SortStack #1290 — 2029-12-20

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt, dies 30 BCE

   Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid — the pyramids were already ancient to her.

2. Vikings raid the island monastery of Lindisfarne, shocking Europe 793

   The raid is the conventional start of the Viking Age. The scholar Alcuin wrote that 'never before has such terror appeared in Britain.'

3. Martin Luther publishes his Ninety-Five Theses, sparking the Reformation 1517

   Thanks to the new printing press, the theses spread across Germany in about two weeks — arguably history's first viral document.

4. Napoleon is finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo 1815

   Overnight rain delayed the French attack, buying time for Prussian reinforcements. Wellington called it 'the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.'

5. Howard Carter discovers the tomb of Tutankhamun 1922

   Peering through a small hole by candlelight, Carter was asked if he could see anything. His reply: 'Yes, wonderful things.'

6. The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first artificial satellite 1957

   The beach-ball-sized satellite weighed 83 kg and beeped for three weeks. Anyone with a shortwave radio could hear it pass overhead.

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