Worldcrunch
Updated Jan. 9, 2024 at 1:10 p.m. The daguerreotype photo process, which gave the first photograph of a person, is announced at the French Academy of Science on this date in 1839. What is a daguerreotype? Invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, the daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process (1839-1860) in the history […]
Updated Jan. 8, 2024 at 1:10 p.m. Elvis Presley was born on this day in 1935. Who was Elvis Presley? Born into a poor family in Mississippi, he rose to become a global icon and the “King of Rock and Roll”. He has been inducted into five Halls of Fame and sold over one billion […]
Updated Jan. 7, 2024 at 10:20 a.m. On this day in 2015, two gunmen opened fire at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, targeting the magazine’s staff for satirizing Islam. What happened in the Charlie Hebdo attacks? Two Islamist gunmen forced their way into the Paris headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper […]
Updated Jan. 6, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. It was three years ago on this day that supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on this date. What happened at the Capitol on January 6? After the defeat of former U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters […]
Updated Jan. 5, 2024 at 12:00 p.m The German Workers’ Party is founded in 1919, which a little over a year later changed its name to the Nazi Party. Who founded the German Workers’ Party? The German Workers’ Party (DAP) was founded in Munich in the hotel Fürstenfelder Hof by Anton Drexler, along with Dietrich […]
Updated Jan. 4, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Novelist and philosopher Albert Camus died in a car crash on this day in 1960. Who was Albert Camus? Albert Camus was a French philosopher, journalist and novelist, best known for his novels The Stranger (1942), The Plague (1947), and The Fall (1956). He won the Nobel Prize […]
Updated Jan. 2 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Billed as “the trial of the century,” the case begins against Richard “Bruno” Hauptmann, accused of kidnapping and killing the 20-month-old son of renown aviator Charles Lindbergh. Who was Richard “Bruno” Hauptmann? Bruno Hauptmann was a German immigrant who was accused of breaking into famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, […]
Updated Jan. 1 2024 at 12:00 p.m. On January 1, 1959, Cuba’s military dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country and the rebels, led by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, celebrated in Havana, ending the Cuban Revolution. Why did the Cuban Revolution take place? The U.S. had been a major force in Cuba since the early […]
Updated Dec. 31 2023 at 12:00 p.m. After a referendum held in March 1991, the creation of the post of president of Russia was created. Boris Yeltsin was elected Russia’s first president in an election of that kind. On this day in 1999, he resigned and was succeeded by Vladimir Putin. Why did Boris Yeltsin […]
Updated Dec. 30 2023 at 12:00 p.m. The portrait of Winston Churchill was taken in 1941 by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as he was set to address the Canadian members of Parliament following action taken in World War II. Why is the Roaring Lion such an iconic photograph? The portrait shows […]
Updated Dec. 29 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Caused by Nazi bombing raids which set off a series of fires, the Second Great Fire threatened to destroy London. It was ultimately contained, symbolized by the saving of the famed St. Paul’s Cathedral. How did the Second Great Fire of London start? On the evening of December […]
Updated Dec. 28 2023 at 12:00 p.m. After serving in World War II as a Korean-contingent major in the Soviet Army, Kim Il-Sung became the first premier of the newly formed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Years later, he would become the nation’s supreme ruler. How did Kim Il-Sung become the first president of North […]
Updated Dec. 27 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, and then leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for January 2008 when she was shot, in a suicide terrorist attack. When Was Benazir Bhutto killed? After eight years in exile in Dubai and […]
Updated Dec. 26 2023 at 12:00 p.m. In 2004, a 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami and series of tidal waves that became one of worst natural disasters in recorded history. What triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami? The initial earthquake is among the strongest ever recorded, estimated to […]
Updated Dec. 23 2023 at 12:00 p.m. On this day in 1979, the Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War, after Afghanistan’s centrist government was overthrown by left-wing military officers led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. Why did the Soviets invade Afghanistan? […]
Updated Dec. 25 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Serving since 2015, Justin Trudeau is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. His father was serving in the same job when he was born on Christmas day. How did Justin Trudeau get into politics? He is the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s previous prime minister, […]
Updated Dec. 22, 2023 at 11:45 a.m. In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen took the first X-ray ever. What was the first X-ray taken of? Röntgen’s experiments revealed that this new type of ray was capable of passing through most substances, including the soft tissues of the body, but left bones and metals visible. How did […]
Updated Dec. 21, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. It was 35 years ago that Pan Am Flight 103 was heading from London to New York City. Shortly after takeoff, a bomb that had been planted onboard detonated, causing an explosion while the plane was in flight over Scotland. How many people were killed in Lockerbie? All […]
Updated Dec. 20, 2023 at 12:00 pm On this day in 1973, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, the prime minister of Spain was killed in Madrid after a massive bomb exploded under his car. Why was Carrero Blanco killed? Carrero Blanco was killed in Madrid by the Basque separatist group ETA, targeted due to his support […]
Updated Dec. 19, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. The Russian diplomat Andrei Karlov served as an ambassador to North Korea, and then Turkey. On this day in 2016, he was assassinated while giving a speech in Turkey — the moment captured by an Associated Press photographer who’d been assigned to cover the speech. How was Andrei […]
