Middle Ages
Battle of Maldon (991): Byrhtnoth Against the Vikings
Viking victory; Byrhtnoth was killed and the English paid 10,000 pounds of silver for peace.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657): The Cossack Revolt in Ukraine
The revolt created a Cossack state, the Hetmanate, in central Ukraine, which in 1654 accepted the protection of the Russian tsar, setting off a long war that divided Ukraine between Russia and Poland.
Early Modern
Anson's Voyage Round the World (1740-1744): Scurvy and Silver
Only the flagship Centurion completed the circumnavigation, but it captured the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga and returned with a huge treasure.
Contemporary
Tham Luang Cave Rescue (2018): Saving Thailand's Wild Boars
All twelve boys and their assistant coach were brought out alive between 8 and 10 July 2018; one Thai volunteer diver died during the operation.
Contemporary
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin (1995): Murder at a Peace Rally
Rabin died of his wounds the same night; Shimon Peres succeeded him, and the Oslo peace process lost its leading Israeli champion.
Contemporary
Invasion of Grenada (1983): Operation Urgent Fury
US and Caribbean forces overthrew Grenada's Revolutionary Military Council within days; constitutional government was restored and elections held in December 1984.
Ancient World
Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69): Galba, Otho, Vitellius
Vespasian emerged victorious from the civil war and founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled Rome until AD 96.
Modern Era
Battle of Tarawa (1943): The Bloody Assault on Betio Island
US victory; Betio was captured in 76 hours, at a cost of about 1,000 American dead and nearly the entire Japanese garrison.
Modern Era
Wall Street Crash of 1929: Black Tuesday and the Global Slump
Share prices collapsed, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in paper wealth; the crash was followed by the Great Depression, though historians debate how far it caused it.
Modern Era
Battle of Tsushima (1905): Togo Destroys the Russian Baltic Fleet
Decisive Japanese victory; almost the entire Russian fleet was sunk, captured or interned, and Russia soon agreed to peace talks.
Modern Era
New Deal (1933-1939): Roosevelt's Answer to the Great Depression
The federal government took on lasting roles in banking regulation, relief, social insurance and labour relations, though full recovery came only with the Second World War.
Modern Era
Eddington's Eclipse Expedition (1919): Proving Einstein Right
The measured deflection of starlight agreed with Einstein's prediction rather than Newton's, making general relativity and Einstein world famous.