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31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in May 2026

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in May 2026

Posted on by admin

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in May 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 May 1776 – 250 years ago
The Illuminati (officially the Bavarian Illuminati), a secret society, was founded in Bavaria, Germany. Its purpose was to oppose superstition, religious influence on public life, the government’s abuse of power, and the deliberate presentation of information in an obscure manner to prevent understanding and inquiry. The society was banned in 1784, but continued to operate underground. Other secret groups have used the same name, and are the subject of conspiracy theories.

2 May 1946 to 4th – 80 years ago
The Battle of Alcatraz. Alcatraz federal prison in San Francisco Bay, California, USA was taken over by prisoners after a failed escape attempt. A violent battle ensued.

3 May 1966 – 60 years ago
The game Twister was featured on The Tonight Show in the USA. Host Johnny Carson played it with actress and socialite Eva Gabor. It became an immediate success with people queuing up to buy it the next day. The manufacturer, Milton Bradley, had been considering withdrawing it as they thought it was too risqué.

4 May 1776 – 250 years ago
American Revolution: Rhode Island became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown and declare independence.

5 May 1961 – 65 years ago
Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space. He made a fifteen-minute sub-orbital flight aboard Freedom 7.

6 May 1966 – 60 years ago
The Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, were sentenced to life imprisonment in the UK. Brady was convicted of three murders and Hindley of two, though they later confessed to a total of five. Their victims were aged between 10 and 17.

7 May 1946 – 80 years ago
Sony, the Japanese consumer electronics company, was founded (as the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation).

8 May 1946 – 80 years ago
Two schoolgirls blew up a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia to avenge the Soviet destruction of Estonian war memorials. They were arrested and sent to a forced labour camp. The memorial was replaced in September 1947 with a new memorial: the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.

9 May 1951 – 75 years ago
The Lake District National Park was established in England. It was Britain’s second national park.

10 May to 10 Nov 1876 – 150 years ago
The Centennial International Exposition was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It celebrated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was the first World’s Fair to be held in the USA.

11 May 2001 – 25 years ago
Death of Douglas Adams, British comic writer and dramatist. Best known for the radio/TV/novel series and film The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

12 May 1926 – 100 years ago
The first undisputed flight over the North Pole was made by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and fifteen others in the airship Norge. (Three earlier claims in 1908, 1909, and 9th May 1926 are all disputed.)

13 May 1946 – 80 years ago
The first trial of staff from the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria ended. All 61 defendants were convicted, with 58 sentenced to death and the others to life imprisonment. Nine of those sentenced to death later had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. The others were executed in May 1947.

14 May 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Eric Morecambe, British comedian (Morecambe and Wise). (Died 1984.)

15 May 2001 – 25 years ago
The British High Court abolished price-fixing on non-prescription drugs. Supermarkets immediately slashed the price of over-the-counter medicines.

16 May 1966 – 60 years ago
The Beach Boys’ album Pet Sounds was released.

17 May 1996 – 30 years ago
Megan’s Law came into effect in the USA. The public must be notified if dangerous sex offenders are released into their community.

18 May 1961 – 65 years ago
The first community nuclear fallout shelter in the USA was dedicated: the Highlands Community Fallout Shelter in Boise, Idaho. It could hold 1,000 people. Family membership cost $100.

19 May 2001 – 25 years ago
Apple opened its first two retail stores in the USA, at Tysons Corner Center in Virginia, and Glendale Galleria in California.

20 to 29 May 526 – 1500 years ago
Antioch earthquake, Syria. Around 250,000 people were killed, especially in the city of Antioch where a fire destroyed most of the buildings that had been left standing. The ruins of the city are near the modern city of Antakya in Turkey.
The exact date of the earthquake is uncertain.

21 May 1901 – 125 years ago
Connecticut became the first U.S. state to introduce speed limits for motor vehicles: 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on rural roads.

22 May 1946 – 80 years ago
The first U.S. rocket to reach space (a WAC Corporal) was launched at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (A German V-2 was the first rocket to reach space, in June 1944.)

23 May 1951 – 75 years ago
China annexed Tibet after pressuring Tibetan negotiators to sign the Seventeen Point Agreement – which many argue they had no real authority to sign and is therefore invalid. The Tibetan government remained in place, but was dissolved in 1959 following an uprising that forced the Dalai Lama into exile. Tibet Autonomous Region was established in 1965.

24 May 1956 – 70 years ago
The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland. It was won by Switzerland.

25 May 1726? – 300 years ago
The world’s first Circulating Library (lending library) was launched by Scottish poet and bookseller Allan Ramsay at his bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland. He rented the books from his shop to his customers. Lending libraries soon became popular – several opened in England in 1728. (The date is uncertain. Sources give various dates between 1725 and 1728.)

26 May 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer. (Died 1991.)

27 May 1926 – 100 years ago
The Rif War in Morocco ended and the Republic of the Rif was dissolved.

28 May 1951 – 75 years ago
The first episode of the radio comedy series The Goon Show was broadcast in the UK. It ran until 1960. (The first series was called Crazy People).

29 May 1826 – 200 years ago
Birth of Ebenezer Butterick, American tailor who invented tissue paper dress patterns in multiple sizes with his wife Ellen. Their invention revolutionised home dressmaking.

30 May 1966 – 60 years ago
British rock band the Beatles released the song Paperback Writer. The B-side of the single was the song Rain, which was the first record to feature backward vocals.

31 May 1996 – 30 years ago
Death of Timothy Leary, American psychologist and writer. A leading advocate of LSD and other psychedelic drugs.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in April 2026

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in April 2026

Posted on by admin

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in April 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Apr 1826 – 200 years ago
American inventor Samuel Morey was granted a U.S. patent for one of the first internal combustion engines. His engine worked in a different way to modern ones, and was more complex and less efficient. (U.S. Patent 4,378.)

2 Apr 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Jack Brabham, Australian racing driver. Formula One world champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966. Founder of the Brabham racing team. The only driver to win the Formula One world championship in one of his own cars. (Died 2014.)

3 Apr 1901 – 125 years ago
Death of Richard D’Oyly Carte, British theatrical impresario. He built the Savoy Theatre and the Palace Theatre in London, managed some of the most important theatrical stars of the era, founded a touring opera company, and owned a chain of luxury hotels.

4 Apr 1826 – 200 years ago
Birth of Zénobe Gramme, Belgian electrical engineer. Best known for inventing the Gramme machine, the first successful industrial electric motor. It was also reversible and could function as a dynamo.

5 Apr 1976 – 50 years ago
Death of Howard Hughes, American business tycoon, record-breaking aviator, Hollywood film producer and philanthropist. One of the world’s richest people. Noted for his eccentric/reclusive lifestyle in later years.

6 Apr 1926 – 100 years ago
United Airlines was founded in the USA (as Varney Air Lines).
It became Boeing Air Transport in 1927 and United Air Lines in 1931.

