Episodes

April 5th, 1895. Oscar Wilde loses a libel case that leads to his arrest and imprisonment, instigating the downfall of one of Victorian England’s most celebrated writers.

April 4, 1975. Bill Gates and Paul Allen formalize their partnership with the creation of Microsoft, ushering in the era of the personal computer.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, once an autocratic dictator seizes power, how do they retain it? Enablers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 1, 355 BC. The cryptic writings of Plato send generations of seekers on a quest for the truth.

March 31, 1889. After four years of planning and construction, the Eiffel Tower is completed and inaugurated on the anniversary of the French Revolution.

March 30, 1856. The Russian Empire signs the Treaty of Paris, bringing an end to the Crimean War.

March 29, 1865. Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant launches the Appomattox Campaign, which will ultimately force the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

March 28, 1881. Rival showmen P.T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey merge their circuses to create "The Greatest Show on Earth" This episode is brought to you by Wine 52. Claim 3X free bottles of wine using code ‘DAILY’ at www.wine52.com

On today’s Saturday Matinee, don't be afraid of making connections. Link to Histories of the Unexpected: https://historiesoftheunexpected.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 25, 1807. The British Parliament abolishes the slave trade in the British West Indies.

March 24, 1603. After a reign of 44 years, Queen Elizabeth I of England dies, bringing an end to the Tudor Dynasty.

March 23, 1806. After completing the first U.S. overland expedition to the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark begin their return to St. Louis, Missouri.

March 22, 1622. Years of hostility between English colonists and Native Americans erupts into violence when Powhatan Indians massacre 347 colonists in Jamestown, Virginia.

March 21, 1963. The US federal prison on San Francisco Bay's Alcatraz Island is closed.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, a growing authoritarian menace in Europe is misjudged and appeased by Western diplomats, and then the invasion begins. Link to The History of WWII Podcast: https://worldwariipodcast.net/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 18, 1965. As the United States and Soviet Union compete over space exploration, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first person to complete a spacewalk.

March 17, 1861. After more than a decade of revolution, the Kingdom of Italy is officially founded on what is known as the Day of Unity.

March 16, 1792. King Gustav III of Sweden is shot at a masked ball in Stockholm.

March 15, 44 BC. Dozens of Roman senators carry out a plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on the "Ides of March".

March 14, 1964. In the first courtroom verdict televised in the US, Jack Ruby is found guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, a Scottish hero that’s not William Wallace or Robert the Bruce, as told by the podcast Pax Britannica. Link to Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire: https://pod.link/pax See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 11, 1918. A US army cook becomes the first person diagnosed with the Spanish Flu, setting off the deadliest pandemic in modern history.

March 10, 1969. A small-time criminal named James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

March 9, 1954. On his television show, See It Now, journalist Edward R. Murrow attacks Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade, waekening McCarthy’s power and hastening the end of America’s “Second Red Scare.”