Updated Dec. 18, 2023 at 12:25 p.m. The United Arab Emirates is a monarchy, and had never allowed elections in its political system. That would change on this day in 2006. Why did the Arab Emirates decide to hold elections? The aim was to increase political participation among Emiratis through a “political empowerment program”, which […]
Updated Dec. 17, 2023 at 11:35 a.m. On December 17th, 1976, Australian prime minister Harold Holt disappeared after going for a swim. He was never heard from again. How did Harold Holt go missing? The Prime Minister of Australia from 1966-1967, Holt was an avid outdoorsman and loved to swim in the ocean near to […]
Updated Dec. 15, 2023 at 12:40 p.m. Based on the novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936, the epic film “Gone With The Wind” hit the screens on this day 84 years ago today. Set in the Confederate South, it would go on to win multiple Academy Awards and command a 30-year […]
Updated Dec. 14, 2023 at 1 p.m. Arriving by ship, skis and dog-powered sleighs, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen arrived where no human had ever set foot, exactly 111 years ago today. Why was Roald Amundsen trying to reach the South Pole? Amundsen’s initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North […]
Updated Dec. 13, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. It was exactly 20 years ago that Saddam Hussein was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq. Why was the U.S. at war with Iraq? In 2003, a coalition between the United States and British forces initiated war on Iraq to depose Saddam […]
Updated December 12, 2023 at 12:20 p.m. Often referred to as the Paris Climate Accords, the Paris Agreement is an international treaty aimed at forcing countries and companies to change their behavior to reverse climate change. It was signed on December 12, 2015 at the end of the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference near […]
Updated Dec. 11, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. After the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, Edward VIII became the King of England at 42 years old, but shockingly announced his decision less than a year later to abdicate the throne on this day in history. Why did Edward VIII abdicate the […]
Updated Dec. 10, 2023 at 12:05 p.m. Considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues, Otis Redding, nicknamed the King of Soul, had a profound influence on other artists before his life was cut tragically short in a plane […]
Updated Dec. 9, 2023 at 12:20 It was on this day in 1987 that a series of Palestinian protests and violent uprisings began in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel in defiance of Israeli occupation. The confrontation would last for nearly six years. How did the first Intifada begin? An Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) truck […]
Updated Dec. 8, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. A deranged fan shot and killed former Beatles member John Lennon outside of his apartment on the upper West Side of New York City on this day 43 years ago. Lennon’s death shocked the world, and seemed to put a definitive end to the 1960s and 1970s idealist […]
Updated Dec. 7, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was a day that U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said “will live in infamy.” It would finally bring the United States into World War II, though with a decimated Pacific fleet from the Japanese surprise attack. Why Did Pearl Harbor Happen? The […]
Founder of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s, Hugo Chavez went on to be elected president of Venezuela in late 1998, serving until his death in 2013. How did Hugo Chavez rise to power? Chávez led the MBR-200 in an unsuccessful coup against the Democratic Action Government of then President Carlos Andrés […]
Updated Dec. 5, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. Prohibition in the United States was implemented as a constitutional law prohibiting the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 until this day in 1933. Why was Prohibition first put into place? Prohibitionists first attempted to end the trade in alcoholic drinks during the 19th […]
Updated Dec. 4, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921, during a period when the U.S. came into its role as a global power. His accomplishments would include the first-ever presidential trip to Europe. Why did Woodrow Wilson go to Europe? At the […]
Updated Dec. 3, 2023 at 3:10 p.m. Considered the world’s worst industrial incident in modern times, the Bhopal gas tragedy was a chemical accident at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. What caused the Bhopal Disaster? A leak of 45 tons of the gas methyl isocyanate escaped from the pesticide plant, wafting into […]
Updated Dec. 2, 2023 at 11:25 a.m. On this day 42 years ago, in a small town in Mississippi, a baby girl was born named Britney…. Where is Britney Spears from? Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi on December 2 1981. She began singing and dancing at age 2, and her parents soon began […]
Updated Dec. 1, 2023 at 12:20 p.m. Rosa Parks became known as the “Mother of the Civil Rights movement,” beginning with a single act of defiance on a city bus on this day 68 years ago. What happened when Rosa Parks wouldn’t give up her seat? While coming back from work in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa […]
Updated Nov. 30, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. The sometimes violent protests against the 1999 World Trade Organization summit in Seattle is considered the birth of the No Global movement, which sought to bring attention to the harmful effects of globalization, especially on the most vulnerable. What was the Battle for Seattle? The 1999 WTO protests […]
Updated November 29, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. As a key proponent of expanding the Vietnam War, Robert McNamara became the target of much the ire of the U.S. anti-war movement. He finally resigned after being the longest serving Secretary of Defense. Who was Robert McNamara? Most closely associated with the Vietnam war, Robert McNamara served […]
Updated Nov. 28, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. The heartwrenching photograph of innocent farmers’ bodies wrapped after being slaughtered during the Koshebe Massacre by Boko Haram would be an image burned into peoples minds. What was the Koshebe Massacre? On November 27, 2020, a member of Boko Haram demanded that a group of farmers working in […]