7 Apr 1986 – 40 years ago
British home computer pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair sold his entire computer product range and the Sinclair brand name to Amstrad for £5 million ($6.73 million).

8 Apr 1946 – 80 years ago
Électricité de France (EDF), the world’s largest utility company, was founded when around 1,700 French energy producers, transporters and distributors were nationalised.

9 Apr 1626 – 400 years ago
Death of Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban, English philosopher and politician. Attorney General of England and Wales (1613–17), Lord High Chancellor of England (1617–21). He is known as the ‘Father of empiricism’ and his works influenced the scientific revolution in Europe.

10 Apr 1966 – 60 years ago
Death of Evelyn Waugh, British satirical novelist, biographer and travel writer (Decline and Fall, A Handful of Dust, Brideshead Revisited, Sword of Honour).

11 Apr 1951 – 75 years ago
Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his command in Korea for insubordination. MacArthur retired from the military on 19th April. In his speech to Congress he said, ‘Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’

12 Apr 1961 – 65 years ago
The first person in space.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space and the first to orbit the Earth, in Vostok I.
He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

13 Apr 1986 – 40 years ago
The first recorded papal visit to a synagogue. Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in Italy.

14 Apr 1956 – 70 years ago
Ampex Corporation demonstrated the world’s first commercially successful videotape recorder (the VRX-1000) at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
It was first used on the CBS Evening News in November 1956 to time delay the New York-based show by three hours for the West Coast. It cost $50,000, which only networks and large TV stations could afford.

15 Apr 1901 – 125 years ago
Birth of Joe Davis, British snooker and billiards player. He co-founded the World Snooker Championship in 1927, and won the first 15 championships. He was also the first recorded snooker player to score a maximum break (147).

16 Apr 1996 – 30 years ago
France Télécom launched its Wanadoo internet service. It took over the British service Freeserve in 2000 and was rebranded as Orange in 2006.

17 Apr 1951 – 75 years ago
The Peak District National Park was established. It was Britain’s first national park.

18 Apr 1946 – 80 years ago
Nuclear physicists John von Neumann from Hungary and Klaus Fuchs from Germany invented the hydrogen bomb at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. (Secret U.S. Patent S-5292X.)

19 Apr 1951 – 75 years ago
The first Miss World beauty contest was held, in London, UK.

20 Apr 1951 – 75 years ago
Whirlwind I, the first real-time digital computer began operating. It was the first computer to allow interactive computing via a keyboard and visual display unit. It was built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the U.S. Navy, who wanted it to control a flight simulator. It was also connected to a radar system and used for tracking aircraft and warning of air attacks.

21 Apr 1966 – 60 years ago
Grounation Day. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visited Jamaica. This day is now celebrated annually by the Rastafari movement as one of their most important holy days.

22 Apr 2001 – 25 years ago
The world premiere of the computer-animated comedy film Shrek, in Westwood, California, USA.
Released USA: 18th May. UK: 29th June.

23 Apr 1951 – 75 years ago
The Associated Press began using the first teletypesetter. It allowed newspapers to automatically set type directly from wire transmissions.

24 Apr 1926 – 100 years ago
The Treaty of Berlin was signed by Germany and the Soviet Union. They pledged to remain neutral in the event of an attack on the other country by a third party during the next five years.
The treaty was renewed in 1931, but relations broke down after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933.

25 Apr 1961 – 65 years ago
American engineer Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor was granted a U.S. patent for the integrated circuit. (U.S. Patent 2,981,877.)

26 Apr 1956 – 70 years ago
The world’s first commercially successful container ship went into service, launching a revolution in transportation. The SS Ideal X was a converted WWII oil tanker, which carried 58 containers from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas on its first voyage.
(It was not the first container ship. The first was the Clifford J. Rodgers, which went into service in 1955.)

27 Apr 1956 – 70 years ago
American heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano retired undefeated: 49 wins and no losses.

28 Apr 2001 – 25 years ago
American businessman Dennis Tito became the world’s first space tourist. He travelled on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a seven-day visit to the International Space Station. He paid $20 million (£12.5 million).

29 Apr 1946 – 80 years ago
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was convened to try Japanese war criminals following the end of WWII. Those indicted included former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and 28 other leaders.

30 Apr 1961 – 65 years ago
The Soviet submarine K-19 was commissioned. It was the first Soviet nuclear submarine to be equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles. It remained in service until 1990, but experienced several breakdowns and accidents while in service.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in March 2026

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in March 2026

Posted on by admin

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in March 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Mar 1901 – 125 years ago
The Australian Army was founded.

2 Mar 1901 – 125 years ago
U.S. Steel (the United States Steel Corporation) was founded by J. P. Morgan when the Carnegie Steel Company merged with the Federal Steel Company and the National Steel Company.
Andrew Carnegie announced his retirement on 13th March and said he would become a philanthropist and give away his fortune.

3 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
The first rock and roll record, Rocket 88, was recorded by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
(The Delta Cats were actually Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm). The record was released in April.

4 Mar 1966 – 60 years ago
British rock musician John Lennon famously said the Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus’ in an interview for the London Evening Standard. His comment drew no complaints in the UK, but generated huge controversy when it was reprinted in the USA in July. In August, many U.S. radio stations staged public burnings of the Beatles’ records and memorabilia.

5 Mar 1936 – 90 years ago
The Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane made its first flight, in Eastleigh, Southampton, UK.

6 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
Death of Ivor Novello, Welsh composer, playwright, actor, songwriter, entertainer and manager.

7 Mar 1876 – 150 years ago
Scottish-born American inventor Alexander Graham Bell was granted a U.S. patent for the telephone. The patent application was hotly contested by Elisha Gray, who had filed his own patent on the same day as Bell (14th February). (U.S. Patent 174,465.)

8 Mar 1936 – 90 years ago
The first stock car race was held at Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.

9 Mar 1946 – 80 years ago
The Burnden Park football (soccer) stadium disaster, Bolton, UK.
33 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush during a match between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City. The crush was caused by overcrowding, and led to a control on crowd sizes being introduced.

10 Mar 1876 – 150 years ago
The world’s first telephone call. Alexander Graham Bell used his telephone to call his assistant, Thomas Watson, after spilling acid in his laboratory. The first words spoken by telephone were: ‘Mr Watson, come here. I want you.’

11 Mar 2011 – 15 years ago
The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan. 15,897 people were killed, 2,533 went missing and nearly a quarter of a million were made homeless. The earthquake shifted Japan’s main island, Honshu, eight feet (2.4 metres) east. Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant went into meltdown. It was the second-largest nuclear accident in history, after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

12 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
Hank Ketcham’s comic strip Dennis the Menace first appeared in 16 newspapers in the USA.
(Not to be confused with the British comic strip of the same name, which first appeared in the British children’s comic The Beano a few days later. (Issue dated 17th March. On sale from 15th March.)

