Days That Changed the World

The currents of History run deep and often unseen beneath the everyday ripple of events. But now and again the current rises to the surface, and the events of a single day shed an exceptional light on the meaning of the past. Such events are the subject of Days that Changed the World. Some of the 50 days described here mark the end of an era; others the start of something new. Many are the dates of bloody battles or murders; others of momentous decisions or breathtaking discoveries. All are remembered as powerful symbols of their time. Our story begins almost 2500 years ago on 28 September 480 before the Christian Era, when the Athenian navy destroyed the Persian invasion fleet in the Bay of Salamis. Had the Persians won we might never have heard the names of Plato, Aristotle or Alexander, nor recognize the word democracy. Charting 50 such defining moments, concluding with 11 September 2001 and the destruction of New York's Twin Towers, Days that Changed the World is a unique and fascinating way to portray the story of world history. These 50 history-making days include: The Battle of the Salamis; The Assassination of Julius Caesar; The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ; The Dedication of Constantinople; The Death of Muhammad; The Coronation of Charlemagne; The Death of Genghis Khan; The Fall of Constantinople; The Defeat of the Spanish Armada; The Defenestration of Prague; The Fall of the Bastille; The Battle of Waterloo; Parliament Passing the Emancipation Act; The Battle of Sedan; The Boxer Rebellion; The First Day of the Somme; The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbour; The Bombing of Hiroshima; Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream'; The Breaching of the Berlin Wall; Nelson Mandela's Release from Prison; Nine Eleven.28 September 480BC - The Battle of Salamis. 15 March 44BC - The Assassination of Julius Caesar. Good Friday c30AD - The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 11 May 330 - The Dedication of Constantinople. 31 December 406 - A Confederacy of German Tribes Crosses the Rhine. 7 December 632 - The Death of Muhammad. 11 October 732 - The Battle of Tours. 25 December 800 - The Coronation of Charlemagne. 27 November 1095 - Pope Urban II Preaches the First Crusade. 25 August 1227 - The Death of Genghis Khan. 29 May 1453 - The Fall of Constantinople. 12 October 1492 - Columbus Makes Landfall in the Bahamas. 20 September 1519 - Magellan Sets Sail for South America. 18 April 1521 - Luther Defies Charles V at the Diet of Worms. 29 July 1588 - The Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 21 October 1600 - Tokugawa Ieyasu Wins the Battle of Sekigahara. 24 May 1607 - The Foundation of Jamestown, Virginia. 23 May 1618 - The Defenestration of Prague. 5 June 1661 - Isaac Newton Matriculates at Cambridge University. 12 September 1683 - The Ottomans Abandon the Siege of Vienna. 11 April 1713 - The Peace of Utrecht. 26 August 1768 - The Endeavour Leaves Plymouth. 4 July 1776 - The US Declaration of Independence. 14 July 1789 - The Fall of the Bastille. 18 June 1815 - The Battle of Waterloo. 17 December 1819 - Simon Bolivar Named President of Gran Colombia. 15 September 1830 - Opening of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway. 23 August 1833 - Parliament Passes the Emancipation Act. 8 July 1853 - Commodore Perry Anchors in Tokyo Bay. 9 April 1865 - Robert E. Lee Surrenders at Appomattox. 1 September 1870 - The Battle of Sedan. 7 March 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell Develops the Telephone. 20 June 1900 - The Boxer Rebellion. 30 June 1905 - E=MC2: The Special Theory of Relativity. 28 June 1914 - The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo. 1 July 1916 - The First Day on the Somme. 7 November 1917 - The Storming of the Winter Palace. 22 June 1941 - Operation Barbarossa. 7 December 1941 - The Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor. 6 August 1945 - The Bombing of Hiroshima. 25 March 1957 - The Treaties of Rome. 28 October 1962 - Khrushchev Agrees to Remove Missiles from Cuba. 28 August 1963 - 'I Have a Dream'. 21 July 1969 - 'The Eagle Has Landed'. 29 March 1973 - The Last US Troops Leave Vietnam. 16 October 1973 - OPEC Raises the Price of Oil. 3 February 1976 - The Rise to Power of William Henry Gates III. 9 November 1989 - The Breaching of the Berlin Wall. 11 February 1990 - Nelson Mandela is Released from Prison. 11 September 2001 - Nine Eleven. Index.