Montreux Casino fire, 1971
The Montreux Casino opened in November 1881 to provide entertainment for visitors to the Swiss resort on the shores of Lake Geneva. The casino developed a reputation as a music…
Montreux Casino fire, 1971
The Montreux Casino opened in November 1881 to provide entertainment for visitors to the Swiss resort on the shores of Lake Geneva. The casino developed a reputation as a music…
Battle of Leuthen, 1757
In 1740, the newly crowned King Frederick II of Prussia annexed the prosperous Austrian province of Silesia. He wanted to connect his own disparate lands in Silesia and also prevent…
First edition of Encyclopædia Britannica published, 1768
Two Edinburgh businessmen, a bookseller and printer called Colin Macfarquhar and the engraver Andrew Bell, decided to publish a new encyclopaedia in response to the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot…
First German steam-hauled railway opened, 1835
The development of public railways in Britain attracted interest from the rest of Europe. King Ludwig of Bavaria sent the engineer Joseph von Baader to England to evaluate the new…
Greeks vote to abolish monarch, 1974
On 21st April 1967, a group of right-wing army officers seized power in Greece, fearing increased influence of left-wing politicians following the upcoming elections. King Constantine II initially supported the…
Publication of The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson, 1854
On 9th December 1854, the weekly magazine The Examiner included a poem written by the poet laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson called “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. The narrative poem…
The 300 Million Yen Robbery, 1968
On the morning of 10th December 1968, four bank workers from the Kokubunji branch of the Nihon Shintaku Ginko were transporting 294,307,500 yen (then over $800,000) in a company car.…
First trans-oceanic yacht race, 1866
At 1pm on 11th December 1866, three schooners sailed from Sandy Hook, Connecticut, their destination was the Needles, near Cowes in the Isle of Wight. The three yachts taking part…
First expedition to reach the South Pole, 1911
On 14th December, a team of arctic explorers led by Roald Amundsen arrived at the South Pole. They had beaten a rival expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, by 34…