13 Mar 1996 – 30 years ago
The Dunblane massacre, Scotland.
Thomas Hamilton, a former scout leader, entered Dunblane Primary School, shot dead 16 children and a teacher, and wounded 15 others. He then committed suicide. As a result, the private ownership of handguns was banned in the UK.

14 Mar 1976 – 50 years ago
Death of Busby Berkeley, American film director and choreographer. Known for his elaborate musical production numbers, which often featured large numbers of dancing girls forming kaleidoscopic patterns.

15 Mar 1986 – 40 years ago
Cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyev became the first occupants of the Soviet Union’s Mir space station. They remained on board for 50 days.

16 Mar 1926 – 100 years ago
American physicist and inventor Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first successful liquid-fuelled rocket, in Auburn, Massachusetts. It reached a height of 41 feet (12.5 metres) and landed 184 feet (56 metres) away, demonstrating that liquid propellants were possible. (The site is now a National Historic Landmark: the Goddard Rocket Launching Site.)

17 to 18 Mar 1936 – 90 years ago
The Great St. Patrick’s Day flood, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Warm weather melted snow and ice, and combined with torrential rain to flood the city. About 100,000 buildings were destroyed, steel mills were devastated and workers were made unemployed. The flood caused $250 million worth of damage (equivalent to around $4.75 billion today).

18 Mar 1996 – 30 years ago
The Ozone Disco fire, Quezon City, Philippines.
The worst fire in Philippine history broke out in the nightclub. There were around 350 patrons and 40 staff inside the club at the time, though it was only licensed to hold 35 people. The only exit was a small door that opened inwards, fire extinguishers were defective, and the sprinklers did not work. 162 people were killed and 95 injured. (Cause: electrical fire in the DJ’s booth.) The club’s owners and numerous government officials were subsequently convicted of negligence.

19 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
The novel The Caine Mutiny by American author Herman Wouk was published.
Wouk was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the book, and it was adapted into a film of the same name in 1954.

20 Mar 1956 – 70 years ago
Tunisia gained its independence from France.

21 Mar 2006 – 20 years ago
Twitter (later renamed X), the online social networking/micro-blogging service, was founded. Its website went live on 15th July.

22 Mar 2001 – 25 years ago
Death of William Hanna, American cartoon animator. Co-founder of Hanna-Barbera (with Joseph Barbera). They created popular characters including Tom and Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, and the Jetsons.

23 Mar 1956 – 70 years ago
Pakistan became the world’s first Islamic Republic.

24 Mar 1776 – 250 years ago
Death of John Harrison, British carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, which enabled sailors to calculate longitude at sea.

25 Mar 1946 – 80 years ago
London’s Heathrow Airport was opened (as London Airport – it was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966).

26 Mar 2001 – 25 years ago
The UK Post Office was rebranded as Consignia, at a cost of around £2 million. The new name proved extremely unpopular and it was renamed Royal Mail Group in 2002.

27 Mar 1851 – 175 years ago
The first recorded sighting of Yosemite Valley in California, USA by non-Native Americans (the Mariposa Battalion).

28 Mar 1776 – 250 years ago
The Presidio of San Francisco was established in California, USA. It became a fortified U.S. Army post and is now a park and a National Historic Landmark.

29 and 30 Mar 1901 – 125 years ago
The first federal elections were held in Australia, to elect members of the first Parliament of Australia.

30 Mar 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman who founded the furniture retail company IKEA. (Died 2018.)

31 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
UNIVAC I was unveiled. It was the first commercial computer built in the USA that was designed for business and administrative use (rather than scientific/ military use). It was built by the Sperry Rand Corporation for the U.S. Census Bureau.
It was officially dedicated on 14th June.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

29 newsworthy historical anniversaries in February 2026

29 newsworthy historical anniversaries in February 2026

Posted on by admin

Here are 29 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in February 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Feb 1951 – 75 years ago
The first live television broadcast of an atomic explosion.
KTLA in Los Angeles, California, USA broadcast an atomic test at Frenchman Flats in Nevada, filming it from a mountain 250 miles away.

2 Feb 1946 – 80 years ago
Trygve Lie of Norway became the first Secretary-General of the United Nations (until 1952).

3 Feb 1966 – 60 years ago
The Soviet Union’s space probe Luna 9 became the first craft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
(The USA’s Surveyor 1 achieved the same feat four months later, on 2nd June.)

4 Feb 1826 – 200 years ago
James Fenimore Cooper’s historical romance novel The Last of the Mohicans was published.

5 Feb 1996 – 30 years ago
The first genetically modified food went on sale in the UK: tomato purée made from tomatoes which had had the ‘rotting gene’ removed. The product was withdrawn in 1999 following strong opposition.

6 Feb 1951 – 75 years ago
The Woodbridge train derailment, New Jersey, USA.
One of the worst rail disasters in U.S. history. 86 people were killed and more than 500 injured.

7 Feb 1936 – 90 years ago
The first official flag of the Vice President of the USA was established. The current design was adopted in 1975.

8 Feb 1876 to 1877 – 150 years ago
The Great Sioux War, USA.
Following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, the USA announced that it would take possession of the hills, remove the Native Americans, and relocate them to smaller reservations. The Native Americans refused to cede their lands to the USA and launched a series of battles. U.S. Victory.

9 Feb 1926 – 100 years ago
The Atlanta Board of Education in Georgia, USA banned the teaching of the theory of evolution in schools. The ban was lifted in May when legal advisers said they had no authority to ban the textbooks they had listed.

10 Feb 1996 – 30 years ago
IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue defeated the reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, in the first of their six games. It was the first time a computer beat a world champion under tournament conditions. Kasparov won the tournament 4–2. But he was defeated when he played Deep Blue again the following year.

11 Feb 1826 – 200 years ago
University College London (UCL) was founded (as London University).

12 Feb 2001 – 25 years ago
NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landed on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. It continued to transmit data for 16 days.

13 Feb 1826 – 200 years ago
The American Temperance Society was established in Boston, Massachusetts.

14 Feb 1876 – 150 years ago
Electrical engineers Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray both filed U.S. patents for the invention of the telephone on the same day. There is considerable debate as to whose patent was filed first. Bell was awarded the patent on 7th March (U.S. Patent 174,465), but Gray challenged it and said Bell had stolen his design. An examiner concluded that although Gray had invented some of the essential components of the telephone, and had discussed them with Bell, Bell was the first to put them together as a telephone, test them, and write the idea down.

15 Feb 1946 – 80 years ago
ENIAC (the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was dedicated at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. It was proclaimed as the world’s first large-scale general-purpose digital computer.
(It was not actually the first, but it was the first to be made public. Britain’s Colossus and Germany’s Z3 already existed, but were secret at that time. )

16 Feb 1956 – 70 years ago
McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic research station, was established on Ross Island. It is now the largest community in Antarctica, and can support up to 1,258 residents.

