History — Page 2
Surprising historical events
221 facts
The Vikings discovered North America 500 years before Columbus.
Leif Erikson landed in modern-day Canada around 1000 AD at a site called L'Anse aux Meadows, long before Columbus…
The Titanic was found while searching for lost nuclear submarines.
In 1985, explorer Robert Ballard was funded by the US Navy on a secret mission to find the USS Thresher and Scorpion…
A Pope once put a dead Pope on trial.
In 897 AD, Pope Stephen VI had the corpse of Pope Formosus dug up, dressed in papal robes, and put on trial in an…
Throwing an apple at someone was an Ancient Greek marriage proposal.
Catching the apple meant accepting the proposal. This tradition is the origin of the modern phrase 'the apple of my…
The shortest reigning monarch ruled for just 20 minutes.
In 1830, Louis XIX of France technically became King after his father abdicated, but he abdicated himself just 20…
The Eiffel Tower was originally offered to Barcelona.
Before building it in Paris, Gustave Eiffel proposed a similar monumental tower for the 1888 Barcelona Universal…
In 1923, a dead jockey won a horse race.
Frank Hayes suffered a fatal heart attack mid-race at Belmont Park. His body remained in the saddle, and his horse…
Napoleon Bonaparte was a military prodigy from a very young age.
At 16, Napoleon was already a lieutenant in the French army. He completed his military training in record time…
The last live Beatles concert was on a rooftop.
On January 30, 1969, the Beatles went up to the roof of the Apple Records building in London for a surprise concert…
Rome was the first city to reach one million people.
Rome reached a population of one million in 133 BC, during the Roman Republic. London only reached that milestone in…
A plaque in Hamelin records the disappearance of 130 children.
On the facade of the Pied Piper's house in Hamelin, Germany, an inscription states that on June 26, 1284, 130…
Queen Elizabeth II served as a mechanic and military truck driver during WWII.
Then a young princess, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, becoming the first female member of the…
The Great Pyramid of Giza was originally covered in highly polished white limestone.
These casing stones reflected the sun's light, making the pyramid shine like a brilliant jewel from miles away. Most…
In the 19th century, people hosted 'mummy unwrapping parties' as a form of entertainment.
Wealthy Victorians would buy Egyptian mummies and unwrap them in front of guests for amusement, unknowingly…
The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel was a 63-year-old woman.
In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, a schoolteacher looking for financial security, famously took the plunge and survived…
The oldest continuously operating university in the world was founded by a woman.
Fatima al-Fihri founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco in 859 AD, which still operates today and is…
Winners of the ancient Olympic Games received olive wreaths, not gold medals.
The olive branch was a sacred symbol of peace and victory in ancient Greece. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were…
The US Declaration of Independence was not mostly signed on July 4th.
It was adopted on July 4, 1776, but the actual physical signing by the delegates mostly took place on August 2, 1776.
The city of Venice is built on millions of wooden stakes.
Venice sits on millions of oak and larch wooden stakes buried in mud. The lack of oxygen in the mud prevents the wood…
The 'OK' sign originated from a 19th-century joke.
In the 1830s, young people in Boston created the expression 'oll korrect' as a joke on the spelling of 'all correct'…
The showers at Alcatraz prison had heated water to keep prisoners from getting used to the cold.
The waters of San Francisco Bay are freezing. Officials feared that if prisoners adapted to cold showers, they might…
The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for 'Day'.
It is a military term used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is set to begin. The 'H' in H-Hour…
Beethoven used a metal rod to feel the music.
After becoming completely deaf at age 40, Ludwig van Beethoven held a metal rod between his teeth and pressed it…
British tanks are equipped with facilities to make tea.
Since the end of World War II, British war tanks have included equipment called a boiling vessel, which allows the…