Loading...
Loading...
10,045 illustrations — Lessons from history, biography, and world events
7/4 (2009): The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
SermonWise.ai generates complete sermon outlines for any passage across 17 theological traditions.
Generate a sermon →12/7 (1987): Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146-200A, crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and steers the plane into the ground.
10/12 (1963): After nearly 23 years of imprisonment, Reverend Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit missionary, was released from the Soviet Union.
3/15 (1672): King Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, granting limited religious freedom to all Christians.
4/22 (1944): The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters stage the first use of helicopters in combat with combat search and rescue operations in the China Burma India Theater.
11/9 (2020): Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: An armistice agreement is signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.
1/20 (1981): Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
11/11 (1778): Cherry Valley massacre: Loyalists and Seneca Indian forces attack a fort and village in eastern New York during the American Revolutionary War, killing more than forty civilians and soldiers.
2/14 (1849): In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
1/1 (1962): Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
10/31 (2002): A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
1/20 (1921): The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
6/6 (1982): 1982 Lebanon War: The war begins as forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
7/4 (1947): The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
1/20 (1986): In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
11/11 (1919): The Industrial Workers of the World attack an Armistice Day parade in Centralia, Washington, ultimately resulting in the deaths of five people.
12/25 (1776): American Revolutionary War: General George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
2/14 (748): Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
8/6 (1942): Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
7/4 (1998): Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
11/9 (1965): A Catholic Worker Movement member, Roger Allen LaPorte, protesting against the Vietnam War, sets himself on fire in front of the United Nations building.
11/11 (1982): Space Shuttle Columbia launches from the Kennedy Space Center on STS-5, the first operational mission of the Space Shuttle program.
10/12 (1996): New Zealand holds its first general election under the new mixed-member proportional representation system, which led to Jim Bolger's National Party forming a coalition government with Winston Peters's New Zealand First.
3/17 (1942): Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.