Bach premieres cantata Wer Dank opfert in Leipzig (1726), and NASA's MAVEN spacecraft enters orbit around Mars (2014). Born on this day: Michael Faraday, Andrea Bocelli and Ségolène Royal. Died: Shaka, Selim I and Frederick Soddy.
28 events, 63 births and 61 deaths on this date.
Bach conducted the premiere of cantata BWV 17, Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, in Leipzig, where he served as Thomaskantor. As Thomaskantor he was in charge of music for four Lutheran churches and St Thomas School.
Elias Gottlob Haussmann · Public domainAfter a ten-month journey, the MAVEN probe fired its engines and settled into orbit around Mars. Its job is to study the thin upper atmosphere, helping scientists understand how the planet lost much of its air and water over time.
On this day in 1896 Victoria overtook her grandfather George III, who had held the throne for almost sixty years. She kept the record until Elizabeth II surpassed her in 2015, after Victoria's reign of 63 years had covered the Victorian era.
Alexander Bassano · Public domain
Joseph Smith said an angel led him to a buried book of golden plates in New York, which he later described as the source of the Book of Mormon. The claim became the foundation of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Lucian Rose Foster · Public domain
Finland's first hydroelectric plant started generating power at the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere. It showed that the fast-flowing river could drive machinery and light the town, a lesson that shaped the country's later energy supply.
Solidarity began as a union in the Gdańsk shipyards and grew into a broad movement resisting authoritarian rule. Using civil resistance to press for workers' rights, it helped bring communist rule in Poland to an end.
Zenon Mirota · CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Michael Faraday was a self-taught English scientist who worked out how a changing magnetic field produces electric current. His discoveries underpin the electric motor and the modern generator, which is why the SI unit of capacitance, the farad, bears his name.
Thomas Phillips · Public domain
The Italian tenor is known for crossover albums that blend opera and pop. His 1994 Sanremo breakthrough with 'Il mare calmo della sera' launched a career that has sold over 90 million records.
The White House · Public domain
French Socialist politician who became the first woman nominated for the presidency by a major French party, and the first to reach a presidential run-off. She later held the ecology portfolio in government under Manuel Valls and Bernard Cazeneuve.
English : This photo has been taken by Matthieu Riegler ( User:Kyro ) and released under the licenses stated below. You are free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit me as author, Wikimedia Commons as site and follow the terms of the licenses. Could you be kind enough to leave me a message on this page to inform me about your use of this picture. Example : © Matthieu Riegler , CC-BY Français : Cette photo a été prise par Matthieu Riegler ( User:Kyro ) et placée sous les licences ci-dessous. Vous êtes libre de la réutiliser, pour n'importe quelle utilisation, tant que vous me citez en tant qu'auteur, Wikimedia Commons en tant que site et suivez les instructions des licences. Pourriez-vous avoir l'amabilité de me laisser un message sur cette page pour m'informer de votre utilisation de cette image. Exemple : © Matthieu Riegler , CC-BY This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Matthieu Riegler, CC-by You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 CC BY 3.0 Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 true true Vous souhaitez faire apparaitre cette photo sans crédit ? Contactez moi ! If you want to use the photo without credit, please contact me . · CC BY 3.0
Shaka ruled the Zulu Kingdom from 1816, reorganising its army into a formidable force. His half-brothers assassinated him, and his role in the wider upheaval of the period remains debated.
James King · Public domain
Selim I, the Ottoman sultan known as Selim the Grim, died in 1520 after an eight-year reign. He is remembered for conquering the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which vastly expanded Ottoman lands and shifted the empire's centre towards the Middle East.
Shukri Bitlisi, 1524 · Public domain
Frederick Soddy was an English radiochemist who, with Ernest Rutherford, showed that radioactivity comes from elements transforming into other elements. He also proved isotopes existed and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android