SortStack #709 — 2028-05-18

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. A massive earthquake and tsunami destroy Lisbon 1755

   Striking on All Saints' Day while churches were full, it killed tens of thousands and shook European philosophy — Voltaire used it to attack the idea of a perfect world.

2. Britain passes the act abolishing slavery across most of its empire 1833

   The government borrowed a colossal sum to compensate slave owners — not the enslaved. The loan was so large it was only fully paid off in 2015.

3. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas 1963

   Abraham Zapruder's 26-second home movie of the motorcade became one of the most studied pieces of film ever shot.

4. The Live Aid concerts are broadcast from London and Philadelphia 1985

   Phil Collins played both venues in one day, crossing the Atlantic by Concorde. Queen's twenty-minute set is widely ranked the greatest live performance ever.

5. DeepMind's AlphaGo defeats Go champion Lee Sedol 2016

   AlphaGo's 'Move 37' was so alien that commentators assumed it was a mistake. Lee won a single game back with a move fans dubbed 'God's touch.'

6. Fire engulfs Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris 2019

   The spire fell, but the rooftop beehives survived — and the cathedral reopened five years later after a meticulous reconstruction.

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