17 Feb 1776 – 250 years ago
Volume I of Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was published.
Volumes II and III were published in 1781 and Volumes IV, V and VI in 1788–89.

18 Feb 1901 – 125 years ago
British engineer Hubert Cecil Booth patented his invention of the vacuum cleaner.
His system was too large for domestic use. It, and was taken to people’s homes on a horse-drawn carriage, where employees sucked dust out of the building using hoses. He founded the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co. He also founded Goblin Vacuum Cleaners in the 1930s. (He also designed Ferris wheels, suspension bridges and factories.)

19 Feb 2001 – 25 years ago
The first case of foot-and-mouth disease in the 2001 UK outbreak was detected at an abattoir in Essex.
On 21st February the European Commission banned all British milk, meat and livestock exports.

20 Feb 1986 – 40 years ago
The Soviet Union launched the Mir space station. It remained in orbit until 2001.

21 Feb 1986 – 40 years ago
Nintendo released the fantasy action-adventure video game The Legend of Zelda. It was the first game in a series that continues to this day. Several games in the series are regarded as being among the greatest video games of all time.

22 Feb 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Kenneth Williams, British comedy actor and comedian. Star of numerous radio and television shows and 26 Carry On… films. (Died 1988.)

23 Feb 1976 – 50 years ago
Death of L. S. Lowry, British artist. Known for his bleak industrial landscapes of north-west England, populated with ‘matchstick men’.

24 Feb 1826 – 200 years ago
The First Anglo–Burmese War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo. British victory, which led to the establishment of British rule in India. (The war began in March 1824.)

25 Feb to 9 Mar 1951 – 75 years ago
The first Pan American Games were held, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

26 Feb 1951 – 75 years ago
American author James Jones’s novel From Here to Eternity was published.

27 Feb 1996 – 30 years ago
The Pokémon media franchise was launched by Japanese video game designer Satoshi Tajiri.

28 Feb 1901 – 125 years ago
Birth of Linus Pauling, American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, writer and educator. One of the most important scientists in history. Winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into chemical bonds, and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign against nuclear weapons testing.

29 Feb 1996 – 30 years ago
A court ruled that British actress and novelist Joan Collins was entitled to keep a $1.3 million advance from the publisher Random House, plus a further $1.3 million for delivering her manuscripts on time. Random House had claimed that her two books were unpublishable and had demanded their money back.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in January 2026

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in January 2026

Posted on by admin

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in January 2026 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2026, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Jan 1776 – 250 years ago
American Revolution: according to tradition, George Washington raised the first American flag, the Grand Union Flag, at Prospect Hill in Charlestown, Somerville, Massachusetts on this date.

2 Jan 1946 – 80 years ago
King Zog I of Albania abdicated as he was unable to resume the throne following World War II. He had been in exile in the UK since 1939. Prime Minister Enver Hoxha declared Albania a republic on 11th January.

3 Jan 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of George Martin, British record producer, arranger, composer, musician and audio engineer. Best known for producing the Beatles’ records, and sometimes referred to as the ‘Fifth Beatle’. (Died 2016.)

4 Jan 1986 – 40 years ago
Death of Phil Lynott, British-born Irish rock singer and musician (Thin Lizzy).
(Alcohol and drug-related septicaemia, pneumonia and heart failure, aged 36.)

5 Jan 1976 – 50 years ago
Pol Pot’s communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia proclaimed a new constitution and renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea. The regime collapsed in 1979 and the country was renamed the People’s Republic of Kampuchea until May 1989 when it became the State of Cambodia.

6 Jan 1946 – 80 years ago
The first general election was held in North Vietnam, to elect members of the National Assembly. The communist-led Viet Minh won the most seats. The National Assembly held its first session on 2nd March.

7 to 12 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
The first national bowling tournament sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress (now the United States Bowling Congress) was held in Chicago, Illinois.

8 Jan 1946 – 80 years ago
American singer Elvis Presley received his first guitar for his 11th birthday. (Apparently he would have preferred a bicycle or a rifle.)

9 Jan 1951 – 75 years ago
The beginning of the jet age – the world’s first passenger jet flight.
A U.S. de Havilland Comet flew from Chicago, Illinois to New York City. The Comet officially entered service with BOAC (now British Airways) on 2nd May 1952.

10 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
The first major oil field in the USA was discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas. It marked that beginning of the U.S. oil industry.

11 Jan 1951 – 75 years ago
The USA established the Nevada Test Site (now the Nevada National Security Site) for testing nuclear devices. The first test was carried out on 27th January when a 1-kiloton bomb was dropped on Frenchman Flat, a dry lake bed.

12 Jan 1966 – 60 years ago
The first episode of the television series Batman was broadcast on ABC in the USA. It ran for three seasons until 1968.

13 Jan 1926 – 100 years ago
Birth of Michael Bond, British children’s writer who created the characters Paddington Bear and Monsieur Pamplemousse. (Died 2017.)

14 Jan 1976 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the science fiction television series The Bionic Woman was broadcast on ABC in the USA. It was a spin-off show from The Six Million Dollar Man and ran for three seasons.

15 Jan 1961 – 65 years ago
The Supremes (then known as the Primettes) were signed to Motown Records. A condition of signing was that they changed their name.

16 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
Birth of Fulgencio Batista, President of Cuba (1940–44), President/dictator of Cuba (1952–59).

17 Jan 1966 – 60 years ago
The Palomares Incident, Spain.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with a Boeing Stratotanker over the Mediterranean Sea. The Stratotanker exploded, killing all four crew. Three of the B-52’s seven crew were killed. Three of the bombs landed near Palomares and were recovered – the non-nuclear explosives in two of them had detonated, contaminating the area with plutonium. The fourth bomb was recovered safely on 7th April.

18 Jan 1951 – 75 years ago
Mount Lamington volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted. About 3,000 people were killed.

19 Jan 1986 – 40 years ago
The first computer virus to affect IBM-compatible personal computers appeared.
The virus, called (c) Brain, was created by two brothers from Pakistan, and spread via infected floppy disks. The very first computer virus was Creeper, which appeared in 1971 and infected DEC PDP-10 mainframe computers. The first virus to infect personal computers was Elk Cloner, which appeared in 1982 and infected Apple II computers.

20 Jan 1961 – 65 years ago
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States.
On the same day, American actress Marilyn Monroe travelled to Mexico, where she was granted a divorce from her third husband, the playwright Arthur Miller. It was much easier to obtain a divorce in Mexico than in the USA, and she chose this date because the media was focused on John F. Kennedy’s inauguration as U.S. President.

21 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
Death of Elisha Gray, American electrical engineer. Co-founder of Western Electric. Regarded by many as the true inventor of the telephone rather than Alexander Graham Bell.

