Modern Era
Lidice Massacre (1942): The Destruction of a Czech Village
The men of Lidice were shot, the women sent to Ravensbrück and most children murdered at Chełmno; about 340 villagers died and the village was razed.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Modern Era
Scuttling of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow (1919)
52 of the 74 interned German warships sank, preventing their handover to the Allies; nine German sailors were killed.
Modern Era
Anglo-Zanzibar War (1896): The Shortest War in Recorded History
British victory within about 40 minutes; Khalid fled and the pro-British Hamud bin Muhammed became sultan.
Modern Era
Alaska Purchase (1867): Seward's Folly and the Russian Sale
The United States bought Alaska, about 586,000 square miles, from the Russian Empire for 7.2 million dollars, and took formal possession at Sitka on 18 October 1867.
Modern Era
Niagara Falls Power Plant (1895): Tesla's AC Harnesses the Falls
The plant proved that large-scale alternating-current generation and long-distance transmission were practical, shaping electric power systems worldwide.
Modern Era
Florence Nightingale at Scutari: The Lady with the Lamp
Nightingale became a national heroine and used her fame and statistics to drive army health reform and to found modern professional nursing.
Middle Ages
Mongol Conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219-1221)
The Khwarazmian Empire collapsed; its great cities were sacked and Central Asia and eastern Iran came under Mongol rule.
Middle Ages
Siege of Jerusalem (1099): The Crusaders Take the Holy City
Crusaders stormed Jerusalem on 15 July 1099, massacred many inhabitants and founded the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Middle Ages
Arrest of the Knights Templar (1307): Fall of a Military Order
The Order of the Temple was suppressed by Clement V in 1312 and its last grand master was burned in Paris in 1314.
Middle Ages
Battle of Hafrsfjord (c. 872): Harald Fairhair Unites Norway
Harald Fairhair defeated a coalition of western Norwegian rulers, a victory later seen as the founding moment of a united Norwegian kingdom.
Middle Ages
Stefan Dušan (1346): Serbia's Emperor and His Law Code
Dušan created the largest medieval Serbian state and issued a major law code, but his empire fragmented soon after his death in 1355.
Early Modern
French Revolution (1789–1799): Causes, Events and Legacy
The absolute monarchy and the privileged society of the old regime were abolished; after a decade of upheaval and war, Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in 1799.