On this day in 711, Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
On this day in 1296, King Edward I of England invades Scotland and removes the coronation stone of Scone. #Scone
On this day in 1940, Heinrich Himmler orders establishment of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. #Auschwitz
On this day in 2005, the Airbus A380, double-deck airliner and world's largest commercial jet, has its maiden test flight.
On this day in 1514, Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn.
On this day in 1933, Jewish students are barred from school in Germany.
On this day in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the German air force bombs the Basque city of Guernica, an event memorialised in Picasso's painting Guernica. #Picasso
On this day in 1986, large parts of Europe are contaminated as a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explodes. #Chernobyl
On this day in 1792, the first guillotine is erected in Paris.
On this day in 1850, Paul Reuter starts a carrier-pigeon service for stock market prices between Aachen and Brussels.
On this day in 1859, French and British engineers start constructing the Suez Canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
On this day in 1974, the Carnation Revolution: the fascist Estado Novo regime in Portugal is overthrown in a bloodless coup. #Portugal
On this day in 1183 BCE, traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy marks the end of the legendary Trojan War. #Troy #TrojanWar
On this day in 1916, Easter Rising: Irish rebels launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.#Ireland #EasterRising
On this day in 1967, Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 as its parachute becomes entangled. The first man to die during a space mission. #Soyuz #Space
On this day in 1815, a second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottomans erupts shortly after the annexation by the Ottoman Empire. #Serbia
On this day in 1967, Soyuz 1, a Soviet crewed spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit. #Space
On this day in 1988, Greek Olympic cyclist Kanellos Kanellopoulos flies 115 km across the Aegean Sea in a human-powered aircraft. #Aviation
On this day in 1370, construction begins of the Bastille, the fortress that came to symbolise French despotism. #Bastille
On this day in 1915, the use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon along a 6 km front in the Second Battle of Ypres. #WW1
On this day in 2016, more than 170 countries sign the Paris Agreement on climate change, a landmark treaty to reduce greenhouse gas. #ParisAgreement
On this day in 753 BCE, Romulus founds Rome. #Rome
On this day in 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", Germany's legendary fighter pilot in World War I, is shot down and killed during a battle near Amiens, France. #RedBaron
On this day in 1967, a few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years. #Greece
On this day in 1610, the only recorded performance of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" during his lifetime. #Shakespeare
On this day in 1862, the first pasteurisation test is completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard. #Pasteurisation
On this day in 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie discover the radioactive element radium. #Curie #Science
On this day in 1951, surgeon Dan Gavriliu surgically reconstructed a human organ for the first time. #Surgery
On this day in 1839, the Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and Luxembourg as a grand duchy. #Belgium #Luxembourg
On this day in 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, an act of resistance by Polish Jews under Nazi occupation, begins. #WW2
On this day in 1971, the Soviet Union launches Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station. #Salyut #Space
On this day in 1999, the German Bundestag returns to Berlin. #Germany #Bundestag
On this day in 1897, Greece and the Ottoman Empire declare the Greco-Turkish War. #Greece
On this day in 1946, the International Court of Justice in The Hague holds its inaugural meeting. #Legal
On this day in 1949, Ireland becomes an independent republic. #Ireland
On this day in 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community, precursor of the EU, is established by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. #EU
On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the "Indies". #Columbus
On this day in 1521, Martin Luther appears before the Diet of Worms to defend his ideas on church reform. #Luther #Reformation
On this day in 2003, Anneli Jäätteenmäki is sworn in as prime minister of Finland, making it the second country in the world to install a woman as head of both state and government. #Women #Finland
On this day in 1912, Harriet Quimby, in a Blériot monoplane, becomes the first woman to fly across the Channel. #Aviation
On this day in 1917, Vladimir Lenin ends his 17-year exile and returns to Russia to form a provisional government. #Lenin
On this day in 1948, 16 countries form the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation to restore Europe's economy after World War II. #OECD
On this day in 2003, the EU admits ten new members. #EU
On this day in 1912, British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic. #Titanic
On this day in 1945, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated. #BergenBelsen
On this day in 1989, a crush of football fans at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield results in 96 deaths and hundreds of injuries. #Hillsborough
On this day in 2019, the Notre-Dame de Paris catches fire during restoration works and partially destroyed. #NotreDame
On this day in 1849, Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Louis Kossuth as its leader. #Hungary
On this day in 1929, the first Monaco Grand Prix takes place. #Monaco #GrandPrix
On this day in 1958, Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit, the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. #Sputnik
On this day in 2023, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is launched by the European Space Agency. #ESA
On this day in 1012, a ransom is paid to Vikings for the liberation of Canterbury, after a raid on the city and the capture of Ælfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury. #Canterbury
On this day in 1598, the Edict of Nantes grants political rights to French Huguenots. #Huguenots
On this day in 1895, French officer Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of selling military secrets against a backdrop of anti-Semitism, is imprisoned on Devils Island. #Dreyfus
On this day in 1204, the Fourth Crusade occupies and plunders Constantinople. #Crusades
On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, aboard the Vostok-3KA spacecraft, becomes the first human to travel into space and orbit Earth. #Space #Gagarin
On this day in 1937, the first aircraft jet engine is successfully tested by Frank Whittle, only a few months before German engineer Hans von Ohain ran his jet engine. #JetEngine #Engineering
On this day in 1713, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia, Savoy, Portugal and France agree the Treaty of Utrecht.
On this day in 1814, Napoléon Bonaparte abdicates unconditionally and is exiled to the island of Elba. #Napoleon
On this day in 1848, Hungary becomes a constitutional monarchy under King Ferdinand of Austria. #Hungary #Austria
On this day in 1961, the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem. #Eichmann
On this day in 1516, Venice compels Jews to live in a specific area, establishing the first Jewish ghetto. #Jews
On this day in 1970, The Beatles, one of the most successful bands of all time, break up. #Beatles #Music
On this day in 1998, the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments. #Ireland #UK
On this day in 2010, the President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, dies in a plane crash. #Poland
On this day in 1241, Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies at the Battle of Liegnitz. #Poland
On this day in 1860, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the first recording of a human voice on his phonautograph machine, singing the French folk song “Au clair de la lune”. #Recording
On this day in 1940, during World War II, Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway. #WW2 #Germany #Denmark #Norway
On this day in 1820, the Venus de Milo, a famous ancient statue, is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos. #VenusDeMilo
On this day in 1886, British prime minister Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill. #Ireland
On this day in 1904, France and the UK sign the Entente cordiale. #France #UK
On this day in 1973, Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, died in France at age 91. #Picasso #Art
