23rd January 1556: The deadliest earthquake ever recorded hit the Chinese province of Shaanxi and surrounding areas
Scientists have since judged that the earthquake had a magnitude of around 8.0 on the Richter scale, and have had no reason to question the traditional estimates of around 830,000 ...
23 Tammi 0s
22nd January 1808: Portuguese royal court relocates to Brazil
The Portuguese royal family and more than 10,000 courtiers relocated to Brazil to escape the advancing Napoleonic ...
22 Tammi 0s
21st January 1968: United States B-52 bomber carrying four thermonuclear bombs crashes near Thule Air Base in Greenland
On impact, the conventional explosives in the nuclear weapons detonated, but fortunately did not trigger a nuclear explosion. Nevertheless, radioactive material was scattered over a wide ...
21 Tammi 0s
20th January 1850: Robert McClure departs on the first expedition to transit the Northwest Passage
Robert McClure departed England with HMS Investigator to lead the first expedition to transit the Northwest ...
20 Tammi 0s
19th January 1915: Two German Zeppelin airships drop bombs on the Norfolk towns of Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn in Britain’s first experience of an air raid
The four people killed in the air raids were all civilians, which served as a stark message about the changing nature of warfare in the 20th ...
19 Tammi 0s
18th January 1778: Captain James Cook becomes the first known European to encounter the Hawaiian Islands
Cook anchored off Kauaʻi and later Niʻihau, making contact with the islanders over the following days and exchanged food, water, and other ...
18 Tammi 0s
17th January 1991: Combat phase of the Gulf War begins when Operation Desert Storm is launched
Operation Desert Storm set out to destroy Iraq’s military and civilian infrastructure through an aerial bombing campaign in which over 2,250 coalition aircraft flew in excess of 1,000 sorties a day fo...
17 Tammi 0s
16th January 27 BCE: The Roman Senate grant Octavian the titles Augustus and Princeps
The title Augustus is understood to translate as ‘the illustrious one’ and, although the title did not grant Octavian him political authority, many historians see this as the point at which his rule a...
16 Tammi 0s
