SortStack #2851 — 2034-03-30

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. 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.

2. Johannes Gutenberg develops his movable-type printing press 1440

   Gutenberg was a goldsmith by trade. Of the roughly 180 Bibles he printed, 49 survive — and he died broke after losing his workshop in a lawsuit.

3. Britain passes the act abolishing slavery across most of its empire 1833

   The government borrowed a colossal sum to compensate slave owners — not the enslaved. The loan was so large it was only fully paid off in 2015.

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. 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.

6. The Space Shuttle Columbia makes the first shuttle flight 1981

   It was the first time NASA launched humans on a vehicle that had never flown an uncrewed test — commander John Young had already walked on the Moon.

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