This Day in History Class

The Nika Riots began in Constantinople on this day in 532. / On this day in 1874, a riot started in Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan after police overran a demonstration of thousands of unemployed people.

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The Schoolhouse Blizzard took place on this day in 1888. / On this day in 1964, a group of insurgents overthrew the government of the sultan of Zanzibar.

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The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hernandez v. Texas on this day in 1954. / On this day in 1879, the Anglo-War began when the British invaded Zululand.

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Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon on this day in 49 BCE. / On this day in 1927, the silent science-fiction film "Metropolis" premiered in Berlin.

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The first modern circus performance took place on this day in 1768. / On this day in 1992, the discovery of two exoplanets was announced in the journal Nature.

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Karl M. Baer was legally recognized as male on this day in 1907. He had been assigned female at birth. / On this day in 1811, the German Coast Uprising, a slave revolt in modern-day Louisiana, began.

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Marian Anderson became the first Black performer to take the stage at the Metropolitan Opera on this day in 1955. / On this day in 1979, Vietnamese troops occupied Phnom Penh and overthrew Pol Pot's regime.

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The Night of the Big Wind began on this day in 1839. / On this day in 1912, German geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener first presented his hypothesis on continental drift in a public lecture.

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King C. Gillette was born on this day in 1855. / On this day in 1893, blues and folk musician Elizabeth Cotten was born near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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Topsy the Elephant was electrocuted on this day in 1903. / On this day in 1809, French educator Louis Braille, namesake of the Braille reading and writing system, was born.

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