Today in World History: July 31st

On this day in 1492, the year Columbus discovered America and following the end of the Reconquista and the unification of Spain, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand expelled all Jewish citizens, in accordance with the Alhambra decree. As the Jewish population in the Iberian Peninsula was very pronounced, with their immigration as early as the […]

Today in World History: July 30th

Henry Ford, the American unrepentant and founder of the Ford Motor Company was born on this day in 1863. Born in Michigan, Ford left his family farm in his twenties to pursue a career in Detroit as an apprentice, where he began to learn about the automotive industry. By the end of the 19th century, […]

Today in World History: July 29th

Pakal, the longest-reigning ruler in the Western Hemisphere and King of Palenque from 615 A.D. to 683 A.D., rose to the throne on this day in 615 A.D., following the death of of his father, and the end of his mother’s reign when he reached maturity. Pakal was born in March 603 A.D., in Palenque. […]

Today in World History: July 28th

Maximillien Robespierre, a French lawyer and politician in the French Revolution, and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, a soldier and politician, were executed on this day in 1794. Two of the most influential figures of the French Revolution, the two friends were executed by the French citizenry during the Reign of Terror, due to their alleged […]

Today in World History: July 27th

The Ottoman Empire, the Turkish Empire that dominated the Middle East during the Middle Ages and brought about the end of the Byzantine Empire is considered to have begun its formation on this day in 1299, as the Ottoman State. Osman I, the Turkish ruler, invaded Nicomedia on this day, as Sultan of Rum. Yet another […]

Today in World History: July 26th

The Spanish Civil War turned into a center of European attention on this day in 1936, as Italy and Germany joined on the side of the Nationalists. The war, which ravaged Spain, lasted for three years, form 1936 to 1939, with the Republicans supported by the USSR and Mexico, and the Nationalist Party allied with Germany, […]

Today in World History: July 25th

The Meiji Restoration, in which power in Japan transferred back to the Emperor from the Shogun, continued on this day in 1869 as the daimyo, or the vassals of the Emperor, began returning their lands. Part of the movement to reform the country’s dated political, military, and administrative systems by Emperor Meiji, it was brought […]

Today in World History: July 24th

Machu Picchu, an Inca city high in the Andes, was rediscovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham on this day in 1911. Born on November 19, 1875, in Honolulu, Bingham studied history and politics at Yale, Berkeley, and Harvard, eventually studying under Woodrow Wilson, to become a lecturer on South American history at Yale by 1907. He […]

Today in World History: July 23rd

Ulysses S. Grant, American General during the civil war and the eighteenth president of the United States, died on this day in 1885. The Commanding General of the Union troops during the war, he helped lead his army to victory, working with his close friend and ally, President Abraham Lincoln. Born in 1822 in Ohio, […]

Today in World History: July 22nd

William Lyon Mackenzie King, the longest serving Prime Minister of Canada, died on this day in 1950. Serving as Prime Minister from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948, he served more than twenty-two years, and led Canada during […]