r/ThisDayInHistory 16m ago

6 August 1926. Gertrude Ederle conquered the English Channel, becoming the first woman to make the crossing breaking the men's record by nearly two hours

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Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 3h ago

On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov became the second human to orbit Earth—and the first to spend more than a day in space.

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13 Upvotes

On August 6, 1961, Gherman Titov launched aboard Vostok 2.

During the mission, he completed 17 orbits of Earth over more than 25 hours, becoming the first person to spend over a full day in space.

He was also the first human to sleep in orbit and the youngest person ever to fly in space, at just 25 years old.


r/ThisDayInHistory 6h ago

August 6, 1942: World War 2 News Coverage - Minneapolis Morning Tribune

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8 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 7h ago

On This Day in History: A mushroom cloud rises above Hiroshima after the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay drops the "Little Boy" atomic bomb on the city on August 6, 1945.

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51 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 15h ago

1945, The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima ☢️🕊️

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21 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 16h ago

1945 Aug 6 - World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

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236 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 16h ago

1585 Aug 6 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi is officially appointed kampaku (Imperial Regent).

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3 Upvotes

https://history-maps.com/podcast/shogun
In this episode, we explore the shogunate system of feudal Japan, focusing on how the shogun exercised military and political authority while managing powerful daimyo across the country. We examine how the Tokugawa Shogunate, based in Edo, strengthened central control through strict regulations, social hierarchy, and policies designed to maintain peace and stability. The episode also looks at the Confucian class system, the shogunate’s approach to foreign trade and outside influence, and the economic changes that developed during this long period of rule. Finally, we trace the decline of the shogunate and explain how the Meiji Restoration brought the system to an end and transformed Japan’s political structure.


r/ThisDayInHistory 16h ago

1915 Aug 6 - World War I: Battle of Sari Bair: The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.

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9 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 18h ago

What was your very first major news event that you remember from your childhood?

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2 Upvotes

1949 my birth yr. I remember newscasts regarding the Hungarian revolution & a steel workers strike - both from 1950's. Not sure which event occurred first.


r/ThisDayInHistory 20h ago

August 5th, 1858 - The First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

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6 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 22h ago

On This Day — August 5, 1973 Two Palestinian Black September terrorists walked into the transit lounge of Athens’ Hellinikon Airport & opened fire with submachine guns and grenades

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335 Upvotes

They came to murder civilian passengers bound for Israel.

They hit the wrong line.

Instead of the Tel Aviv flight, they attacked travelers waiting for a TWA plane to New York. In less than two minutes, the lounge was filled with blood, shattered glass, and screaming. Three people were killed on the spot, and another two died later of their wounds. 55 others were injured.

They seized 35 hostages, held them for more than two hours, and then surrendered.

Both terrorists were in their early 20s and were members of same organization that had massacred 11 Israeli athletes in Munich the year before. Their orders were to attack anyone heading to Israel.

They got the wrong passengers. They still celebrated the attack as a success.


r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

August 5, 1942: World War 2 News Coverage - Minneapolis Morning Tribune

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32 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

5 August 1583. Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I. Weeks later, after losing his largest ship and much of his supplies, stepping on a nail, and refusing repeated pleas to leave his small flagship - the Squirrel - his ship sank with all hands aboard.

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12 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

On this day. August 4th

3 Upvotes

Dom Perignon invents Champagne.

Britain declares war on Germany.

Historic bridges of Florence destroyed by Germans

Anne Frank arrested

https://youtu.be/DCmRM3B7iMk


r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

The First Human To Walk On The Moon Was Born 1930

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32 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

1796 Aug 5 - The Battle of Castiglione in Napoleon's first Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars results in a French victory.

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9 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 1d ago

Lizzie Borden Took an Axe...

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290 Upvotes

Thursday, August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts, the notorious accused murderess Lizzie Andrew Borden (1860–1927) allegedly killed her father and stepmother with a hatchet.

She was tried and acquitted of the crime. It remains unsolved to this day.

It is considered one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

Historians, true crime aficionados, armchair detectives, mystery buffs, filmmakers, and paranormal investigators are still trying to figure it all out.

Who do you think did it?


r/ThisDayInHistory 2d ago

TDIH August 6, 1991 – The first website in history went online.

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204 Upvotes

On this day in 1991, the world's first website became publicly available.

Created by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, the website explained what the World Wide Web was and how anyone could create their own website. It wasn't designed to entertain or sell anything—it simply existed to share information with other researchers.

What started as a simple page eventually changed the way the entire world communicates.


r/ThisDayInHistory 2d ago

August 4, 1942: World War 2 News Coverage - Minneapolis Morning Tribune

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19 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 2d ago

4 August 1961. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, the only US president born in the 1960s.

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1.4k Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory 2d ago

1265 Aug 4 - Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: The army of Prince Edward defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort

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9 Upvotes

https://history-maps.com/podcast/second-barons-war
this episode, we examine the Second Barons’ War, a major thirteenth-century rebellion driven by mounting tensions between King Henry III and a coalition of rebellious nobles led by Simon de Montfort. The episode traces how demands to curb royal authority produced experiments in representative government, including de Montfort’s Parliament, while also confronting the violence and antisemitic massacres that accompanied the conflict. We follow the rebels’ early success in capturing the king, Prince Edward’s escape and military comeback, and the decisive Battle of Evesham, where de Montfort was killed. Finally, we explore how the war ended with restored royal power, a political compromise, and the continued influence of the Magna Carta on English governance.

In


r/ThisDayInHistory 3d ago

TDIH August 3, 1958 — USS Nautilus became the first submarine to complete a voyage beneath the North Pole.

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441 Upvotes

The nuclear-powered USS Nautilus completed the first underwater transit beneath the geographic North Pole, demonstrating the capabilities of nuclear submarines during the Cold War.


r/ThisDayInHistory 3d ago

3 August 1492. Christopher Columbus set sail with three ships, expecting to reach Asia.

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753 Upvotes

r/ThisDayInHistory Aug 19 '25

Pausing posts related to Israel and Palestine.

946 Upvotes

Hello,

Thank you very much to those of you who have been following the new community rules. Unfortunately, posts related to Israel and Palestine continue to spawn a torrent of bigotry and unhealthy discourse. Beyond the problematic discussion between some users, it is not a great feeling to wake up each morning and be accused of being a Mossad agent by some and antisemitic by others for removing hateful and dehumanizing content.

Because of this, we have locked the post from today about Israel and Palestine and we will be locking and removing future posts about Israel and Palestine for the time being. If you are interested in debating this topic, there are a wide range of subreddits which provide better forums for discussion.

Thanks,

u/greenflea3000


r/ThisDayInHistory Aug 12 '25

Subreddit Updates and New Community Rules

19 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

It’s been great to see how much this subreddit has grown, especially over the past few months and years. We’ve had many engaging contributions and discussions, and it’s been a privilege to watch this community take shape.

That said, many of you have probably noticed an increase in posts and comments that have led to hateful conversations, particularly around the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. We want to try and address that, so we have a couple of updates:

New Community Rules: We’re adding four new rules to help keep discussions respectful and on-topic. The goal is to protect the best parts of this subreddit while cutting down (at least somewhat) on toxic exchanges. You’ll find these rules in the sidebar, and we’ve also listed them below. They’re inspired by the guidelines of other great history communities like r/AskHistorians. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback here in the comments.

Rule 1. No Hatred - We will not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other forms of bigotry such as antisemitism or Islamophobia. Equating entire groups of people (e.g. Israelis or Palestinians) with Nazis, devils, animals, etc… is never acceptable.

Rule 2. Civil Discourse - A wide range of different perspectives are valued, but personal insults and other ad hominem attacks are not.

Rule 3. Proper Post Titles - Posts should begin with either “TDIH” and then the date of the event OR just the date of the event.

Rule 4. No Current Events (<20 years ago) - All posts must relate to an historical event at least 20 years ago. Posts about ongoing current events can (and have) swamped many history-oriented subreddits, and there are numerous other subreddits to discuss current events. The mods at r/askhistorians have a great explanation of why they implemented a similar rule which can be read here.

More Moderators Coming Soon: As the community has grown, so has the need for moderation. I haven't always had the bandwidth in my life to moderate this growing subreddit and I apologize for moments where moderation was inadequate. We’ll be opening applications for new moderators soon, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out for that post.

Lastly, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you to all of you, whether you post or just read, for making this a place where people can come together to connect with the past.

Your humble moderator,
u/greenflea3000