The Daily Historian
@thedailyhistorian.bsky.social
What happened today in the past? 📚
Follow for a daily history lesson! 🧠
Follow for a daily history lesson! 🧠
History rarely gives us a moment where survival, loyalty, and art collide in one life. Du Fu lived through the collapse of an empire and still walked back into its centre. His return to Chang'an on December 8, 757 reveals the cost of loyalty during one of China’s most violent political upheavals: 🧵
December 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
History rarely gives us a moment where survival, loyalty, and art collide in one life. Du Fu lived through the collapse of an empire and still walked back into its centre. His return to Chang'an on December 8, 757 reveals the cost of loyalty during one of China’s most violent political upheavals: 🧵
At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, a wave of Japanese aircraft struck Pearl Harbor and turned a quiet Sunday morning into a pivotal moment in world history: 🧵
December 7, 2025 at 9:44 PM
At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, a wave of Japanese aircraft struck Pearl Harbor and turned a quiet Sunday morning into a pivotal moment in world history: 🧵
For decades Washington avoided taking a side on Jerusalem, yet on December 6, 2017 the United States stunned the world by officially recognizing the city as the capital of Israel and announcing a shift that reshaped modern Middle East diplomacy: 🧵
December 6, 2025 at 9:47 PM
For decades Washington avoided taking a side on Jerusalem, yet on December 6, 2017 the United States stunned the world by officially recognizing the city as the capital of Israel and announcing a shift that reshaped modern Middle East diplomacy: 🧵
On December 5, 1945, five US Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, together known as Flight 19, took off from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale for what was meant to be a routine three-hour training flight. It ended in one of the most haunting vanishings in aviation history: 🧵
December 5, 2025 at 2:32 PM
On December 5, 1945, five US Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, together known as Flight 19, took off from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale for what was meant to be a routine three-hour training flight. It ended in one of the most haunting vanishings in aviation history: 🧵
On December 5, 1872, a small British brig called the Dei Gratia came across an American merchant ship drifting under partial sail some 400 nautical miles east of the Azores. The ship was the Mary Celeste and she was completely deserted: 🧵
December 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
On December 5, 1872, a small British brig called the Dei Gratia came across an American merchant ship drifting under partial sail some 400 nautical miles east of the Azores. The ship was the Mary Celeste and she was completely deserted: 🧵
Few people noticed it at the time, but on December 3, 1992, a single brief message quietly introduced a new way for the world to communicate. The first text message ever sent contained only two words: Merry Christmas 🧵
December 3, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Few people noticed it at the time, but on December 3, 1992, a single brief message quietly introduced a new way for the world to communicate. The first text message ever sent contained only two words: Merry Christmas 🧵
On December 2, 1982, surgeons at the University of Utah implanted the Jarvik 7 artificial heart into Barney Clark, a 61 year old retired dentist who had reached the terminal stage of congestive heart failure and was not eligible for a human transplant: 🧵
December 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
On December 2, 1982, surgeons at the University of Utah implanted the Jarvik 7 artificial heart into Barney Clark, a 61 year old retired dentist who had reached the terminal stage of congestive heart failure and was not eligible for a human transplant: 🧵
On December 1, 1952, the New York Daily News ran a front page story under the headline “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty,” bringing Christine Jorgensen into the United States spotlight as the first widely reported case of sex reassignment surgery: 🧵
December 1, 2025 at 6:57 PM
On December 1, 1952, the New York Daily News ran a front page story under the headline “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty,” bringing Christine Jorgensen into the United States spotlight as the first widely reported case of sex reassignment surgery: 🧵
On November 30, 1900, Oscar Wilde died in a cheap room at the Hôtel d’Alsace in Paris. A once famous playwright, he spent his final years in exile after public disgrace and imprisonment. His death closed a chapter that had begun with immense success and ended in near-total ruin: 🧵
November 30, 2025 at 10:51 PM
On November 30, 1900, Oscar Wilde died in a cheap room at the Hôtel d’Alsace in Paris. A once famous playwright, he spent his final years in exile after public disgrace and imprisonment. His death closed a chapter that had begun with immense success and ended in near-total ruin: 🧵
On November 29, 1982, Michael Jackson released Thriller, an album that changed pop music and the business around it. What arrived that week was not just a collection of songs. It was a tightly produced, cross genre record built to reach radio, the dance floor, and the new visual world of music: 🧵
November 29, 2025 at 9:02 PM
On November 29, 1982, Michael Jackson released Thriller, an album that changed pop music and the business around it. What arrived that week was not just a collection of songs. It was a tightly produced, cross genre record built to reach radio, the dance floor, and the new visual world of music: 🧵
On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, a small group of noisy, fragile horseless carriages lined up at Chicago’s Jackson Park for what would become the first organized automobile race in the United States: 🧵
November 29, 2025 at 4:12 AM
On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, a small group of noisy, fragile horseless carriages lined up at Chicago’s Jackson Park for what would become the first organized automobile race in the United States: 🧵
On November 27, 1835, London witnessed the execution of James Pratt and John Smith, marking the final time England carried out the death penalty for sodomy. Their deaths reflected a period of harsh legal enforcement rooted in social, religious, and moral attitudes toward sexuality: 🧵
November 27, 2025 at 2:12 PM
On November 27, 1835, London witnessed the execution of James Pratt and John Smith, marking the final time England carried out the death penalty for sodomy. Their deaths reflected a period of harsh legal enforcement rooted in social, religious, and moral attitudes toward sexuality: 🧵