22 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
Death of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

23 Jan 1986 – 40 years ago
The first members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley.

24 Jan 1986 to 5 Feb 1987 – 40 years ago
The Wapping Dispute. Six thousands newspaper workers in London began a year-long strike against News International. There were several outbreaks of violence during the strike and over 1,000 arrests. The strike ultimately failed, ending restrictive trade union practices in the British newspaper publishing industry.

25 Jan 1726 – 300 years ago
Death of Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer. Noted for his accurate maps of Europe and the Americas.

26 Jan 1926 – 100 years ago
Scottish engineer and inventor John Logie Baird gave the first demonstration of his television system to members of the Royal Institution and a reporter from The Times newspaper, at his laboratory in London.

27 Jan 1901 – 125 years ago
Death of Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer. Best known for his operas, including Aida, Requiem, Otello and Falstaff.

28 Jan 1986 – 40 years ago
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
The U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. All seven astronauts were killed, including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.

29 Jan 1996 – 30 years ago
France announced that it would no longer test nuclear weapons.
It had carried out six tests (of a planned series of eight) at Moruroa Atoll and Fangataufa Atoll in the Pacific between September 1995 and January 1996, leading to international protests and boycotts of French products.

30 Jan 1826 – 200 years ago
The Menai Suspension Bridge was opened in the UK.
It links the island of Anglesey to mainland Wales. It was the world’s first major suspension bridge.

31 Jan 1976 – 50 years ago
Death of Ernesto Miranda, American labourer whose conviction for kidnapping, rape and armed robbery was reversed when it was revealed that he had been interrogated by police and signed a confession without being told he had the right to remain silent or to have a lawyer present. This landmark case led to the police having to give ‘Miranda warnings’ to everyone they arrested, to inform them of their rights.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2026.

The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

Share this:

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in December 2025

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in December 2025

Posted on by admin

Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in December 2025 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2025, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Dec 1825 – 200 years ago
Death of Alexander I, Emperor of Russia (1801–25). (Typhus, aged 47.)
Succeeded by his brother, Nicholas I.

2 Dec 1975 – 50 years ago
The sixteen-year Laotian Civil War ended when the communist political group Pathet Lao seized power, abolished the monarchy, and established the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

3 Dec 1965 – 60 years ago
The Beatles’ album Rubber Soul was released. They also began their last tour of Britain on this date.

4 Dec 1995 – 30 years ago
The first version of the computer programming language JavaScript was released.
It enabled the development of interactive web pages, and is now used by over 97 percent of websites.

5 Dec 1945 – 80 years ago
Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. Navy bombers, disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle during a training flight. They were never seen again.

6 Dec 1925 – 100 years ago
The border between Egypt and Libya was formally established when Egypt and Italy signed the Jaghbub treaty, which finalised its position.

7 Dec 1925 – 100 years ago
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre opened on Broadway, New York City, USA (as the Biltmore Theatre).

8 Dec 1975 – 50 years ago
The world’s first computer retail store, the Byte Shop, opened in Mountain View, California, USA.
It helped popularise the personal computer, and was the first retailer to sell an Apple computer (the Apple I). Founder Paul Terrell’s order for the first fifty units helped fund Apple in its early days and convinced Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs that there was a market for personal computers.

9 Dec 1965 – 60 years ago
The Kecksburg UFO incident, Pennsylvania, USA
A large, bright fireball was seen from six U.S. states and was reported to have crashed in woods near Pittsburgh. Numerous theories and conspiracy theories have been put forward.

10 Dec 1950 – 75 years ago
Dr Ralph Bunche became the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, for his efforts to mediate between Israel and nearby Arab states.

11 Dec 2005 – 20 years ago
The Buncefield Oil Depot fire, Hertfordshire, UK.
An oil storage tank exploded when an unconfined vapour cloud ignited, causing nearby tanks to explode. 43 people were injured. The explosion was so loud that it was heard in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

12 Dec 1925 – 100 years ago
The world’s first motel opened in San Luis Obispo, California, USA.
Originally named the Milestone Mo-Tel, it is now known as the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo. (It closed down in 1991. Earlier motels dating back to 1915 have been discovered, though they did not use the name motel.

13 Dec 1950 – 75 years ago
American actor James Dean made his first television appearance, in a commercial for Pepsi Cola.

14 Dec 1950 – 75 years ago
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (also known as the UN Refugee Agency) was established.

15 Dec 1965 – 60 years ago
Vietnam War: U.S. Air Force bombers attacked industrial targets in North Vietnam for the first time.
The first attack destroyed the Uong Bi power plant, which supplied power to Haiphong and the capital, Hanoi. Five U.S. planes were shot down during the attack.

16 Dec 1775 – 250 years ago
Birth of Jane Austen, British novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion).

17 Dec 1900 – 125 years ago
The Prix Guzman (aka the Pierre Guzman Prize) was announced in France. A prize of 100,000 francs (about $580,000 or £430,000 today) would be awarded to anyone who succeeded in communicating with extra-terrestrials from another celestial body (except Mars, which was considered to be inhabited and therefore too easy). Until someone won the prize, smaller prizes would be awarded every five years to those who made significant progress in astronomy and medicine.

18 Dec 1995 – 30 years ago
Death of Konrad Zuse, German engineer who built the world’s first digital computer, the Z3. (Aged 85.)

19 Dec 2005 – 20 years ago
The Civil Partnership Act came into effect in the UK.
The first civil partnership under the act was formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland that day. The first in Scotland was on 20th December, and the first in England and Wales were on 21st December. (The first civil partnership in the UK was formed on 5th December 2005, before the act came into effect, because one of the partners was terminally ill.)

20 Dec 1955 – 70 years ago
Cardiff was proclaimed the capital city of Wales.

21 Dec 1925 – 100 years ago
The première of Sergei Eisenstein’s silent film Battleship Potemkin, in Moscow, Russia.
Released: Russia: 24th December. USA: 5th December 1926.

22 Dec 1965 – 60 years ago
A maximum speed limit of 70 mph was introduced on previously unrestricted roads in Britain.
The limit was introduced on a trial basis but it was made permanent in July 1967.

23 Dec 1975 – 50 years ago
The Metric Conversion Act was signed into law in the USA.
It declared the metric system to be the preferred system of measurement in business, but permitted the use of customary units of measurement in non-business activities. Participation was voluntary.

24 Dec 1945 – 80 years ago
Birth of Lemmy, British rock/heavy metal singer, songwriter and bassist. A member of the bands Motörhead and Hawkwind. Noted for his distinctive appearance, gravelly voice and overpowered bass guitar sound. (Died 2015, aged 70.)

