1. 2021

    An elevated section of the Mexico City Metro collapsed, killing 26 people and injuring 98 others.

  2. 2007

    Three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal; she has never been found.

  3. 1999

    The Kargil War initiates when Indian forces detected the infiltration of Pakistani forces in Indian-administered Kargil, a city in Jammu and Kashmir.

  4. 1999

    A Doppler on Wheels team measured the fastest winds recorded on Earth, at 143.6 m/s (321 mph; 517 km/h), in a tornado near Bridge Creek, Oklahoma.

  5. 1971

    Erich Honecker became First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the governing party of East Germany.

  6. 1963

    Police in Birmingham, Alabama, used high-pressure water hoses and dogs against civil-rights protesters, bringing scrutiny on racial segregation in the southern United States.

  7. 1960

    The Off-Broadway show The Fantasticks premiered, eventually becoming the world's longest-running musical, with 17,162 performances across 42 years.

  8. 1947

    A new Constitution of Japan went into effect, providing for a parliamentary system of government, guaranteeing certain fundamental rights, and relegating the Japanese monarchy to a purely ceremonial role.

  9. 1945

    Second World War: The German ocean liner Cap Arcona, afloat in the Bay of Lübeck with thousands of concentration camp survivors on board, was attacked and sunk by the Royal Air Force.

  10. 1942

    Second World War: Japanese forces began an invasion of Tulagi and nearby islands in the British Solomon Islands, enabling them to threaten and intercept supply and communication routes between the United States and Australasia.

  11. 1939

    Subhas Chandra Bose formed the All India Forward Bloc, a faction within the Indian National Congress, in opposition to Gandhi's tactics of nonviolence.

  12. 1921

    Under the British Government of Ireland Act, Ireland was partitioned into two self-governing territories, Northern and Southern Ireland.

  13. 1920

    Russian Civil War: Relying on Red Army troops in neighboring Azerbaijan, the Bolsheviks attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Georgia.

  14. 1915

    The oldest Royal Air Force station in continuous operation, RAF Northolt, opened as home to No. 4 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron.

  15. 1913

    Raja Harishchandra, the first Indian feature-length film, was released.

  16. 1911

    Edith Maryon's statuette The Dance of Anitra (pictured), one of the few of her works known to survive in private hands, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts.

  17. 1855

    A group of American mercenaries led by William Walker set sail from San Francisco to conquer Nicaragua.

  18. 1848

    Thomas Bateman excavated a high-status barrow, discovering objects including the boar-crested Benty Grange helmet, and the Benty Grange hanging bowl

  19. 1845

    A long-running feud between two towns in Wisconsin came to a head when a schooner crashed into a bridge; they later merged to form the city of Milwaukee.

  20. 1791

    The Great Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ratified the first codified national constitution in Europe.

  21. 1616

    The Treaty of Loudun was signed, ending a war that originally began as a power struggle for the French throne.

  22. 1491

    Nkuwu Nzinga, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, was baptised as João I by Portuguese missionaries.

  23. 1481

    The largest of a series of earthquakes struck the island of Rhodes, causing an estimated 30,000 casualties.

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

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