On November 26, 1917, a group of team owners gathered in Montreal and made a decision that reshaped the future of hockey forever. That meeting created the National Hockey League, a league born out of conflict but destined to define the sport: 🧵
November 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
On November 26, 1917, a group of team owners gathered in Montreal and made a decision that reshaped the future of hockey forever. That meeting created the National Hockey League, a league born out of conflict but destined to define the sport: 🧵
On November 25, 1970, the celebrated author and playwright Yukio Mishima, known for both his literary brilliance and nationalist views, carried out a dramatic act of ritual suicide following a failed attempt to inspire political change in Japan: 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
On November 25, 1970, the celebrated author and playwright Yukio Mishima, known for both his literary brilliance and nationalist views, carried out a dramatic act of ritual suicide following a failed attempt to inspire political change in Japan: 🧵
On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin changed how people saw life forever. On the Origin of Species presented a bold, evidence based explanation for how species evolve. It was careful, detailed, and quietly revolutionary, challenging centuries of accepted thinking: 🧵
November 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin changed how people saw life forever. On the Origin of Species presented a bold, evidence based explanation for how species evolve. It was careful, detailed, and quietly revolutionary, challenging centuries of accepted thinking: 🧵
On November 23, 1991 the world received a brief message that carried enormous weight. Freddie Mercury released a public statement confirming that he was HIV positive and that he had been living with AIDS for years. It was the first and only time he spoke publicly about his illness: 🧵
November 23, 2025 at 7:48 PM
On November 23, 1991 the world received a brief message that carried enormous weight. Freddie Mercury released a public statement confirming that he was HIV positive and that he had been living with AIDS for years. It was the first and only time he spoke publicly about his illness: 🧵
On November 22, 1307 the authority of the medieval church reached into every kingdom of Europe with a single document. Pope Clement V issued the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae and turned the future of the Knights Templar upside down in an instant: 🧵
November 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
On November 22, 1307 the authority of the medieval church reached into every kingdom of Europe with a single document. Pope Clement V issued the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae and turned the future of the Knights Templar upside down in an instant: 🧵
On November 21, 1905, Albert Einstein published a short paper in Annalen der Physik that quietly introduced an idea the world now knows as E = mc². Few realized that this single insight would reshape modern physics: 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 8:16 PM
On November 21, 1905, Albert Einstein published a short paper in Annalen der Physik that quietly introduced an idea the world now knows as E = mc². Few realized that this single insight would reshape modern physics: 🧵
On November 20, 1990, Soviet authorities arrested Andrei Chikatilo, bringing down one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the USSR: 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
On November 20, 1990, Soviet authorities arrested Andrei Chikatilo, bringing down one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the USSR: 🧵
On November 19, 1999, a quiet Internal Revenue Service employee stunned the country on live television. John Carpenter walked onto the set of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and left with the first top prize in the show’s history: 🧵
November 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
On November 19, 1999, a quiet Internal Revenue Service employee stunned the country on live television. John Carpenter walked onto the set of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and left with the first top prize in the show’s history: 🧵
On November 18, 1626, Rome opened the doors of a church that had taken more than a century to build. The new St. Peter’s Basilica was finally ready to be consecrated, and its completion marked one of the most ambitious architectural projects in European history: 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM
On November 18, 1626, Rome opened the doors of a church that had taken more than a century to build. The new St. Peter’s Basilica was finally ready to be consecrated, and its completion marked one of the most ambitious architectural projects in European history: 🧵
On November 17, 1894, authorities finally arrested H. H. Holmes in Boston, bringing an end to a manhunt that began as a simple fraud investigation and grew into one of the most disturbing criminal cases in American history: 🧵
November 17, 2025 at 2:15 PM
On November 17, 1894, authorities finally arrested H. H. Holmes in Boston, bringing an end to a manhunt that began as a simple fraud investigation and grew into one of the most disturbing criminal cases in American history: 🧵
Imagine watching a man who helped create a Canadian province walk toward the gallows. On November 16, 1885, Louis Riel faced execution, and the country was forced to confront what his life and death truly meant: 🧵
November 16, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Imagine watching a man who helped create a Canadian province walk toward the gallows. On November 16, 1885, Louis Riel faced execution, and the country was forced to confront what his life and death truly meant: 🧵
It is not often that a single day captures the scale of a nation’s frustration, but November 15 of 1969 did exactly that: 🧵
November 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
It is not often that a single day captures the scale of a nation’s frustration, but November 15 of 1969 did exactly that: 🧵
On November 14, 2003, two of the biggest rap releases of the early two thousands arrived on the very same day. Jay-Z put out The Black Album and G-Unit released Beg for Mercy. The timing created one of the most memorable hip-hop Fridays of that era: 🧵
November 14, 2025 at 2:33 PM
On November 14, 2003, two of the biggest rap releases of the early two thousands arrived on the very same day. Jay-Z put out The Black Album and G-Unit released Beg for Mercy. The timing created one of the most memorable hip-hop Fridays of that era: 🧵