25 Dec 1950 – 75 years ago
The Stone of Scone, the coronation stone of British monarchs, was taken from Westminster Abbey in London by four Scottish students. They transported it to Scotland, but broke it. It was later returned to London and used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1996 it has been kept in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, with the agreement that it will be transported to Westminster Abbey when needed for coronations – including the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

26 Dec 1975 – 50 years ago
The Soviet Union’s Tupolov Tu-144 supersonic airliner went into service. It was nicknamed ‘Concordski’ because of its similarities to the British-French Concorde. Its passenger service was retired three years later, after two of the planes crashed and the others suffered from reliability problems and rising fuel costs. It remained in service as a cargo plane until 1983, and was then used for research and training until 1999.

27 Dec 2000 – 25 years ago
British pharmaceutical companies Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merged, creating the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

28 Dec 1945 – 80 years ago
The U.S. Congress formally recognised the Pledge of Allegiance.
It was written in 1892. Before 1945 it was known as the Pledge to the Flag. It was revised in 1954 when the words ‘under God’ were added.

29 Dec 1975 – 50 years ago
The Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act came into effect in the UK.
It prevents women from being paid less than their male counterparts when they perform the same roles.

30 Dec 1825 – 200 years ago
The Treaty of St. Louis was proclaimed between the USA and the Shawnee Nation.
Peace and friendship between the two nations was renewed, and the Shawnee ceded land near Cape Girardeau, Missouri to the USA.

31 Dec 1775 – 250 years ago
American Revolutionary War – the Battle of Quebec, Canada.
British victory – the first major defeat for the Americans.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2025.

The 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

Share this:

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in November 2025

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in November 2025

Posted on by admin

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in November 2025 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2025, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Nov 1985 – 40 years ago
Quantum Link (also known as Q-Link), an online service for Commodore personal computers, began operating. In 1989, the service was renamed America Online (AOL) and was made available to users of other computers, including the IBM PC.

2 Nov 1950 – 75 years ago
Death of George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and literary critic. Best known for Pygmalion. Winner of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature. Co-founder of the London School of Economics. The only person to win both an Academy Award and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

3 to 9 Nov 1900 – 125 years ago
The first major automobile show in the USA was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

4 Nov 1825 – 200 years ago
The Wedding of the Waters. Following the opening of the Erie Canal on 26th October 1825, the Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, made the ten-day journey to New York Harbor. When his boat anchored off Sandy Hook, he poured a barrel of water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate the Wedding of the Waters.

5 Nov 1935 – 90 years ago
The board game Monopoly was launched by Parker Brothers. Its inventor, Charles Darrow, was awarded a U.S. Patent for it design on 31st December. (U.S. Patent 2,026,082.) He assigned it to Parker Brothers.

6 Nov 1975 – 50 years ago
British punk rock group the Sex Pistols gave their first public performance, at St Martin’s College of Art in London. The performance was cut short after ten minutes and a fight broke out.

7 Nov 1775 – 250 years ago
American Revolutionary War: Dunmore’s Proclamation. John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (also known as Lord Dunmore), Governor of the Province of Virginia, issued a proclamation declaring martial law and offering freedom to any male slaves who left their provincial masters and joined the British Army. Between 800 and 2,000 slaves are reported to have taken up his offer.

8 Nov 1950? – 75 years ago
Korean War: the first all-jet aerial dogfight in history took place, with U.S. jets taking on North Korea’s Chinese-supplied MiG-15s. (Some sources report that the first all-jet dogfight took place a week earlier on 1st November.)

9 Nov 1965 – 60 years ago
The death penalty was abolished in the United Kingdom.

10 Nov 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Richard Burton, Welsh stage and film actor (Cleopatra, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Taming of the Shrew, and many more). Fifth and sixth husband of the actress Elizabeth Taylor. (Died 1984.)

11 Nov 1965 – 60 years ago
Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain. The move was widely condemned, and the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on 20th November.

12 Nov 1995 – 30 years ago
The Croatian War of Independence ended with the signing of the Erdut Agreement.

13 Nov 1925 – 100 years ago
The world’s first exhibition of Surrealist art opened at Galerie Pierre in Paris, France. It included works by Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Man Ray.

14 Nov 1935 – 90 years ago
Holocaust: the Nazis began implementing the Nuremburg Laws, stripping German Jews of their German citizenship. The laws were extended to cover gypsies and negroes on 26th November.

15 Nov 1985 – 40 years ago
The Anglo–Irish Agreement was signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish President Garret Fitzerald. It gave the Irish government a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland.

16 Nov 1945 – 80 years ago
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, was founded.

17 Nov 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Rock Hudson, American film and television actor. One of the most popular film stars of his era. The first major celebrity to die from AIDS. (Died 1985.)

18 Nov 1985 – 40 years ago
The comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson was first published. (It ended in December 1995.)

19 Nov 1995 – 30 years ago
The U.S. première of the film Toy Story. It was the first feature-length computer-generated film, and the first full-length film made by Pixar. (Released USA: 22nd November. UK: 22nd March 1996.)

20 Nov 1985 – 40 years ago
Microsoft Windows 1.0 was released.

21 Nov 1975 – 50 years ago
American mass murderer Ronald DeFeo Jr. was convicted of the Amityville murders in Long Island, New York in November 1974. He shot and killed his mother, father, two brothers and two sisters. The case inspired the novel and film The Amityville Horror. He received six sentences of 25 years to life in prison. He died in 2021.

22 Nov 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Jerrie Mock, American aviator. The first woman to fly solo around the world (1964). (Died 2014.)

23 Nov 1945 to 1 Oct 1946 – 80 years ago
The first Nuremberg trial was held in Germany.
23 of the most important political and military leaders of the Third Reich were tried for war crimes. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death, and ten were executed on 16th October 1946. (The other two were already dead.)

24 Nov 1950 – 75 years ago
The Great Appalachian Storm (also known as The Great Thanksgiving Storm or the Storm of the Century) hit eastern USA and Canada. More than 300 people were killed.

25 Nov 1975 – 50 years ago
American radiologist Robert Ledley was granted a U.S. patent for his invention of the whole-body CT scanner. (U.S. Patent 3,922,552.)

26 Nov 1965 – 60 years ago
France became the world’s third space power when it successfully launched its first satellite Astérix into orbit from Algeria.

27 Nov 1945 – 80 years ago
Care International was founded (as CARE – the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, later renamed the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere). It was originally intended to be a temporary organisation to send food packages to Europe following the end of WWII.

28 Nov 1925 – 100 years ago
The first Grand Ole Opry country music concert was held in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and also broadcast on the radio.

29 Nov 1945 – 80 years ago
Yugoslavia abolished its monarchy and became the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia.

30 Nov 1900 – 125 years ago
Death of Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, short story writer and poet. Known for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his play The Importance of Being Earnest, and his poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol. He was convicted of gross indecency (homosexual acts) and served two years in prison. (Meningitis, aged 46.)

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2025.

The 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

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The Date-A-Base Book 2030 is here

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The Date-A-Base Book 2025 - 2030 front covers

Now available: all of these

including the brand new 2030 edition.

From £12.95 (approx. $16.50) each

Available as e-books (PDF) or printed paperbacks
in British and U.S. editions.

