-
Guy Fawkes Arrested
Around midnight, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar of the Parliament building. Surrounded with barrels of gun powder, he was found guilty and tried with several more of his conspirators. They were all tried and executed for treason. -
Robert Catesby's Death
After the failed attempt at bombing parliament, while Catesby was on the run with other conspirators, they were tracked down by Holbeche House of Stanford. Here they made their last stand faced with over 200 government men. In the shootout that followed, Catesby was shot and found dead. -
Execution of Charles I
During the English Civil War, Charles I became the first and only English monarch to be publicly beheaded. The execution took place outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. He was replaced by the military dictator Oliver Cromwell for power. -
Oliver Cromwell's Death
Oliver Cromwell was a military dictator that overthrew Charles I and appointed himself ruler of England. As a puritan, he aimed to 'purify' England and banned any 'pagan' activity. He was ceremoniously executed in 1659, even though he was already dead (complications from malaria), by King Charles II. -
John Locke's Death
One of the first Enlightenment philosophers, John Locke was a revolutionary. As the man who spoke of Natural Rights, America owes everything to him. He was influenced by Thomas Hobbes, but believed that humans were born good, and grow from experience. -
Voltaire Arrested
Francois-Marie Arouet, or better known as Voltaire, was arrested in 1717 and was placed in the Bastille for nearly a year to dry up his satirical senses. Though critics embraced his poem La Henriade, the attacks made on government and politics were too much to over look. But even after serving time, Voltaire was forced to flee England in 1726. -
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI’s Marriage
Though their marriage had been planned since the early 1760s’, the official marriage did not take place until 1770. Although the people of France hated Marie because of her frivolity and Austrian origin, it is believed that the two of them made a very happy couple. -
Coronation of Louis XVI
After his grandfather (Louis XV) died, Louis XVI was crowned the King of France at the Reims Cathedral. He reigned for 17 years until his public execution for treason to his country. -
"The Wealth of Nations" was published
In 1776, the Father of Capitalism, Adam Smith, published "The Wealth of Nations". This is the book that America based its financial structures on. The book details the industrialist system that destroyed the mercantilism system. -
Samuel Slater Comes to America
There was a new law in Great Britain that you could not share the new designs of the inventions with any country but their own. But to make a profit, Samuel Slater memorized as many designs and prints as he could and went to New York City. In Britain he is known as "Slater the Traitor" while in America he is now known as "The Father of the American Industrial Revolution". -
"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano"
Olaudah Equiano, born 1745 in what is now Nigeria, became the first slave narrative and published book in England by an African. After buying his freedom from his master, Equiano became a patron for stopping the slave trade in England. To help the cause, he wrote his autobiography "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano". -
The Storming of the Bastille
During the summer, the people of France had grown restless, and were ready to bear arms to fight. The problem was that they did not have the guns nor ammo required to arm themselves. They directed their attention to the Bastille, a state prison that help only 7 political prisoners and looted it for guns and ammo, and were successful. -
The Women’s Bread March
What started out as a simple protest against the outlandish price of bread soon turned into an all out riot lead by women that ended up at Versailles. The palace guards were overwhelmed and the monarchs were forced to go to Paris and live, where a watchful eye could be kept on them. This showed the people of France that United, they were strong. -
The Guillotining of Marie Antoinette
After the royal family was captured and put in prison, only the daughter of the family, Marie Therese, was allowed to leave alive and was sent off to her relatives in Austria. Both Marie and Louis were guillotined while their son rotted in prison till he too died. -
Napoleon Bonaparte's Coronation
After showing great military strength and capability, Napoleon takes his chance and seizes the crown of France. Going from First Consul to Consul for Life and then finally to Emperor, Napoleon crowns himself the equivalent of a king after a whole revolution of fighting the monarchy. Most stories say that in order to show dominance over the church and even over God, Napoleon took the crown from the pope and crowned himself Emperor. -
Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill was Passed
After spending most of his life in Parliament fighting for the abolition of the Slave Trade, William Wilberforce was able to see his hard work pay off. As a member of Parliament he fought for the abolition of the slave trade for all of his life. Even though the majority of people in England were in support of the abolition of the Slave Trade, nothing started to happen until Parliament was able to finally start passing laws. -
The First Textile Town in America is Founded
In 1814, Francis Cabot Lowell built the Lowell/Waltham Textile Plant. After a little while, a small town popped up as the workers moved there and lived there. Eventually, the town (Lowell) became known as the first textile factory town in America. -
Napoleon Bonaparte's First Exile to Elba
After the tremendous loss at the Battle of Trafalgar, and losing nearly all of his men during a Russian winter, Napoleon surrenders himself as a part of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Though he takes this as a huge setback and wound to his ego, he is already plotting his successful escape after only 10 months into exile. -
Napoleons' Final Defeat at the Battle of Waterloo
After escaping the island of Elba from Napoleon's first exile and forming another army, Napoleon goes to take back all that he had accomplished for France by fighting the 7th coalition. He was ultimately defeated and surrendered himself again to exile, this time at St. Helena. Waterloo was the last of Napoleon's military battles. -
The Iron Horse Race
There was an ongoing bet who would win: "A horse or the new locomotives?" In going with the race, it was found out that the horse would win, but only due to technical difficulties with the locomotive. Though it was considered a loss, it did not stop the production and popularity of the new transportation method. -
Reform Bill of 1832
The Reform Bill of 1832 broadened the vote for citizens. Though the percentage of men who could vote was still very low (from 2%-3%), it was a start. It was because of these slow but steady steps the England government was making that kept the country out of full-blown revolutions and civil wars like other countries around this time. -
John Deere Invents the Steel Plow
While industrial factory jobs where becoming more popular, farming was still a critical job. Farmers at the time were using wooden plows that were heavy, hard to manage, and could semi-easily break when plowing their fields. In 1837, John Deere created the first steel plow (steel was becoming very popular during the industrial revolution due to its strength compared to wood) and began selling it to the common farmer and the company is still booming today. -
The Treaty of Nanjing was Signed
After Britain declared war on China for not allowing drug trafficking, the Treaty of Nanjing ended the first Opium War. This was considered the first of the many Chinese Unequal Treaties. -
The Irish Potato Famine
A fungus-like organism spread throughout 3/4 of the potato crop for the next 7 years. During this time, the potato was as staple crop and over 3 million Irish were surviving solely on potatoes, causing millions of deaths due to starvation. -
The Crystal Palace Exhibition
With all the good happening in England (the Industrial Revolution bringing in wealth and new inventions, British Colonies having exotic objects in them, and a new "utopia" being created), the English wanted to showcase their wears. In 1851, the largest enclosed space in the world was built (mostly from glass) and showed 14,000 around the world inventions. Sadly, the building burnt down in 1936. -
King (Prince Consort) Albert Dies
King (Prince Consort) Albert dies of Typhoid Fever after suffering from it for 21 days. He was the husband of Queen Victoria, and it was after his death that major mourning practices were put into action. After he died, Victorian wore nothing but the color black as well as laid out a fresh suit for him everyday. -
First Day of the Berlin Conference
In attempt to avoid a world war, Europe called the Berlin Conference in order to divvy up Africa for Imperialism. This established the rules of African conquest and caused all countries to agree to the end of the Slave Trade in Africa. -
Indian National Congress Formed
During the Raj, many Indian nationalist groups formed. This is because while the British government was ruling, there was no people from India having a say in government. The Indian National Congress is still part of the Indian government. -
The Eiffel Tower was Finished
In order to celebrate France's Freedom Centennial (the French Revolution, 1789), the World Fair was to be held in Paris, France. The Eiffel Tower was designed by Louis Eiffel, and was meant to be a temporary structure that was the entrance to the World Fair. But after many people grew attached to it, the people of France were able to save the Eiffel Tower by putting a radio antennae on the top. -
