This Week in History Archive
See what happened each week of the year.
Weeks Of The Year
- Wk 01: Khmer Rouge Is Overthrown In Cambodia
January 1979 - After nearly 4 years in power, the regime led by Pol Pot is brought down.
- Wk 02: US President Bush Vomits On Japanese Leader January 1992
- US President George Bush becomes ill and vomits on the Japanese Prime Minister.
- Wk 03: Shah Of Iran Flees Uprising January 1979
- After many years of autocratic rule, the Shah of Iran flees the country amid growing opposition.
- Wk 04: Nazi Death Camp At Auschwitz Liberated January 1945
- Red Army soldiers from the USSR liberate the largest Nazi concentration camp.
- Wk 05: Mahatma Gandhi Is Assassinated January 1948
- Indian pro-independence activist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi.
- Wk 06: Nelson Mandela Is Freed From Jail February 1990
- South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela is freed after nearly 30 years' imprisonment.
- Wk 07: Allies Bomb Dresden, Killing Thousands February 1945
- Massive bombing by Allied forces kills tens of thousands of civilians in Dresden, Germany.
- Wk 08: Russia Launches The First Space Station February 1986
- Russia launches the first modules of the MIR space station into orbit around the earth.
- Wk 09: USA Tests Its Biggest Nuclear Weapon March 1954
- The USA explodes a huge hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
- Wk 10: Bell "Invents" The Telephone March 1876
- Alexander Graham Bell claims to have invented the telephone, but did he?
- Wk 11: US Troops Kill Vietnamese Villagers March 1968
- US soldiers kill hundreds of men, women and children in the Vietnamese village of My Lai.
- Wk 12: American-led Forces Invade Iraq March 2003
- Iraq is invaded in order to destroy weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons are found.
- Wk 13: Nuclear Reactor Melts Down In The USA March 1979
- Deadly radiation escapes from a US nuclear power plant, endangering nearly 2,000,000 people.
- Wk 14: Martin Luther King Is Assassinated April 1968
- US civil rights leader Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Wk 15: Russia Sends First Man Into Space April 1961
- Russian cosmonaut Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes the first man to fly into space.
- Wk 16: Cuba Repels Bay Of Pigs Invasion April 1961
- Cubans defeat US-backed insurgents trying to bring down their government.
- Wk 17: Prisoners Abused By US Forces In Iraq April 2004
- Photos prove serious abuse of Iraqis by US forces at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
- Wk 18: The War Ends In Vietnam April 1975
- The South Vietnamese government surrenders to North Vietnam and the country is unified.
- Wk 19: Germany Surrenders To Allied Forces May 1945
- After six years of war, Germany surrenders and Europe is at peace once again.
- Wk 20: Communist States Sign The Warsaw Pact May 1955
- The Soviet Union and its communist allies in Eastern Europe sign a pact to strengthen ties.
- Wk 21: First Solo Non-Stop Atlantic Flight May 1927
- Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Wk 22: Mount Everest Is "Conquered" May 1953
- Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first to climb the world's highest mountain.
- Wk 23: Chinese Troops Kill Protesters June 1989
- Chinese troops kill thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
- Wk 24: Henry Ford Founds The Ford Motor Company June 1903
- Henry Ford founds a company that will revolutionize industrial production methods.
- Wk 25: France Loses The Battle Of Waterloo June 1815
- French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte are defeated by the Allies in Belgium.
- Wk 26: US Army Defeated At Little Big Horn June 1876
- US General George Custer and all of his men are killed after attacking Native Americans.
- Wk 27: Declaration Of Independence Approved July 1776
- 13 British colonies in North America claim independence from Great Britain.
- Wk 28: The Bastille Is Attacked In Paris July 1789
- French revolutionaries attack and overtake the most despised prison in France, "The Bastille".
- Wk 29: Spanish Civil War Begins July 1936
- Pro-fascist forces revolt against the government of Spain, and civil war ensues.
- Wk 30: World's First Test Tube-Baby Is Born July 1978
- Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby", is born in Manchester, England.
- Wk 31: First FIFA World Cup Is Held In Uruguay July 1930
- The final match of the first FIFA World Cup Football Championship is held in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Wk 32: USA Drops Nuclear Bombs On Japan August 1945
- The USA drops atomic bombs on two Japanese cities at the end of World War II.
- Wk 33: The Panama Canal Is Opened August 1914
- The Panama Canal is officially opened after 10 years of construction.
- Wk 34: Soviet-led Forces Invade Czechoslovakia August 1968
- Soviet-led forces invade Czechoslovakia to halt pro-democracy reforms.
- Wk 35: Princess Diana Dies After A Car Crash August 1997
- Princess Diana dies shortly after a high-speed car accident in Paris, France.
- Wk 36: Allies Declare War On Nazi Germany September 1939
- Great Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Hitler's Nazi Germany.
- Wk 37: USA Suffers 4 Simultaneous Attacks September 2001
- The world watches in shock and awe as 4 commercial airliners wreak havoc in the USA.
- Wk 38: Palestinian Refugees Killed In Lebanon September 1982
- Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Palestinian refugees are killed in refugee camps in Lebanon.
- Wk 39: The First Flight Around The World September 1924
- 2 US planes, The Chicago and The New Orleans, complete the first flight around the world.
- Wk 40: First Satellite Launched Into Space October 1957
- The USSR launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.
- Wk 41: Columbus Reaches The "New World" October 1492
- Christopher Columbus leads the first Europeans to sail across the Atlantic.
- Wk 42: Protesting Algerians Shot Dead In Paris October 1961
- French police kill up to 400 people marching in support of Algeria's independence.
- Wk 43: Communists Depose Russian Rulers October 1917
- Communists led by Vladimir Lenin bring down the Russian government.
- Wk 44: First Bra Is Patented November 1914
- In the USA, Mary Phelps Jacob receives the world's first patent for a brassiere.
- Wk 45: The Berlin Wall Falls November 1989
- For the first time since it was built in 1961, free movement is allowed through the Berlin Wall.
- Wk 46: Frenchman Flies The First Helicopter November 1907
- French bicycle maker Paul Cornu flies his home-made helicopter for 20 seconds.
- Wk 47: US President Is Shot In Texas November 1963
- US President John F. Kennedy is killed by an assassin's bullets in Dallas, Texas.
- Wk 48: Tutankhamen's Tomb Is Opened November 1922
- The tomb of the ancient Egyptian "boy king" is opened for the first time in over 3,000 years.
- Wk 49: Gas Leak Kills Thousands In India December 1984
- A gas leak at a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India, causes thousands of deaths.
- Wk 50: Call For US Vote Recount Is Rejected December 2001
- George W. Bush becomes US president after the Supreme Court rejects a call for a vote recount.
- Wk 51: US Forces Occupy The Philippines December 1898
- The USA claims the Philippines as a "ceded territory" and takes control using military force.
- Wk 52: US Troops Kill 150 Native Americans December 1890
- At least 150 Native American men, women and children are shot dead at Wounded Knee Creek.