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What Happened Today in History?

Posted by Kronos Profile 04/07/25 at 12:12PM History See more by Kronos
1100 CE, July 31

King William II of England, also known as William Rufus, is killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Some believe that his brother Henry plotted his death since shortly after his brother William's death, he rushed to be crowned king before anyone could contest him. Also, Walter Tirel, the person that killed King William, fled to France following the incident, which over time has been viewed as an admission of guilt. Yet hunting was not a particularly safe at the time with frequent hunting accidents some of which were  fatal. More

1715 CE, July 31

The Urca de Lima and 9 other treasure ships on their way back to Spain from Havana were all lost in a hurricane off the Atlantic coast. More than 700 seamen, including the Spanish commander, drowned. More than $15 million worth of treasure sank to the bottom of the ocean. Spain managed to recover about $4 million of the treasure. The rest remained on the ocean floor for more than 250 years. More

1777 CE, July 31

The Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army. His Masonic membership opened many doors in Philadelphia. Lafayette's advocates included Benjamin Franklin who had recently arrived back from his assignment as American envoy to France. Congress was urged to accommodate the young Frenchman who had offered to serve without pay. 

A Comment by Loy

Your avatar
Loy • 04/08/2025 at 03:36PM • Like 1 Profile

Love the new UI - it is fun to be able to easily look up specific days, years and months throughout history. I must control me ADHD 😳🙂

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons. Many loops into the Sun's lower corona are large enough to envelop the Earth and are stable enough to last days. They commonly occur near active regions that also include dark sunspots. The featured panel shows four loops, each of which was captured near the Sun's edge during 2024 and 2025. The images were taken by a personal telescope in Mantova, Italy and in a very specific color of light emitted primarily by hydrogen. Some solar prominences suddenly break open and eject particles into the Solar System, setting up a space weather sequence that can affect the skies and wires of Earth. Jigsaw Universe: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

Photo by Andrea Vanoni

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Is the Helix Nebula looking at you? No, not in any biological sense, but it does look quite like an eye. The Helix Nebula is so named because it also appears that you are looking down the axis of a helix. In actuality, it is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry, including radial filaments and extended outer loops. The Helix Nebula (aka NGC 7293) is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula, a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce. The featured picture, taken in red, green, and blue but highlighted by light emitted primarily by hydrogen was created from 12 hours of exposure through a personal telescope located in Greece. A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots the origin of which are still being researched. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by George Chatzifrantzis

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? You're not alone. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops and bottoms. The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon result. Lightning usually takes a jagged course, rapidly heating a thin column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the Sun. The resulting shock wave starts supersonically and decays into the loud sound known as thunder. On average, around the world, about 6,000 lightning bolts occur between clouds and the Earth every minute. Pictured in July 2019 in a two-image composite, lightning stems from communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water) in Guatemala. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

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