Modern Era
D-Day (1944): The Allied Normandy Landings of Operation Overlord
Allied victory: about 156,000 troops came ashore by sea and air and secured a foothold in France, opening the Western Front that led to the liberation of western Europe.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
Mukden Incident (1931): How Japan Seized Manchuria
Japan's Kwantung Army occupied Manchuria and created the puppet state of Manchukuo, and Japan left the League of Nations after being condemned.
Modern Era
Partition of Bengal (1905): Curzon, Swadeshi and Reversal
Bengal was split into two provinces, provoking the Swadeshi movement; the partition was annulled at the Delhi Durbar of 1911.
Modern Era
Baird's Television (1926): The First Public Demonstration
The first public demonstration of live television images with tonal gradation; Baird's mechanical system was later replaced by electronic television.
Modern Era
Congress of Berlin (1878): Bismarck Redraws the Balkans
The Treaty of Berlin replaced the Treaty of San Stefano, reduced Russian gains, created a smaller autonomous Bulgaria and gave Austria-Hungary control of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Middle Ages
Gaocheng Observatory: Guo Shoujing's Yuan Star Tower (1276)
A giant gnomon tower that supplied precise solar measurements for the Shoushi calendar of 1281, used in China for more than 360 years.
Middle Ages
Al-Jazari's Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)
A richly illustrated treatise describing about 50 machines, the most detailed surviving record of medieval mechanical engineering in the Islamic world.
Middle Ages
Battle of Visby (1361): Denmark Conquers Gotland
Danish victory; the Gotlandic levy was destroyed, Visby surrendered and Gotland passed under Danish rule, provoking war with the Hanseatic League.
Middle Ages
Beowulf and the Nowell Codex (c. 1000): Old English Epic
The single copy of Beowulf survived the Cotton Library fire of 1731 and became the foundation text of Old English literature.
Early Modern
Louis XIV: The Sun King's Personal Rule in France (1661–1715)
France became the leading power in Europe with a strong, centralised monarchy, but repeated wars and heavy spending left the state deeply in debt and the population exhausted.
Early Modern
Bougainville's Voyage Round the World (1766-1769)
La Boudeuse and L'Étoile completed the first French naval circumnavigation, losing few men, and Bougainville's account shaped European images of Tahiti.
Contemporary
Camp Fire (2018): The Wildfire That Destroyed Paradise
The fire killed 85 people, destroyed about 18,800 structures including most of Paradise, and led PG&E to plead guilty to manslaughter and file for bankruptcy.