Contemporary
September 11 Attacks (2001): The Day That Changed the World
2,977 people were killed and the World Trade Center destroyed; the United States launched the War on Terror, beginning with the invasion of Afghanistan.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Contemporary
January Events (1991): The Soviet Assault on Vilnius
Soviet forces seized the TV tower and other buildings but failed to take the parliament; 14 civilians died and Lithuania's independence drive gained world sympathy.
Contemporary
May 1968 in France: Student Revolt and General Strike
Wage rises and university reform followed, and the Gaullists won a landslide election, but de Gaulle resigned within a year and the events reshaped French culture.
Contemporary
Arecibo Message (1974): Humanity's Radio Signal to the Stars
A three-minute coded radio message was transmitted towards the globular cluster M13 as a symbolic demonstration of the upgraded Arecibo telescope.
Contemporary
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965: Kashmir and the Tashkent Agreement
A UN-demanded ceasefire on 23 September 1965 ended the fighting in a military stalemate; the Tashkent Declaration of January 1966 restored pre-war positions.
Contemporary
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): The CIA's Failed Landing in Cuba
Cuban government victory; Brigade 2506 surrendered within three days and Castro's position was strengthened.
Ancient World
Battersea Shield: Iron Age Celtic Art from the River Thames
The shield facing became one of the best-known masterpieces of Iron Age Celtic art in Britain, probably deposited in the river as an offering.
Ancient World
Cahuachi: The Adobe Pilgrimage Centre of the Nazca People
Cahuachi served for centuries as the main ritual centre of the Nazca world before being abandoned as a temple site and reused as a cemetery.
Ancient World
Battle of Gaixia (202 BC): The Fall of Xiang Yu and Rise of Han
Decisive Han victory; Xiang Yu took his own life, ending the Chu-Han contention and leaving Liu Bang sole ruler of China as the first Han emperor.
Ancient World
Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra Under Ashoka, c. 250 BC
According to Theravada tradition, dissenting monks were expelled, the Kathavatthu was compiled and missionaries were sent across South and Southeast Asia.
Ancient World
Gracchi Reforms (133-121 BC): Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Both brothers were killed by political opponents, but their land commission redistributed public land and their methods shaped Roman politics until the fall of the Republic.
Ancient World
Battle of Plataea (479 BC): The End of Xerxes' Invasion
Decisive Greek victory; Mardonius was killed and the Persian invasion of mainland Greece came to an end.