slaves - and since a young age,…
Nasser in 1960. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1958, the newfound UAR (United Arab Republic, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) chose its first president: Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Proposed as a pan-Arab state, the UAR was essentially a merger of Syria and Egypt. At the time, much of the Middle East was vulnerable…
The meeting at Yalta. From L to R: Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1945, Allied leaders met in Yalta, Crimea, to discuss the division of Europe in the wake of WWII. As the war drew to a close and it became clear that the Axis were nearing their end, the…
A USAF EC-130B ABCNP "Looking Glass" aircraft. (Airliners.net) On this day in 1961, the US Air Force launched Looking Glass, a command centre tasked with coordinating the deployment of America's nuclear weapons. The command centre was located on a number of heavily-modified KC-130 aircraft; the ABNCPs (Airborne Command Post), armed with powerful communications systems, rotated…
F.W. de Klerk (L) shakes hands with ANC leader Nelson Mandela (R) in 1992. (World Economic Forum) On this day in 1990, South African president Frederik Willem de Klerk addressed the parliament on its opening day. In his landmark speech, de Klerk announced plans to un-ban the African National Congress (ANC) - the primary opposition…
The American invasion of York in 1813. (Toronto Public Library) On this day in 1796, the capital of Upper Canada (or, modern-day Ontario) was moved from Old Newark to York. Formerly occupied by the Iroquoian Seneca, York was a small spot at the mouth of the Don River and a waypoint on the Humber Portage…
Imperial Russian troops care for wounded German prisoners after a battle on the Eastern Front. (Flickr) On this day in 1915 - well into WWI - the German 9th Army launched an attack against Imperial Russian positions located near Bolimów, a small Polish town 50 km (31 miles) from Warsaw. The town was not of…
Ōishi Yoshio, leader of the 47 rōnin, leads his men on their raid of Kira's mansion. (Public Domain) On this day in 1701, 47 rōnin (leaderless samurai) killed Kira Yoshinaka, an Edo government official, in revenge for the death of their leader Asano Naganori. Asano had met with Kira at Edo castle in 1700 and…
One of the few images of the Bolshevik participants in the Kiev Arsenal Uprising. (Lord of the Craft) On this day in 1918, Ukrainian Bolshevik workers picked up weapons and revolted at the Kiev Arsenal. Ukraine had finally declared its independence from Imperial Russia just four days earlier in the wake of Russia's October Revolution,…
French regular troops at a defensive position in Paris. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1871, the Prussian Siege of Paris came to an end after 4 months. Beginning in the summer of 1870, French forces had been at war with the North German Confederation; the conflict, known as the Franco-Prussian War, was a result…
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