Category: Today In History

October 10

680 – Battle of Karbala: Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah. 1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000-30,000 in the Caribbean. 1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by...
The one and only Thelonius Monk

October 6

23 – Rebels kill and decapitate the Xin dynasty emperor Wang Mang two days after the capital Chang’an is sacked during a peasant rebellion. 1539 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his army enter the Apalachee capital of Anhaica (present-day Tallahassee, Florida) by force.. 1600 – Jacopo Peri’s Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, receives...
Constructed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, was once the longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1899, Thomas Edison filmed this train ride across the East River

October 5

456 – The Visigoths under King Theodoric II, acting on orders of the Roman emperor Avitus, invade Iberia with an army of Burgundians, Franks and Goths, led by the Kings Chilperic I and Gondioc. They defeat the Suebi under King Rechiar on the river Urbicus near Astorga (Gallaecia). 816 – King Louis the Pious is...
Wilbur Wright flying over New York harbor over a Moran tug with Ellis Island in the background

September 29

1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades. 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture and making authorities consider moving the capital to a different city. 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes...
Nikita Khrushchev: "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river."

September 28

48 BC – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia. 1066 – William the Conqueror invades England beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1538 – Ottoman-Venetian...
1928: Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.

September 27

1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the River Somme, beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1540 – The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III. 1590 – Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the...
Rachel Carson testifying before Congress