558 Episodes

  1. 2nd January 1980: Jimmy Carter instigates the end of détente after the USSR invades Afghanistan

    Published: 1/2/2026

  2. 1st January 1942: Declaration by the United Nations agreed and signed by the four major Allied nations during the Second World War

    Published: 1/1/2026

  3. 31st December 1853: New Year’s Eve dinner takes place inside a model of an Iguanodon at the Crystal Palace Park in south London

    Published: 12/31/2025

  4. 30th December 1922: Foundation of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

    Published: 12/30/2025

  5. 29th December 1890: Lakota Sioux massacred at Wounded Knee

    Published: 12/29/2025

  6. 28th December 1537: Francis I of France establishes the first legal deposit for books under the Ordonnance de Montpellier

    Published: 12/28/2025

  7. 27th December 1929: Stalin calls for the ‘liquidation of the kulaks as a class’

    Published: 12/27/2025

  8. 26th December 1991: Soviet Union dissolved in the final meeting of the Supreme Soviet

    Published: 12/26/2025

  9. 25th December 800: Charlemagne crowned emperor by Pope Leo III during Christmas Mass at St Peter’s Basilica

    Published: 12/25/2025

  10. 24th December 1955: Colorado Springs Continental Air Defense Command first gives children the location Santa as he delivers presents

    Published: 12/24/2025

  11. 23rd December 1750: Ben Franklin accidentally shocks himself while trying to electrocute a turkey

    Published: 12/23/2025

  12. 22nd December 1964: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft makes its first flight

    Published: 12/22/2025

  13. 21st December 1913: First modern crossword puzzle printed in the New York World newspaper, created by Arthur Wynne

    Published: 12/21/2025

  14. 20th December 1917: Establishment of the Cheka, the Russian Bolshevik secret police

    Published: 12/20/2025

  15. 19th December 1777: George Washington leads the Continental Army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

    Published: 12/19/2025

  16. 18th December 1892: Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker receives its première performance at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg

    Published: 12/18/2025

  17. 17th December 497 BCE: The first Saturnalia festival celebrated in ancient Rome

    Published: 12/17/2025

  18. 16th December 1431: Henry VI became the only English monarch to be crowned King of France

    Published: 12/16/2025

  19. 15th December 1851: The Forest Creek Monster Meeting of Australian gold miners protests taxes

    Published: 12/15/2025

  20. 14th December 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the South Pole

    Published: 12/14/2025

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The 'on this day in history' podcast, with a new episode every single day. Featuring historical events that range from the Roman Empire to the World Wide Web, HistoryPod proves that there is always something to be remembered 'on this day'. Written and presented by Scott Allsop, creator of the award-winning www.mrallsophistory.com