Olympic Games Reinstated
Because middle and upper class people had more free time on their hands, mass culture became popular, and included in that was spectator sports. After the long-lost tradition of the Olympics had been reinstated after 1,500 years, people came from all throughout the world to Athens to view the athletes. -
"J'Accuse...!" Published
After a Jewish officer in the French Army had been wrongfully accused of treason, the entire country was divided. While the news had been steeping, notable French author, Emile Zola, published a public letter to the French government in the paper L'Aurore, accusing the government of antisemitism and wrongly convicting an innocent man. -
British Wins the Boer War
After a group of Dutch Settlers in South Africa refused to give up their land to the British, war broke out in 1899. Continuing till the Boers' were forced to give up, Britain won and established new laws and territories in South Africa. -
Wright Brothers Flew their First Successful Airplane
After working on their designers since 1899, the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were able to fly their gas powered airplane over Kitty Hawk. Their flight was only 59 seconds, but it was enough to prove man could fly. -
The Treaty of Portsmouth Signed
Ending the Russo-Japanese War, Theodore Roosevelt was brought in as a third party to mediate the signing. His mediation skills earned him a Nobel Peace Prize. This took place in Portsmouth, NH. -
Henry Ford Invents the Assembly Line
On this day, Ford installed the first assembly line in his factory building automobiles. With the assembly line, everyone could focus on one job and get more cars produced. In the beginning, it reduced building a car from 12 hours to an hour and 33 minutes. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the thrown of Austria-Hungary) and his wife Sofia went on a tour throughout Europe. At their last stop, Serbia, there was an uprising. After one of the protestors shot one of the guards of the cars and he ended up in the hospital, the car went on an impromptu visit to the hospital. This put the Archduke and wife just several feet from a shooter. Shooting the Archduchess first and then the Archduke, his last words were “Sophie, stay alive for the children.” -
The Sinking if the Lusitania
6 days after the Lusitania has left New York’s harbor, this passenger freight boat had only several miles till reaching her destination when she was shot down by German U-Boats. Possibly 2 torpedoes were fired at the ship, causing over 1,000 casualties, including 138 American deaths. This almost dragged America in WW1 until Germany ceased their merchant ship firing policy. -
Edith Cavell’s Execution
A trained nurse, Edith Cavell’s philosophy was to help everyone, regardless of which side they fought on. But when she was found out as a spy for helping Allied men escape from captivity, she was executed by firing squad. This event gained worldwide coverage and brought support to the Allied cause. -
U.S. Senate Votes to Join War Against Germany
After the Zimmerman Telegraph (Germany promising Mexico that if they join the war, they will be rewarded with American land), Americans were outraged. The Senate voted a few days later and ruled in support of war with Germany, the House concurred two days later. -
Cher Ami’s Last Flight
200 American men were stuck in a German trap with American firing raining down on them. With one last homing pigeon left, they sent him off with their messages. Traveling 25 miles in 25 minutes, the firing stopped and when Cher Ami came back to the base, everyone noticed he had taken a bullet to the breast, lost an eye, and a leg. He became an international hero, gaining recognition in America as well as receiving the highest metal of honor in France. -
Armistice Declared
After the War of Attrition had finally depleted the Central Powers’ supplies, an armistice is declared. Because America had joined the Allies in 1917, they were given a fresh boost of troops, moral, and supplies, winning the war. Shots were to be stopped at 11 a.m. on the dot. -
English Women Gain the Vote
After many long, hard, and violent shows of distress (many lead by Emmeline Pankhurst and her family), British women gained the vote. That is, women over the age of 30 could now vote while 21+ men could vote, but this changed in 1928 when women 21+ Could also vote. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed
After the Armistice, the Big Four powers (Britain, France, America, and Italy) got together and made a peace treaty. This treaty ended the war with the signatures of the representatives of Germany on June 28, 1919, exactly 5 years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, starting the war.
