Middle Ages
Macbeth, King of Scots (1040-1057): History Behind Shakespeare
Macbeth ruled Scotland from 1040 to 1057 before being killed by Duncan's son Malcolm at Lumphanan.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Affair of the Poisons (1677–1682): Scandal at Louis XIV's Court
A special court investigated several hundred people and sentenced 36 to death; the king closed the inquiry in 1682, shielded Madame de Montespan and issued new laws on poisons and fortune-telling.
Early Modern
Death of Captain Cook (1779) at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii
Cook, four marines and around 17 or more Hawaiians were killed; Cook's remains were partly returned and buried at sea, and the expedition sailed on under Clerke.
Contemporary
2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake: The Kahramanmaras Disaster
More than 55,000 people were killed in Turkey and Syria, hundreds of thousands of buildings collapsed or were severely damaged, and millions were displaced.
Contemporary
Second Intifada 2000-2005: The Al-Aqsa Uprising and Its Toll
The uprising ended without a peace settlement after roughly 3,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli deaths; it left the Oslo process in ruins and led to the West Bank barrier and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
Contemporary
Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan (1988-1989): Leaving Kabul
All Soviet combat troops left Afghanistan by 15 February 1989; the war between the Kabul government and the mujahideen continued.
Ancient World
Assassination of Domitian (AD 96): End of the Flavian Dynasty
Domitian was killed by members of his household; the Senate made Nerva emperor and condemned Domitian's memory, ending the Flavian dynasty.
Ancient World
Epicurus and the Garden (306 BC): A School of Pleasure and Peace
The Garden became one of the four great philosophical schools of Athens, and Epicureanism spread across the Greek and Roman world.
Modern Era
Operation Bagration (1944): The Destruction of Army Group Centre
Decisive Soviet victory: Germany's Army Group Centre was largely destroyed and the Red Army advanced some 500–600 km to the Vistula and the borders of East Prussia.
Modern Era
Enabling Act (1933): How Hitler Became Dictator by Law
The Reichstag voted 444 to 94 to give Hitler's government power to pass laws without parliament, ending parliamentary democracy in Germany.
Modern Era
Assassination of Ito Hirobumi (1909) by An Jung-geun at Harbin
Ito died within the hour; An Jung-geun was tried by a Japanese court and executed in March 1910, and Japan annexed Korea in August 1910.
Modern Era
Hubble's Expanding Universe (1929): Galaxies Rushing Apart
Hubble's velocity-distance relation provided the key evidence that the universe is expanding, the foundation of Big Bang cosmology.