Modern Era
Annexation of Texas (1845): The Lone Star Joins the Union
Texas became the 28th US state on 29 December 1845; Mexico broke off relations, and war followed in 1846.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
Darwin-Wallace Paper (1858): Natural Selection Goes Public
The theory of evolution by natural selection was presented publicly for the first time, crediting both Darwin and Wallace.
Modern Era
Battle of Vitoria (1813): Wellington Drives France From Spain
Decisive Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish victory; the French army fled towards France, abandoning almost all its artillery and baggage.
Middle Ages
Thorfinn Karlsefni's Vinland Expedition (c. 1010)
The settlers stayed two or three years but withdrew to Greenland after conflict with Indigenous people; no lasting Norse colony was founded.
Middle Ages
Sundiata Keita and the Battle of Kirina (c. 1235): Mali's Birth
Sundiata's Mande coalition defeated the Sosso kingdom, and Sundiata became the founding ruler of the Mali Empire.
Middle Ages
Founding of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206: Qutb al-Din Aibak
Aibak became the first independent Muslim ruler based in northern India; under Iltutmish the state was consolidated with Delhi as its capital.
Middle Ages
An Lushan Rebellion (755-763): The Revolt That Broke the Tang
The Tang dynasty survived with Uyghur help, but lost central control over its provinces and frontiers and never regained its former power.
Middle Ages
Papermaking in Abbasid Baghdad: How Paper Reached Islam
Paper replaced papyrus and parchment across the Islamic world, making books and documents cheaper and fuelling a boom in writing and learning.
Middle Ages
Captivity of Richard the Lionheart (1192): A King for Ransom
Richard was released at Mainz on 4 February 1194 after England raised a ransom of 150,000 marks, one of the heaviest financial burdens of the medieval English state.
Middle Ages
Battle of Covadonga (722): Pelagius and the Kingdom of Asturias
Asturian victory over a Muslim expedition; Pelagius secured an independent Christian lordship that became the Kingdom of Asturias.
Middle Ages
Olga of Kiev: Regent, Avenger of Igor and Christian Saint
Olga crushed the Drevlians, reorganised tribute collection in Rus and became its first ruler to accept Christianity.
Early Modern
Battle of Narva (1700): Charles XII Routs the Russian Army
Decisive Swedish victory; the Russian siege of Narva was broken and much of the Russian army was killed, captured or disarmed.