SortStack #1759 — 2031-04-03
By year · Order from earliest to most recent.
- 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.
- Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Romans in St. Peter's Basilica 800
Pope Leo III crowned him on Christmas Day, reportedly taking Charlemagne by surprise — reviving the idea of a Roman emperor in the west after three centuries.
- Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen 1431
She was about nineteen years old. A retrial cleared her name 25 years later, and she was made a saint nearly five centuries after her death.
- Parisians storm the Bastille fortress, igniting the French Revolution 1789
The dreaded fortress held just seven prisoners that day — including two men deemed insane. Its demolition stones were sold as souvenirs.
- Star Wars premieres in cinemas 1977
It opened in just a few dozen theaters because studios doubted it. George Lucas skipped the premiere and was vacationing in Hawaii with Steven Spielberg as it exploded.
- Queen Elizabeth II dies after seventy years on the throne 2022
She appointed her fifteenth prime minister, Liz Truss, just two days before her death — having started with Winston Churchill.