An epoch which lasted from about 34 million years ago until about 23 million years ago.
Oligocene
Fact of the Day
Elizabeth I could cost her hosts so much on her visits that some tried to shut up their houses and stay away to prevent it. This did no good for the earl of Lincoln: Elizabeth broke into his Chelsea residence, had a feast, and then charged the bill to Lincoln.
Quote of the Day
"I have no political ambitions for myself or my children.
"
~ Joseph P. Kennedy
On This Day
98 Trajan became Roman Emperor. By the time of his death, the territories of the Roman Empire had extended to their maximum extent.
1343 Pope Clement VI sanctioned the selling of indulgences, whereby a person could buy a pardon for sins committed.
1596 Francis Drake, privateer, slaver and circumnavigator of the globe, died of dysentery in Panama.
1606 The trial of Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators began. Unsurprisingly, they were all found guilty of high treason.
1756 Child prodidgy and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
1943 The US Air Force launched the first American bombing raid in Germany during World War II.
1944 The Siege of Leningrad ended, 872 days after it began. 632,000 residents had died and the Red Army suffered about 3.5 million casualties
1945 The Soviets liberated Auschwitz concentration camp. Among other things, they found 7.7 tonnes of hair.
1967 Three astronauts died in a fire during tests for the Apollo 1 space mission. They were the first Americans to die in a spacecraft.
1973 The Paris Peace Accords was signed, with the intention of ending the Vietnam War.
1993 Veronica Bland became the first person in the UK to win compensation for injury at work due to passive smoking.
