This Day in History Class

On this day in history, the Roman Inquisition sentenced Galileo Galilei for being "vehemently suspect of heresy." / On this day in 1947, science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler was born.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1893, the Ferris Wheel debuted at the World's Fair in Chicago. / On this day in 1905, philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre was born.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1900, the siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China, during the Boxer Rebellion began. / On this day in 1975, the film "Jaws" was released in the U.S. and Canada.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced the abolition of slavery in Galveston, Texas. The day is now commemorated as Juneteenth. / On this day in 1917, revolutionary and politician Joshua Nkomo was born in Matebeleland in modern-day Zimbabwe.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This day in 1908 marked the beginning of Japanese mass immigration to Brazil when the ship Kasato Maru arrived at the port of Santos in Brazil. / On this day in 1178 (on the Julian calendar), several monks from Canterbury reportedly saw the moon split into two and explode into flames.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died from complications of childbirth. / On this day in 1843, a clash between British immigrants and Maori known as the Wairau Incident took place on the South Island in New Zealand.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly into space. / On this day in 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech in Springfield, Illinois, during his run for U.S. senator.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1904, a fire on the paddle steamer General Slocum caused more than a thousand deaths. / On this day in 1938, Hungarian newspaper editor Laszlo Biro filed a British patent for the ballpoint pen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1846, the Bear Flag Revolt began when a group of Americans invaded Sonoma. / On this day in 1872, Parliament passed the Trade Unions Act in Canada, legalizing unions. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1911, physicist and Nobel Prize winner Luis W. Alavarez was born. / On this day in 1971, the New York Times began publishing excerpts from the Pentagon Papers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.