Magellan's expedition enters the Pacific Ocean (1520), and Albania declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1912). Born on this day: Friedrich Engels, William Blake and Stefan Zweig. Died: Bashō, Enrico Fermi and Enid Blyton.
30 events, 64 births and 59 deaths on this date.
After 38 days searching a narrow, winding channel at the tip of South America, Magellan's fleet emerged into open water. The passage, now named after him, gave Europeans their first sea route from the Atlantic into the Pacific.
Unknown artist Unknown artist · Public domainIn Vlorë, Ismail Qemali proclaimed Albania's independence after nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule. The declaration set the country on the path to becoming a sovereign state, though its borders were still disputed for years afterwards.
Ferdinand Marcos, then president-elect of the Philippines, said his country would dispatch soldiers to South Vietnam. The announcement answered a request from US President Lyndon Johnson for more allies in the war.
The exchange had shut its doors in July after the First World War broke out in Europe. Trading resumed in bonds only, a cautious first step back toward normal business in the city's financial heart.
On this day, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Gabon were granted autonomous republic status inside the French Community. It was a step towards full independence, which Chad reached in 1960 under François Tombalbaye.
Fretilin, the leftist party that led the independence movement, proclaimed the territory's freedom from Portuguese rule in Dili. The declaration was swiftly overtaken by an Indonesian invasion nine days later, and independence was not internationally recognised until 2002.
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Engels co-wrote The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx and helped shape Marxism. After Marx died, Engels prepared the remaining books of Das Kapital for publication, and his 1845 study of the English working class was an early landmark.
William Hall (1826–ca. 1898) (cropped and sepia tone removed) · Public domain
William Blake was an English poet and printmaker whose visionary works were largely ignored in his lifetime. Later critics came to see his poems and paintings as among the most original of the Romantic age.
Thomas Phillips · Public domain
Austrian writer whose novellas, biographies and studies of famous figures made him one of the most translated authors of his age. He fled Europe for Brazil, and his memoir The World of Yesterday remains his most-read account of pre-war Vienna.
Franz Xaver Setzer (1886-1939) · Public domain
Bashō was the most celebrated Japanese poet of the Edo period, a master of haiku who wandered the country for inspiration. He is best known in the West for his travel writing, including Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton.
Public domain
Italian-American physicist who built the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and helped shape the Manhattan Project. He also won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for work on slow neutrons and new radioactive elements.
Department of Energy-Office of Public Affairs, restored by Yann · Public domain
Enid Blyton wrote hugely popular children's books, among them the Famous Five, the Secret Seven and the Faraway Tree, with sales above 600 million copies. Her prolific output drew criticism from critics and teachers, yet her stories remain some of the most widely read in the world.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android