An epoch which lasted from about 34 million years ago until about 23 million years ago.
Oligocene
Fact of the Day
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy used c. 80,000 barrels of gunpowder every year.
Quote of the Day
"I have beaten the Russian and Austrian army commanded by two emperors. I am a little tired.
"
~ Napoleon after Austerlitz
On This Day
1297 Scottish hero William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1649 Cromwell's siege of the Irish town of Drogheda ended with the massacre of about 2,800 soldiers and at least 700 civilians.
1878 268 miners were killed in an explosion at the Prince of Wales Colliery in Abercarn, Wales.
1929 The state of Georgia executed Homer Simpson.
1978 Medical photographer Janet Parker became the last person in the world to die from smallpox after accidental exposure in a lab.
2001 The world stood still as it witnessed attacks on, and the destruction of, the World Trade Center. The attacks resulted in 2,996 immediate deaths.