Elizabeth I is crowned queen of England and Ireland (1559), and Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, launches (2001). Born on this day: Martin Luther King, Jr., Giorgia Meloni and Gamal Abdel Nasser. Died: Rosa Luxemburg, Galba and Karl Liebknecht.
31 events, 73 births and 62 deaths on this date.
Elizabeth was crowned in Westminster Abbey, a little over a month after she had come to the throne. Her reign would give its name to the Elizabethan era and her decision never to marry earned her the nickname the Virgin Queen.
Unidentified painter · Public domainJimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started Wikipedia as a website anyone could edit, and it grew into the largest reference work ever made. Today it runs in over 300 languages, with volunteers writing its articles.
Die Afrikaanse Patriot appeared in Paarl, giving the language its own press for the first time. Afrikaans grew from the Dutch spoken by settlers and enslaved people at the Cape, and it is now the third most spoken home language in South Africa.
Otho, a former friend of Nero, made his move in the turmoil that followed Galba's murder. His reign lasted only about three months before he took his own life rather than face defeat.
Henry's letters patent formally placed the headship of the English church in his own style, a claim that cut the country's ties to the pope. It was a key step in the break with Rome that became the English Reformation.
Hans Holbein the Younger · Public domain
Built on the collection of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane, it first welcomed visitors at Montagu House in Bloomsbury. It was the first national museum of its kind open to everyone.
Ham · CC BY-SA 3.0
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
A Baptist minister who led the American civil rights movement through nonviolent protest, from the Montgomery bus boycott to the 1963 March on Washington. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was assassinated in 1968.
Associated Press · Public domain
Italian politician who became Italy's first female prime minister in 2022, leading a right-wing government. She previously served as youth minister and has led the Brothers of Italy party since 2014.
Governo Italiano · CC BY 3.0 it
Egyptian army officer who led the 1952 revolution and later ruled Egypt as president. He is remembered for nationalising the Suez Canal and for championing Arab unity and socialist reform.
Press · Public domain
Polish-born Marxist theorist who helped found the Spartacus League, later the German Communist Party. She was killed by Freikorps soldiers in Berlin during the January 1919 uprising, after being arrested and beaten.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Galba, the Roman emperor who came to power after Nero's suicide, was killed in the Forum by soldiers loyal to Otho. He ruled for only seven months, and his unpopularity and reliance on favourites undid him.
Wolfgang Sauber · CC BY-SA 3.0
Karl Liebknecht, a German socialist who co-founded the Spartacus League, was shot dead by Freikorps paramilitaries. He had led the failed uprising against the Weimar Republic, and the German left still honours him as a martyr.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
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