Modern Era
Semmelweis and Handwashing (1847): Fighting Childbed Fever
Handwashing with chlorinated lime cut maternal deaths in the clinic dramatically, but Semmelweis's explanation was widely rejected during his lifetime.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
French Invasion of Russia (1812): Napoleon's Grande Armée
Catastrophic French defeat; most of the Grande Armée was destroyed, and Napoleon's enemies formed the Sixth Coalition that drove him from power by 1814.
Middle Ages
Tu'i Tonga Empire: Tonga's Medieval Maritime Chiefdom
The Tu'i Tonga built a far-reaching network of tribute and marriage alliances; from c. 1470 political power passed to new lines, and the title ended in 1865.
Middle Ages
Zagwe Dynasty: Ethiopia's Medieval Kings Before the Solomonids
The Zagwe kings revived the Christian kingdom of the Ethiopian highlands and left major churches, but were overthrown in 1270 by Yekuno Amlak, founder of the Solomonic dynasty.
Middle Ages
Angkor Thom and the Bayon: Jayavarman VII's Capital
Jayavarman VII created a new fortified capital centred on the Bayon, a Mahayana Buddhist state temple that became the last great temple-mountain of Angkor.
Middle Ages
Heijo-kyo (710): Nara Becomes Japan's Imperial Capital
Heijo-kyo served as the seat of the Japanese court for most of the years 710-784, giving its name to the Nara period.
Middle Ages
Battle of Talas (751): Abbasid Caliphate Against Tang China
Abbasid victory after the Karluk Turks deserted the Tang side; the battle ended Tang expansion westward but did not by itself decide control of Central Asia.
Middle Ages
Notre-Dame de Paris: Building the Great Gothic Cathedral
Notre-Dame became one of the largest and most influential Gothic cathedrals in Europe and the religious heart of medieval Paris.
Middle Ages
Battle of Nechtansmere (685): Picts Defeat Northumbria
Decisive Pictish victory; King Ecgfrith was killed and Northumbrian rule north of the Forth collapsed.
Middle Ages
Oleg of Novgorod (882): Taking Kiev and Founding Kievan Rus
Oleg made Kiev the centre of a Rus state uniting the northern and southern river routes, traditionally seen as the start of Kievan Rus.
Early Modern
Glencoe Massacre (1692): Murder Under Trust in the Highlands
About 38 MacDonalds were killed by soldiers billeted among them and more died of exposure; a 1695 inquiry called it murder but no one was punished.
Early Modern
First Khoikhoi-Dutch War (1659-1660): Conflict at the Cape
The war ended without a clear military victory, but the Dutch kept the disputed grazing land and the Khoikhoi of the Peninsula lost access to it.