Early Modern
Alonso de Ojeda's Voyage (1499): How Venezuela Got Its Name
The expedition charted much of the northern coast of South America and gave the name Venezuela to the Gulf and later to the country.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Contemporary
Cuyahoga River Fire (1969): Cleveland's Burning River
A short fire on oil-slicked debris became a national symbol of water pollution and helped build support for the Clean Water Act and the EPA.
Contemporary
Greek Military Junta (1967–1974): The Regime of the Colonels
Seven years of military dictatorship ended after the junta's coup in Cyprus provoked a Turkish invasion; democracy was restored under Konstantinos Karamanlis and the monarchy was abolished.
Contemporary
Little Rock Nine (1957): Integrating Central High School
Federal troops enforced the desegregation of Central High; the crisis confirmed federal authority over school integration but Little Rock's high schools were closed in 1958–59.
Contemporary
Founding of NASA (1958): How America's Space Agency Began
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration replaced NACA as a civilian agency directing the US space programme.
Contemporary
Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (1948): Death in New Delhi
Gandhi was killed; Godse and Apte were tried, convicted and hanged in 1949, and the assassination shocked India and the world.
Contemporary
Alger Hiss Case (1948-1950): Espionage Charges and Perjury
Hiss was convicted of perjury on 21 January 1950 and sentenced to five years in prison; he maintained his innocence until his death.
Ancient World
Trundholm Sun Chariot: Bronze Age Sun Worship in Scandinavia
The chariot became the best-known object of the Nordic Bronze Age and the key evidence for a cult of the sun in prehistoric Scandinavia.
Ancient World
Kingdom of Kush: Nubia's Great African Empire on the Nile
Kush became the longest-lived state of ancient Nubia, ruled Egypt for about a century and developed its own script and culture at Meroë before declining in the 4th century AD.
Ancient World
Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi: The First Hegemon of China
Qi became the dominant state of the early Spring and Autumn period, and Duke Huan was recognised as the first ba, or hegemon, leading the Zhou states.
Ancient World
Decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation: Causes and Debate
The large Harappan cities were gradually abandoned and the civilisation broke up into smaller regional village cultures, without writing or long-distance trade.
Ancient World
Samnite Wars (343-290 BC): Rome's Struggle for Central Italy
Rome defeated the Samnites and their allies and emerged as the dominant power in peninsular Italy.