One of the earliest precisely dated events is two people getting drunk, on 22 October 2137 BCE.
Fact of the Day
Quote of the Day
"Increased means and increased leisure are the two civilisers of man.
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~ Benjamin Disraeli
On This Day
1715 The French monk Dom Pérignon died, aged 76. It is wrongly claimed that he invented sparkling wine.
1752 Wednesday 2 September was followed by Thursday 14 September when the Gregorian Calendar was introduced into Britain.
1812 Following victory at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon's vanguard entered Moscow. Perhaps as a result of Russian resistance, the city was set on fire and when the fire eventually burnt out four days later, only a small portion of the city, and 12,000 charred bodies, remained.
1852 Military hero and politician Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, died due to the aftereffects of a stroke, aged 83.
1901 US President William McKinley died of the gunshot wounds he'd received from an assassin eight days previously.
1932 Paul Gorguloff, the assassin of French president Paul Doumer, was guillotined. He'd killed Doumer because of a hypnotic vision.
1975 Catholic convert, mother, and founder of Catholic schools, Elizabeth Ann Seton became the first American to be canonized, by Pope Paul VI.