Best HistoryPod Podcasts (2025)

Seabiscuit’s victory at Pimlico elevated him to the status of a national icon as his story of overcoming poor beginnings and repeated setbacks resonated strongly with the American ...By Scott Allsop

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31st October 1517: Martin Luther reputedly nails his Ninety-five Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, laying the foundations of the Protestant Reformation

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Martin Luther’s particular concern was the Catholic church's practice of selling indulgences with a promise that a buyer’s sins would be ...By Scott Allsop

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30th October 1961: The Tsar Bomba detonated by the USSR

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The Tsar Bomba, the most powerful explosive weapon ever created, was detonated by the ...By Scott Allsop

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29th October 1923: Republic of Turkey formally proclaimed under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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The Grand National Assembly in Ankara declared the creation of the Republic of Turkey and, in a unanimous vote, Mustafa Kemal was chosen as ...By Scott Allsop

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28th October 1971: Prospero, the only British satellite launched with a British rocket

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The Prospero satellite was launched, making it the first and only British satellite to be launched using a British ...By Scott Allsop

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27th October 1960: American singer Ben E. King records the renowned song ‘Stand By Me’

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'Stand By Me' went on to be voted one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of ...By Scott Allsop

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26th October 1861: Pony Express officially ends, only nineteen months after its first service began

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The cost of maintaining horses, riders, and remote relay stations far outstripped revenues from postage fees, while government subsidies dried up after Congress chose to instead begin funding the ...By Scott Allsop

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25th October 1415: English king Henry V defeats the numerically superior French army at the Battle of Agincourt

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Over 8,000 French troops are estimated to have been killed in the Battle of Agincourt, while the English army’s losses under Henry V were less than ...By Scott Allsop

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24th October 1926: Harry Houdini performs his final show despite suffering from acute appendicitis

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World-renowned escapologist Harry Houdini performed his final show in Detroit while suffering from ...By Scott Allsop

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23rd October 1956: Hungarian Revolution begins in Budapest against Soviet control and the Hungarian People’s Republic

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On 23 October 1956, thousands of students marched through Budapest calling for political reforms, free elections, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Over the next few weeks the revolution was brutally put ...By Scott Allsop

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22nd October 1797: The first high altitude parachute descent

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Frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin performed the first high-altitude parachute ...By Scott Allsop

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21st October 1805: The Battle of Trafalgar sees the British Navy under the command of Nelson defeat the combined fleets of France and Spain

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The Battle of Trafalgar secured British supremacy of the seas and saw the victorious fleet sail away without having lost a single ...By Scott Allsop

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20th October 1973: Sydney Opera House officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II

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Construction began in March 1959 but the project, located on Bennelong Point overlooking Sydney Harbour, soon ran into difficulties before finally opening on 20 October ...By Scott Allsop

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19th October 1935: League of Nations imposes sanctions on Italy for the invasion of Abyssinia

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When Abyssinia was finally captured on 5 May, all the sanctions were ...By Scott Allsop

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18th October 1565: European and Japanese naval forces fight for the first time

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European and Japanese naval forces fought for the first time at the Battle of Fukuda ...By Scott Allsop

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17th October 1943: The Thailand–Burma ‘Death’ Railway completed using forced labour including Allied prisoners of war

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The Japanese used approximately 60,000 POWs, mainly British, Dutch, Australian, and American, to construct the railway alongside an estimated 180,000 to 250,000 Asian civilians. It is estimated that around 12,000 Allied prisoners and up to 90,000 civilians died during ...By Scott Allsop

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16th October 1846: First public demonstration of ether anaesthesia

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The first well-publicised public demonstration of inhaled ether anaesthesia was given at the Massachusetts General ...By Scott Allsop

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15th October 1923: Rentenmark introduced in Weimar Germany in an attempt to stop the hyperinflation crisis

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The new currency was backed by land that was used by businesses and agriculture, and was introduced at the rate of one Rentenmark to one trillion ...By Scott Allsop

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14th October 1892: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle first published, containing 12 stories

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The twelve stories that make up The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were originally serialised between July 1891 and June 1892, and included cases such as “A Scandal in Bohemia,” and “The Adventure of the Speckled ...By Scott Allsop

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13th October 54: The Roman Emperor Claudius dies, supposedly after being poisoned

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Ancient sources state that the Emperor Claudius as poisoned, although who administered the poison - and on whose orders - continues to be fiercely debated by ...By Scott Allsop

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12th October 1915: British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by a German firing squad

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British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by a German firing squad during the First World ...By Scott Allsop

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11th October 1986: Reykjavík Summit takes place between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev

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The Reykjavík Summit quickly developed into one of the most significant negotiations of the era, with both sides beginning to address the escalating nuclear arms race during the Cold ...By Scott Allsop

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10th October 1957: Eisenhower apologises to Ghanaian minister for racism in Delaware restaurant

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U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologised to Ghanaian finance minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah after he was refused service in a Delaware ...By Scott Allsop

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9th October 1967: Execution of Marxist revolutionary icon Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in Bolivia

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Guevara was shot nine times in a way designed to make the injuries look like they had been caused during a battle with the Bolivian ...By Scott Allsop

