On 1 September 1859 Richard Carrington saw a white-light flare on the Sun. Within a day auroras filled the sky and telegraph operators worked without batteries.
On 30 October 1938 a radio play reported Martians landing in New Jersey. A ratings survey that night found only 2% of homes it called were listening.
In July 1755 Giacomo Casanova was locked in the Leads, the cells under the roof of the Doge's Palace. On 1 November 1756 he escaped across the roof.
| Prehistory before 3500 BC | Ancient world 3500 BC – 800 BC | Classical world 800 BC – AD 500 | Medieval world 500 – 1500 | Early modern world 1500 – 1800 | Modern era 1800 – 1914 | Twentieth century 1914 – 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| West Asia | 6 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Europe | 6 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| East Asia | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| South Asia | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Central Asia | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| The Americas | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Oceania | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Southern Maya cities stopped dating monuments by AD 998. Lake cores, a stalagmite, Aguateca's walls and lidar each explain part of why they emptied.
· AD 900Calvert began digging Hisarlık in 1863; its nine layers span 3,000 years. Hittite texts name Wilusa, and in 2001 Korfmann and Kolb fought over its size.
· 1871Angkor Wat was built in the reign of Suryavarman II (anointed 1113). A Chinese envoy of 1296 called it only the tomb of Lu Ban; later books credited Rome.
· 1113Merneptah's Karnak inscription and Ramesses III's year 8 text at Medinet Habu name the Sea Peoples. Breasted, Cline and Roberts added the rest.
· 1177 BCJosé Garanger dug 118 square meters at Mangaasi on Efate in 1966–67 and named a pottery style. Re-excavation from 1996 put Erueti ware before it.
· 1967Police recovered looted gold at Sipán in February 1987. Walter Alva's team then recorded an intact Moche royal tomb at Huaca Rajada on July 20, 1987.
· AD 250One email a week: the new articles, and what was happening elsewhere at the same moment. Free, no ads, unsubscribe any time. How we handle your email.
