SortStack #800 — 2028-08-17

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. Christopher Columbus makes landfall in the Americas 1492

   Columbus never set foot on the North American mainland and insisted until his death that he had reached the edge of Asia.

2. Copernicus publishes his book putting the Sun at the center of the cosmos 1543

   Legend says a finished copy was placed in his hands on his deathbed. The Catholic Church didn't formally suspend the book until 73 years later.

3. Isaac Newton publishes the Principia, laying out his laws of motion 1687

   The Royal Society couldn't afford to print it — it had blown its budget on a lavish history of fish — so astronomer Edmond Halley paid out of his own pocket.

4. The Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage 1912

   The lookouts had no binoculars — the key to the locker holding them left the ship with a reassigned officer in Southampton.

5. Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics 1936

   Owens credited a tip from his German rival Luz Long for saving his long jump qualification — the two stayed friends and exchanged letters until Long died in the war.

6. 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.

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