SortStack #1885 — 2031-08-07
By year · Order from earliest to most recent.
- Rome is founded, according to legend, by Romulus 753 BCE
Romans dated their entire calendar 'ab urbe condita' — from the founding of the city — and the legend says Romulus killed his twin brother Remus over the city walls.
- Emperor Constantine dedicates Constantinople as the new Roman capital 330
Built on the old Greek city of Byzantium, it remained an imperial capital for over a thousand years and is now Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.
- England defeats the Spanish Armada 1588
Storms did more damage than English guns — far more Spanish ships wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland than were sunk in battle.
- 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.
- 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.'
- Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to resign 1974
A month after he left office, his successor Gerald Ford granted him a full pardon — a decision many believe cost Ford the next election.