On This Day

3rd June 1539 – Hernando De Soto, Spanish explorer and conquistador, claimed Florida for Spain. 1839 – Lin Tse-hsü destroyed 1.2 million kg of opium in Humen, confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a Casus belli to open hostilities with China, resulting in the First Opium War. 1924 – Franz Kafka died. 1937 – […]

On This Day

29th May 1660 – Charles II was restored to the throne of Great Britain. (It was his birthday too.) 1913 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score; The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris, France, provoking a riot. 1914 – Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; 1,024 people died. 1919 […]

On This Day

10th February 1763 – The Seven Years’ War between Britain and Spain ended when The Treaty of Paris was signed. 2014 – Shirley Temple died.