Each e-book also includes an Excel spreadsheet
so you can sort, group and search the anniversaries your own way.

Get yours today

The ideal reference book and ideas source for:

  • Writers and journalists
  • TV/radio producers and broadcasters
  • Production companies
  • Exhibition planners
  • Researchers
  • Bloggers, podcasters and more

Whether you’re a writer or journalist writing for the year ahead, a producer or director working on shows for broadcast in two or three years, or a production company working four to five years ahead, we’ve got you covered.

These specially curated historical anniversaries are the perfect ideas source for:

  • On this day in history features
  • Articles
  • TV and radio features and fillers
  • Documentaries and biopics
  • Events and exhibitions
  • And more

Newsworthy, notable, relevant and accurate

We only include the relevant anniversaries for each year – for example, those that are 25, 50, 75 and 100 years old*.

We only include people and events that are newsworthy, notable and worth writing about.

Each anniversary has been cross-checked with official sources for complete accuracy.

 (*We cover a wide range of dates, from 10 years ago to more than 1,000 years ago.)

Widely used, loved and trusted

Trusted by writers, journalists, producers and broadcasters worldwide for 23 years. No wonder so many come back year after year.

“A DEEPLY RESEARCHED GOLDMINE OF IDEAS: For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-A-Base Books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable elsewhere. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.” ~ Richard

“A BRILLIANT RESOURCE AS USUAL: This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.” ~ Chris

Find out more . . .

You’ll find full details and sample pages here.

PS: Get a 20% discount if you buy two or more e-book editions in a single purchase.
No discount code required.

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in October 2025

31 newsworthy historical anniversaries in October 2025

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Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in October 2025 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2025, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 are also available.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Oct 1975 – 50 years ago
The Thrilla in Manila. Muhammad Ali knocked out Joe Frazier to win the World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.

2 Oct 1925 – 100 years ago
Scottish engineer John Logie Baird performed the first successful test of a working television system. His system used a mechanical spinning disc. He gave the first public demonstration in January 1926.

3 Oct 1950 – 75 years ago
American researchers John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley of AT&T Bell Laboratories were granted a U.S. patent for their invention of the transistor. (U.S. Patent 2,524,035.) They were also awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

4 Oct 1925 – 100 years ago
The New York Giants American football team played their first game. They beat New Britain, Connecticut 26–0.

5 Oct 1945 – 80 years ago
The Indonesian Army was founded (as the People’s Security Army).

6 Oct 1985 – 40 years ago
The Broadwater Farm housing estate riot, Tottenham, London, UK. Metropolitan Police constable Keith Blakelock was killed – the first British constable to be killed in a riot since 1833. There were also riots in Toxteth, Liverpool and Peckham, London on 1st October.

7 Oct 1950 – 75 years ago
China invaded Tibet. Tibetan forces were overcome by 19th October, and Tibet despatched a delegation to China to agree terms for China’s annexation of Tibet.

8 Oct 1965 – 60 years ago
The Post Office Tower (now the BT Tower) in London was officially opened. It was the tallest building in the UK until 1980.

9 Oct 1825 – 200 years ago
The Norwegian ship Restauration arrived in New York Harbor, USA after a three-month voyage. It carried the first organised group of immigrants from Norway to the USA. The ship has been nicknamed the ‘Norse Mayflower‘.

10 Oct 1935 – 90 years ago
George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway. It is regarded as the first great American opera.

11 Oct 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. Best known for his crime fiction and suspense thrillers. (Died 2013.)

12 Oct 1875 – 150 years ago
Birth of Aleister Crowley, British occultist, ceremonial magician and writer. Known as ‘the wickedest man in the world’ and ‘the Great Beast’.

13 Oct 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–90). (Died 2013.)

14 Oct 1995 – 30 years ago
Death of Ellis Peters (pen name of Edith Pargeter), British historical/mystery novelist. Best known for the Brother Cadfael series.

15 Oct 1950 – 75 years ago
The world’s first radio paging service began operating at the Jewish Hospital in New York City, USA. It had a range of 30 miles. The first page was sent to a doctor who was playing golf 25 miles away.

16 Oct 1945 – 80 years ago
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded.

17 Oct 1985 – 40 years ago
Intel launched the 80386 32-bit microprocessor, commonly known as the 386.

18 Oct 1985 – 40 years ago
Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the USA.
(Europe: 1st September 1986.)

19 Oct 1955 – 70 years ago
The discovery of the antiproton was announced by Emilio Segrè and Owen Chamberlain from the University of California, Berkeley in the USA. They were awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics.

20 Oct 1955 – 70 years ago
Little Richard’s pioneering rock and roll song Tutti Frutti was released. It became his first major hit, and was a model for future rock songs.

21/22 Oct 1945 – 80 years ago
Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón married actress Eva Duarte (‘Evita’).

22 Oct 1975 – 50 years ago
The ‘Guildford Four’ were convicted of planting IRA bombs in two pubs in Guildford, Surrey, UK, which killed five people. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their convictions were reversed in 1989 and they were released.

23 to 24 Oct 1850 – 175 years ago
The first National Women’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

24 Oct 1945 – 80 years ago
The United Nations was formally established and began operating. It replaced the League of Nations.

25 Oct 1825 – 200 years ago
Birth of Johann Strauss II, (‘the Waltz King’), Austrian composer. Best known for his waltzes, including The Blue Danube.

26 Oct 1825 – 200 years ago
The Erie Canal opened in the USA. It links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Niagara River and the Hudson River.

27 Oct 1275 – 750 years ago
The city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands was traditionally founded on this date.

28 Oct 1965 – 60 years ago
Pope Paul VI absolved the Jews of their collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as part of his decree Nostra Aetate (meaning: In Our Time).

29 Oct 1945 – 80 years ago
The first commercially successful ballpoint pen went on sale at Gimbels department store in New York City, USA.
(Ballpoint pens were launched in the UK in December 1945.)

30 Oct 1950 – 75 years ago
Pope Pius XII witnessed the Miracle of the Sun from the Vatican gardens.
(He witnessed it again on 31st October, 1st November and 8th November.)

31 Oct 1975 – 50 years ago
Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats played their first concert (as the Nightlife Thugs – they changed their name to the Boomtown Rats during the interval).

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2025.

The 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 editions are also available if you work further ahead.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

Share this:

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in September 2025

30 newsworthy historical anniversaries in September 2025

Posted on by admin

Here are 30 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in September 2025 (listed six months in advance so you have time to write about them)

Historical anniversaries are great for ‘On This Day in History’ features, articles, biographies and other anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with newspaper and magazine readers and radio stations, and editors, producers and presenters love them. They’re easy to research too. You can also turn them into movies, documentaries, novels, use them to plan events and exhibitions, and much more. (Find out more at the end of this article.)

