SortStack #1262 — 2029-11-22

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. The last Western Roman emperor is deposed, ending the empire in the west 476

   The final emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was a teenager. The Germanic general Odoacer didn't execute him — he pensioned him off to a villa.

2. The American colonies declare independence from Britain 1776

   Most delegates didn't sign the Declaration until August. John Adams predicted Americans would forever celebrate the second of July.

3. Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of the French 1804

   At the ceremony in Notre-Dame, Napoleon took the crown from Pope Pius VII and placed it on his own head — a move planned in advance, not an impulsive snub.

4. The Wall Street Crash wipes out the stock market boom 1929

   The market didn't permanently regain its pre-crash peak until 1954, a quarter of a century later.

5. Nelson Mandela walks free after twenty-seven years in prison 1990

   Four years after his release he was elected South Africa's president — and he later joked that he was 'a pensioner taking up a new job' at age 75.

6. Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dorm room 2004

   It launched as 'TheFacebook,' restricted to Harvard students. The general public couldn't join for another two years.

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