Early Modern
Hideyoshi's Sword Hunt (1588): Disarming the Peasants of Japan
Farmers were ordered to surrender swords, bows, spears and firearms, helping to separate warriors from cultivators in the social order of early modern Japan.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Sher Shah Suri: The Afghan Ruler Who Drove Out Humayun
Sher Shah expelled Humayun from India and ruled a centralised Sur Empire until his death in 1545; the Mughals returned only in 1555.
Early Modern
Pascaline (1642): Blaise Pascal's Mechanical Calculator
Pascal built one of the first working mechanical calculators; about 20 were made, but high cost and fragility kept it from commercial success.
Early Modern
Münster Rebellion (1534–1535): The Anabaptist Kingdom
The besieging army of the prince-bishop took the city in June 1535; the Anabaptist leaders were executed in January 1536 and their bodies displayed in cages on St Lambert's Church.
Early Modern
Waldseemüller Map (1507): The First Map to Name America
The name America entered print and spread across Europe; the only surviving copy was bought by the Library of Congress in 2003.
Contemporary
Three Mile Island Accident (1979): America's Worst Nuclear Crisis
About half of the Unit 2 reactor core melted, but the containment building held; small releases of radioactivity occurred and the accident reshaped US nuclear regulation.
Contemporary
Kidnapping of Aldo Moro (1978): Italy's Years of Lead
Moro was murdered after 55 days in captivity; the 'historic compromise' between Christian Democrats and Communists faded, and the state hardened its fight against terrorism.
Contemporary
Birmingham Campaign (1963): Children's Crusade and Bull Connor
An agreement of 10 May 1963 began desegregating Birmingham's stores, and the national outcry led President Kennedy to propose a major civil rights bill.
Contemporary
Valentina Tereshkova (1963): The First Woman in Space
Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of the Earth in almost three days aboard Vostok 6, becoming the first woman to fly in space.
Contemporary
Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October 1949
The Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China, while the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan.
Contemporary
Klaus Fuchs (1950): The Atomic Spy Who Confessed in Britain
Fuchs confessed, was convicted under the Official Secrets Act on 1 March 1950 and sentenced to 14 years; his confession led the FBI to Harry Gold and the Rosenberg network.
Ancient World
Phoenician Alphabet: The Script Behind Western Writing
A compact 22-letter consonantal script became the ancestor of the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic alphabets.