We’ve randomly selected an anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2025, which lists more than 3,600 anniversaries. The Date-A-Base Book 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are also available. The 2030 edition will be published in April 2025.

Each edition is available in British and U.S. versions. Both have the same content, but with different date formats and spellings. If you click on the links above, you should be directed to the correct version, based on your location. We’ve taken the anniversaries below from the British version.

1 Sep 1875 – 150 years ago
Birth of Edgar Rice Burroughs, American novelist. Best known for creating the character Tarzan.

2 Sep 1945 – 80 years ago
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) was founded and declared its independence from France. Ho Chi Minh became its first President and Prime Minister.

3 Sep 1950 – 75 years ago
Italian racing driver Giuseppe (‘Nino’) Farina became the first-ever Formula One World Champion after winning the 1950 Italian Grand Prix.

4 Sep 1975 – 50 years ago
The first episode of the science fiction television series Space: 1999 was broadcast on ITV in the UK. It ran for two seasons until 1977.

5 Sep 1945 – 80 years ago
The Cold War began. Igor Gouzenko, a clerk at the Soviet Union embassy in Ottawa, Canada, defected to Canada. He brought with him more than 100 documents that detailed Soviet espionage activities in the West. This marked the beginning of the Cold War, as the people of North America became aware of the magnitude and dangers of Soviet espionage.

6 Sep 1975 – 50 years ago
Czechoslovakian tennis player Martina Navratilova defected to the USA.

7 Sep 1925 – 100 years ago
Birth of Laura Ashley, Welsh designer and businesswoman. Known for her traditional printed fabrics, which she used to create soft furnishings and women’s clothing. Co-founder (with her husband Bernard) of the Laura Ashley textile company and chain of shops. (Died 1985.) (The company filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and the shops closed in 2021. It continues to trade online.)

8 to 13 Sep 1900 – 125 years ago
The Great Galveston hurricane, Texas, USA. The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Between 6,000 and 12,000 people were killed (most sources give a figure of 8,000). 7,000 buildings were destroyed, including more than 3,600 houses, and every home in the city was damaged to some degree. It caused $35.4 million worth of damage (equivalent to more than $1 billion today).

9 Sep 1965 – 60 years ago
Tibet became an autonomous region of China.

10 to 19 Sep 1950 – 75 years ago
Korean War – the Battle of Incheon, South Korea. United Nations victory. The United Nations staged a daring assault, landing thousands of troops behind enemy lines.

11 Sep 1875 – 150 years ago
The first comic strip to appear in a newspaper: Professor Tidwissel’s Burglar Alarm was published in the New York Daily Graphic in the USA.

12 Sep 1975 – 50 years ago
The city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA began a programme to integrate black and white students in previously segregated public schools. There were massive protests and violence, which continued for months, and many parents kept their children at home.

13 Sep 1985 – 40 years ago
Nintendo released the video game Super Mario Bros. in Japan. (USA: 18th October 1985. Europe: 15th May 1987.)

14 Sep 1960 – 65 years ago
OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) was founded by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

15 Sep 1935 – 90 years ago
The Nuremberg Laws were passed in Germany. Jews were no longer classed as German citizens, but were ‘subjects of the state’ without any rights of citizenship. Jews were not allowed to marry Germans. The Nazi flag was also adopted as the national flag of Germany.

16 Sep 1985 – 40 years ago
Apple Computer co-founder and chairman Steve Jobs resigned from the company over a power-struggle with the board of directors. He went on to found NeXT computers and co-founded Pixar Animation Studios before returning to rescue the near-bankrupt Apple in 1996.

17 Sep 1960 – 65 years ago
Cuba nationalised all U.S. banks located within its borders.

18 Sep 1965 – 60 years ago
The first episode of the fantasy television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie was broadcast on NBC in the USA. It ran for five seasons until 1970.

19 Sep 1985 – 40 years ago
American musicians Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snider testified at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) agreed to put ‘Parental Advisory’ labels on selected releases.

20 Sep 1945 – 80 years ago
Operation Paperclip: the first seven German rocket scientists arrived in the USA after being recruited to help develop its ballistic missile and rocket programmes. Among them was Werner von Braun, the ‘Father of Rocket Science’.

21 Sep 1995 – 30 years ago
The Hindu milk miracle, India. Statues of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh began drinking milk when spoonfuls were placed near their mouths. The phenomenon ended after 24 hours.

22 Sep 1955 – 70 years ago
Britain’s first independent television channel, ITV, was launched. It ended the BBC’s monopoly and broadcast Britain’s first TV advertisements. Initially only viewers in London could receive ITV. Regional franchises were gradually rolled out across the whole country by 1965.

23 Sep 1900 – 125 years ago
Death of William Marsh Rice, American businessman. (Murdered by his valet in a plot to forge his will.) He bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas.

24 Sep 1625 – 400 years ago
Birth of Johan de Witt, Dutch statesman and political leader. Grand Pensionary (Prime Minister) of the Dutch Republic (1650–72). He was assassinated and his liver was eaten by a pro-monarchy mob.

25 Sep 275 – 1750 years ago
Tacitus became Roman emperor (until June 276) following Aurelian’s assassination. This was the last time the Roman Senate elected an emperor.

26 Sep 1955 – 70 years ago
Birds Eye frozen fish fingers went on sale in Britain.

27 Sep 1825 – 200 years ago
The world’s first public railway opened: the Stockton and Darlington Railway in north-east England.

28 Sep 1985 – 40 years ago
The Brixton riots, London, UK. Riots broke out on the streets of south London after a woman was shot and seriously injured during a house search by police.

29 Sep 1725 – 300 years ago
Birth of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (Clive of India), British general who helped found the British Empire in India.

30 Sep 1960 – 65 years ago
The first episode of the animated comedy television series The Flintstones was broadcast on ABC in the USA. It was the first animated prime time show.

More anniversaries:

You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2025.

The 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2030 edition is coming soon.

Each edition is available as a PDF ebook (with a free Excel spreadsheet) or as a printed paperback book, in British or U.S. versions.

“A brilliant resource as usual”

“This book continues to astound me with its meticulous attention to detail and painstaking research. I use it all the time to generate ideas for documentaries and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone else who works in the media.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Chris

“A deeply researched goldmine of ideas”

“For journalists looking to plan ahead, the Date-a-base books offer a goldmine of ideas that are unavailable on the free internet. I’ve already recommended it to fellow colleagues at the BBC.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Richard

“Great reference”

“This is a fantastic and extremely useful book – very well compiled, detailed and organised.

Highly recommended for research or if you’re just curious about ‘on this day’ type history.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

— Mark

How to use the anniversaries:

How can you turn the anniversaries listed here and in The Date-A-Base Books into articles for magazines, newspapers and websites? How do you get paid for writing them, and how can you make a great living from it?

Download our free guide Ditch Your Day Job. It tells you everything you need to know!

Share this: