AncientPages.com – On December 22, 1911, Grote Reber, amateur astronomer and radio engineer, was born in Chicago. He was a ham radio operator, studied radio engineering, and worked for various radio manufacturers in Chicago from 1933 to 1947. He self-financed
AncientPages.com – On December 21, 1872, the HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth, England, in the first scientific voyage, which would last almost three and a half years. This scientific expedition was organized to examine the deep-sea floor and shed more
AncientPages.com – Ancient Babylonians were excellent astronomers who wrote down their observations on cuneiform tablets. By studying ancient records of lunar and solar eclipses carved in clay tablets, dating back to 750 B.C., scientists can now confirm slowing of the Earth’s spin.
AncientPages.com – On December 20, 1963, two years after construction of the Berlin Wall began, 4,000 West Berlin citizens were allowed to visit their relatives and friends in East Berlin for the first time. Berlin Opened For One Day. This
AncientPages.com – On December 19, 1154, Henry II (also known as Henry Curtmantle) was crowned King of England. Henry II was born in 1133 in France and was the grandson of Henry I. He was the first Plantagenet King of all
AncientPages.com – On December 18, 1888, the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde, Colorado, was discovered by rancher Richard Wetherill (1858- 1910) and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason, who was riding across the mesa top looking for stray cattle. Cliff Palace in
AncientPages.com – On December 17, 1790, the Sun Stone (Stone of the Five Eras), sometimes called the Aztec calendar stone, was rediscovered during repairs in Mexico City. The artifact is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture, probably the most famous work
AncientPages.com – On December 16, 1707, Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain, erupted. It was the last confirmed eruption of Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest volcano and peak, which is still active today. Views of Mount Fuji from Ōwakudani. Image credit: Suicasmo
AncientPages.com – On December 15, 1612, Simon Marius (1573 – 1624), a mathematician and astronomer, independently rediscovered the “Nebula in the Girdle of Andromeda,” actually the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Marius was a German astronomer, the pupil of Tycho Brahe, one of
AncientPages.com – On December 14, 1883, Ueshiba Morihei – the ‘Founder of Aikido,’ was born in Nishinotani village (now part of Tanabe), Japan. Until he died in 1969 at the age of 85, the master of Aikido maintained an undefeated record.
AncientPages.com – On December 13, 1577, Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth with a five-ship flotilla on the dangerous path that killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan 50 years earlier. He planned to become the first Englishman to sail around the world.
Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists excavating in Jersey have discovered that despite globally significant changes in climate and landscape Neanderthals kept visiting La Cotte de St Brelade, a coastal cave for over 100,000 years. Why was this particular cave
AncientPages.com – On Dec 12, 627 AD, the Battle of Nineveh was fought between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, under Emperor Heraclius, and those of the Sassanid Persian Empire, under the Persian King Chosroes II’s lieutenant, Rhahzhad. In this battle,
AncientPages.com – On December 11, 1792, King Louis XVI of France was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. Louis XVI (also known as Louis Capet) was King of France from 1774 until his deposition in 1792. The
AncientPages.com – On December 9, 1824, the Battle of Ayacucho was fought on the high plateau near Ayacucho, Peru. It was one of the Latin-American wars of independence, and it brought a revolutionary victory over royalists. This battle ultimately broke Spanish
AncientPages.com – On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is considered the world’s most translated document. It was accepted by a vote of 48 in
