May 24

in History

Rome, Roman EmpireAncient

Germanicus Was Born

Rome's golden prince and beloved general

In Rome, Germanicus Julius Caesar was born into the heart of the imperial family -- nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, great-nephew of Augustus himself. He would become Rome's most beloved military hero, leading campaigns against the Germanic tribes of Arminius that avenged the catastrophic defeat at Teutoburg Forest. His early death at thirty-three, widely believed to be poison, plunged Rome into mourning and gave rise to a legend that endured for centuries.

15 BC

Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (modern South Africa)Early 20th Century

1900

Orange Free State Annexed

Britain swallows a Boer republic

During the Second Boer War, the United Kingdom formally annexed the Orange Free State, absorbing the independent Boer republic into the British Empire. The annexation, carried out while fighting still raged across South Africa, was part of Britain's campaign to consolidate control over the gold and diamond-rich interior of southern Africa. The move ended decades of Boer self-governance and sowed the seeds of Afrikaner nationalism that would shape South African politics for a century.

1900 AD

Country in Eurasia (1922–1991)Early 20th Century

1940

Soviet Union

Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), also known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, largest by area, and bordered twelve countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, the largest and most populous being the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized.

1940 AD