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8th October 1856: Second Opium War begins after the arrest of the crew of the Arrow, a Chinese-owned but British-registered cargo boat

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Chinese officials boarded the Arrow and arrested its crew on suspicion of piracy and smuggling, prompting British authorities to claim that the Chinese had violated the vessel’s British protection, and prompting ...By Scott Allsop

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7th October 1949: The creation of East Germany, formally known as the German Democratic Republic

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The establishment of the GDR ensured that the division of Germany that had been implemented in 1945 was made ...By Scott Allsop

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6th October 1683: Germantown founded in the Pennsylvania Colony

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Germantown was founded in the Pennsylvania Colony by immigrant Quaker and Mennonite ...By Scott Allsop

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5th October 1914: First recorded aerial combat victory takes place when a French Voisin shoots down a German Aviatik aircraft

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Contemporary reports state that the French crew fired a long burst on a machine, hitting the German Aviatik and fatally wounding its crew before the plane crashed behind enemy ...By Scott Allsop

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4th October 1936: The Battle of Cable Street took place in London’s East End

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The Battle of Cable Street saw demonstrators block a march by Oswald Mosley’s British Union of ...By Scott Allsop

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3rd October 1990: East and West Germany reunified when the German Democratic Republic joins with the Federal Republic of Germany

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At midnight on 3 October the black, red and gold flag of West Germany was raised above the Brandenburg Gate which had previously divided the two ...By Scott Allsop

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2nd October 1766: Nottingham Cheese Riot takes place at the city’s Goose Fair, triggered by rising food prices

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Clashes between troops and rioters during the Nottingham Cheese Riot led to one man being killed while the mayor himself was knocked down by a rolling cheese ...By Scott Allsop

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1st October 1928: The USSR introduces the first five-year plan under Joseph Stalin

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Although the targets were constantly revised to the point where they could never be achieved, the first five-year plan firmly set the USSR on the road to becoming a world ...By Scott Allsop

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30th September 737: Umayyad Caliphate defeated in the Battle of the Baggage

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The Battle of the Baggage saw the defeat of an army from the powerful Umayyad Caliphate by Turgesh ...By Scott Allsop

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29th September 1916: John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire according to newspapers in the USA

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Rockefeller held shares in numerous companies after the breakup of Standard Oil, and as their value increased his wealth was reported to have surpassed $1 ...By Scott Allsop

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28th September 1066: William of Normandy lands in England

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William, duke of Normandy, landed in England to begin the Norman ...By Scott Allsop

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27th September 1908: First Model T Ford automobile rolls out of the Piquette Avenue factory in Detroit

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The Model T was enormously successful, and at one point half of all automobiles on the road were not just Ford cars but Model ...By Scott Allsop

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26th September 1687: An explosion rips through the Parthenon in Athens while it’s being used as a gunpowder magazine

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A mortar shell fired by Venetian troops at their Ottoman enemy struck the Parthenon directly, igniting the powder stored ...By Scott Allsop

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25th September 1513: Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa becomes the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World

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Balboa's journey involved battling with native tribes and forging a way through thick jungle, before reaching the mountain range along the Chucunaque River from where he first saw the Pacific Ocean on the morning of 25 ...By Scott Allsop

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24th September 1789: The Judiciary Act becomes law in the United States of America

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The Judiciary Act was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President George ...By Scott Allsop

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23rd September 1862: Otto von Bismarck appointed Minister-President of Prussia by King Wilhelm I

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In the early 1860s, with Prussia facing a crisis over King Wilhelm I's attempts to expand and modernize the Prussian army, he appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President in an attempt to break a budgetary ...By Scott Allsop

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22nd September 1888: First edition of National Geographic Magazine published

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The first edition of the National Geographic Magazine was published by the National Geographic ...By Scott Allsop

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21st September 1937: J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Hobbit first published in the United Kingdom

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The initial run of 1,500 copies of The Hobbit sold out within three months, and further runs proved similarly popular prompting Tolkien to write the Lord of the ...By Scott Allsop

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20th September 1378: Western Schism divides the Catholic Church after the contested election of Antipope Clement VII

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Clement established his court in Avignon, supported by France, Scotland, and several other European states. Urban VI, meanwhile, retained control of Rome and was recognized by England, much of Germany, and parts of ...By Scott Allsop

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19th September 1970: First Glastonbury Festival took place at Worthy Farm in Somerset, known at the time as the Pilton Festival of Pop, Folk, and Blues

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Organised by dairy farmer Michael Eavis, the event was billed as the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival and attracted 1,500 people who paid a pound each to see a number of bands on a single stage and drink unlimited quantities of ...By Scott Allsop

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18th September 1932: Actress Peg Entwistle’s body found after jumping from the Hollywood sign

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The body of actress Peg Entwistle was found in a ravine below the Hollywoodland sign in Los ...By Scott Allsop

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17th September 1908: Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge of the U.S. Army becomes the first person to die in an airplane crash

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Whilst circling the parade ground of Fort Myer, a propeller blade split and broke apart. This struck one of the wires that controlled the rudder, pitching the aircraft forward sharply after which it crashed nose-first into the ...By Scott Allsop