🌟 Editor's Note
Good morning — it’s Friday, March 20. Today we’re taking a look at the Black Death, how the electric battery was invented, Napoleon's 100-day comeback, when the Republican Party was founded, the Sarin gas attacks in Tokyo, and much more — all quick, to the point, and well-sourced.
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🚀 Time Machine
-1345
The Black Death, or Plague, ravaged Europe, the Middle East, and Asia in the 14th century, killing an estimated 25-50 million people.
-1413
Henry IV, the first English monarch of the Lancastrian dynasty, dies after years of illness, and Henry V ascends to the throne.
-1602
The United Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) is formed and gets a monopoly on Dutch sea-borne trade with Asia.
-1800
Alessandro Volta reports the discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London.
-1815
Napoleon Bonaparte enters Paris after escaping Elba and begins his 100-day rule.
-1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was published.
-1854
The Republican Party was formally founded in Ripon, Wisconsin.
-1991
Michael Jackson signs a $65 million deal with Sony Records for six albums.
-1995
Sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway kill twelve and injure over 5,000.
-2016
Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a three-day tour.
-2024
Vaughan Gething is Wales' new First Minister, becoming the first Black leader of a national government in Europe.
📸 Snapshot
Destroying pinball machines during the pinball prohibition, 1948
They were banned in NYC and other major cities, such as Chicago and Los Angeles, between the 1940s and 1970s.
🗨️ Last Words
“I believe we shall adjourn this meeting to another place.”