Modern Era
Fulton's Clermont (1807): First Commercial Steamboat Service
The voyage launched the first commercially successful steamboat service, opening the age of steam navigation on American rivers.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
Act of Union 1801: Britain and Ireland Become One Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created, the Irish Parliament was abolished, and Ireland sent 100 MPs to Westminster.
Middle Ages
Calakmul and the Snake Kingdom: Great Rival of Tikal
The Snake kingdom dominated much of the Classic Maya lowlands until its defeat by Tikal in 695 began a long decline.
Middle Ages
Ghana Empire (Wagadu): West Africa's First Great Gold Empire
Ghana dominated the West African end of the trans-Saharan gold trade for centuries before declining after the 11th century and being absorbed into the Mali Empire.
Middle Ages
Arab Conquest of Sindh (712): Muhammad bin Qasim and Raja Dahir
Sindh and Multan became a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, the first lasting Muslim rule in South Asia.
Middle Ages
Prince Shotoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution (604)
A set of moral instructions for court officials that promoted harmony, Buddhism and loyalty to the sovereign, and became a founding text of Japanese political tradition.
Middle Ages
Battle of Uhud (625): Defeat Near Medina and Its Lessons
Tactical Meccan victory; the Muslims lost about 70 men including Hamza, but the Quraysh withdrew without attacking Medina itself.
Middle Ages
Tower of London: William the Conqueror's White Tower
A great Norman stone keep that grew into a concentric royal castle and one of England's most important centres of power.
Middle Ages
Execution of Boethius (524): The Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius was condemned for treason and executed; the book he wrote in prison became one of the most widely read works of the Middle Ages.
Middle Ages
Hagia Sophia (532-537): Building Justinian's Great Church
Justinian's Hagia Sophia, dedicated in 537, became the cathedral of Constantinople and the largest domed interior of its age, serving as a church until 1453.
Early Modern
Battle of Marston Moor (1644): Royalist Defeat in the North
Decisive victory for the allied Parliamentarian and Scottish armies; York surrendered and the Royalists lost the north of England.
Early Modern
Middle Passage: The Atlantic Crossing of Enslaved Africans
An estimated 12.5 million Africans were forced aboard slave ships, of whom about 10.7 million survived the crossing to the Americas.