SortStack #1535 — 2030-08-22

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. Athenian soldiers defeat the Persians at the Battle of Marathon 490 BCE

   The legend of a messenger running about 40 km to Athens with news of victory — then dropping dead — inspired the modern marathon race.

2. The Black Death arrives in Europe aboard Genoese trading ships 1347

   Within five years it killed somewhere between a third and half of Europe's population — the deadliest pandemic in recorded human history.

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. 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. India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain 1947

   Independence came at midnight, and the hastily drawn border triggered one of history's largest migrations — some fifteen million people crossed in both directions.

6. The Berlin Wall falls 1989

   A flustered official misread new travel rules at a press conference, saying they took effect 'immediately.' Crowds swamped the checkpoints within hours.

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