This Day in History Class

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lucretia Mott was born on this day in 1793. / On this day in 1848, Black American merchant Joseph Jenkins Roberts was sworn in as the first president of Liberia. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new planet, called Vulcan, was announced on this day in 1860. / On this day in 1942, thirty-three members of a Nazi spy ring headed by Frederick Joubert Duquesne were sentenced to serve time in prison. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lorenzo de' Medici was born on this day in 1449. / On this day in 1818, Mary Shelley's debut novel, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," was first published. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ship carrying Theodosia Burr Alston disappeared on this day in 1812. / On this day in 1953, Democrat, Tammany Hall operative, and civil rights advocate Hulan Jack was sworn in as the borough president of Manhattan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Iroquois Theater in Chicago burned on this day in 1903. / On this day in 1924, Edwin Hubble published his observations on the existence of other galaxies for review at an upcoming meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of Lakota Sioux were surrounded and a tragic firefight erupted on this day in 1890. / On this day in 1996, the Guatemalan Civil War ended when the Guatemalan president and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity signed peace accords. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auguste and Louis Lumière charged 1 franc admission to see several of their films on this day in 1895. / On this day in 1903, jazz musician Earl Hines, considered by many to be the father of modern jazz piano, was born. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carry Nation destroyed the Carey Hotel's bar as a Temperance protest on this day in 1900. / On this day in 1512, the Laws of Burgos, a set of laws regulating the relationship between Spaniards and indigenous people in the Americas, were promulgated in Burgos, Crown of Castile. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

The pan-African holiday Kwanzaa, created by Maulana Karenga, was celebrated for the first time beginning this day in 1966. / On this day in 1867, Scottish mathematician and scientist Mary Somerville was born. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The comet that Edmond Halley had calculated to return appeared as in the night sky as predicted on this day in 1758. / On this day in 1831, the Baptist War, also known as the Christmas Rebellion, began in Jamaica. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber performed "Stille Nacht" for the first time at a Christmas Eve mass in Austria on this day in 1818. / On this day in 1826, rowdy cadets at West Point incited a drunken riot known as the Eggnog Riot. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Herrick received a kidney from his twin brother on this day in 1954. / On this day in 1972, survivors who were stranded in the Andes Mountains after their flight crashed were rescued. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of selling military secrets to Germany on this day in 1894. / On this day in1885, Itō Hirobumi became the first prime minister of Japan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bomb exploded aboard Pan Am Flight 103 on this day in 1988. / On this day in 1826, rebels in the Republic of Fredonia signed their Declaration of Independence from Mexico. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South Carolina seceded from the Union on this day in 1860. / On this day in 1987, a passenger ferry called Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker, causing the death of more than 4,000 people. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was published for the first time on this day in 1843. / On this day in 1946, the First Indochina War began. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.