A big day in history

Dominic Sandbrook charts significant dates in history

The opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851. (The Print Collector/Getty Images)

A big day in history: Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition at the famous Crystal Palace

Police Constable Neil finds the body of MARY ANN NICHOLS in Buck's Row, Whitechapel Date: 31 August 1888

A big day in history: Mary Ann Nichols becomes the first victim of ‘Jack the Ripper’ (31 August 1888)

The last days of Pompeii by Karl Brjullov, dated 1830. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

A big day in history: Pompeii is engulfed by ash (24 August AD 79)

Oliver Cromwell at the battle of Marston Moor. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

A big day in history: Tuesday 2 July 1644

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A big day in history: a woman drowns as the Kennedy curse strikes again

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The Library A big day in history: Hannibal smashes his foes "at the very gates of Rome"

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A big day in history: Rioters give East Anglia’s rich and respectable a fright

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A big day in history: Nevsky’s Russians crush the Teutonic Knights

LA Times photo from newspaper report 1942

Second World War

A big day in history: Japanese planes attack Los Angeles. Or do they?

Gold miners in California in 1849. The gold rush sparked one of the greatest mass migrations in American history. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

A big day in history: A speck of glitter triggers the California Gold Rush

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A big day in history: The day Pope Urban II exhorted Christians to go on crusade

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'Maxentius kommt um'

Rˆmisches Reich / Schlacht an der Mil-
vischen Br¸cke, 28.Oktober 312 (Kaiser
Kaiser Konstantin d.Gr. siegt ¸ber den
Gegenkaiser Maxentius).
- 'Maxentius kommt um'. -
Kupferstich von Matth‰us Merian d.ƒ.
(1593-1650). Aus: Johann Ludwig Gott-
fried, Historische Chronica, Frankfurt
a.M. (M.Merian) 1630, S.372.

E:
'Maxentius is killed'

Roman Empire / Battle at the Milvian
Bridge, 28 October 312 (Emperor Constan-
tin the Great defeats Maxentius).
- 'Maxentius is killed'. -
Copper engraving by Matth‰us Merian t.E.
(1593-1650). From: Johann Ludwig Gott-
fried, Historische Chronica, Frankfurt
a.M. (M.Merian) 1630, p.372.

A big day in history: “A cross of light” leads Constantine to victory

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A big day in history: a royal icon is stabbed through the heart

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The Library A big day in history: the Great Fire of Rome