Ten Years Ago (2007)

After years of lax lending and easy credit, BNP Paribas blocks withdrawals from three hedge funds; this is the beginning of the global financial crisis. The following month, there is a bank run on Northern Rock in the UK. Apple announces the first iPhone. Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union. 32 people are shot dead by a single gunman at Virginia Tech. Disappearance of Madeleine McCann from her apartment in Portugal. Al Gore and the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change win the Nobel Peace Prize. The Dublin Port Tunnel is opened to all traffic. Wembley Stadium re-opens in London. Smoking is no longer permitted in enclosed public spaces in the UK.

Twenty Years Ago (1997)

Scientists announce the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. The first divorce takes place in Ireland after its legalisation the previous year. Comet Hale Bopp makes its closest approach to Earth. 39 members of the Heavens Gate cult commit mass suicide in California. IBM’s Deep Blue defeats Gary Kasparov in a man vs. machine chess match. Hong Kong ceases to be a British Dependency. Gianni Versace gunned down in Miami. Steve Jobs re-joins Apple. Princess Diana is killed in a car accident in Paris. The Provisional IRA announce a second and final ceasefire. Publication of JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel. Scotland and Wales vote for devolution and the creation of a separate national parliaments within the UK. “Saving Private Ryan” invasion scenes shot in Curracloe Beach in Ireland. Election of Mary McAleese as President of Ireland.

Thirty Years Ago (1987)

193 people die in the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. West German pilot Matthias Rust evades Soviet security and lands a small plane in Moscow’s Red Square.The Single European Act is ratified. A massive storm hits the UK and France, causing widespread damage and killing 22 people. A Provisional IRA bomb in Enniskillen kills 12 people. A fire in Kings Cross tube station kills 31 people. Construction of the channel tunnel between the England and France is given the green light by UK and French Governments. Irishman Steven Roche wins the Tour De France.

Forty Years Ago (1977)

The “first” Star Wars movie (A New Hope) opens in cinemas. The last naturally occurring case of smallpox is discovered in Somalia. The last execution by guillotine in France takes place while the US recommences judicial executions. Atari debuts its video game system. Two 747 jumbo jets collide in Tenerife airport, killing 583 people. Spain holds its first democratic elections after 41 years of dictatorship. Elvis Presley dies at the age of 42. Reformer Deng Xiaoping becomes leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts are launched – they will eventually fly past the outer planers of the solar system and onwards into deep space. “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” is released sparking a major controversy in the UK.

Fifty Years Ago (1967)

The Summer of Love: thousands of hippies converge on San Francisco and other cities around the world. Race riots take place in Detroit and Newark. The first heart transplant is performed by Christiaan Barnard. The United Kingdom applies to join the European Economic Community. The city of Milton Keynes in the UK is founded. The Apollo 1 astronauts are killed in a fire on the Cape Canaveral launch pad. The Six Day War takes place, with Israel dealing a heavy blow to Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The Boeing 737 jet enters service. A massive fire in Brussels leaves 323 dead. The Beatles release “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. The Venera 4 probe enters the atmosphere of Venus, sending back valuable data about this hostile planet. The UK decriminalises homosexuality. A new astronomical object – a pulsar – is discovered by Jocelyn Bell and Anthony Hewish. A major foot-and-mouth disease outbreak occurs in Britain. Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara is executed in Bolivia. Abortion in limited circumstances passes parliament in the UK.

Sixty Years Ago (1957)

Sputnik 1 is launched: it is the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. The Treaty of Rome is signed, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). The first episode of astronomy programme “The Sky at Night” is shown on the BBC. Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” is published. A fire at the Windscale nuclear reactor in Cumbria spreads radioactive material into the local environment. The Lovell Radio Telescope is installed in Jodrell Bank Observatory. The “Spaghetti Tree” hoax is aired on the BBC. Ghana and Malaysia acquire independence.

Seventy Years Ago (1947)

The Cold War begins between the Soviet Union and western powers. The Marshall Plan is announced, with the US sending unprecedented amounts of aid and support to war-torn Western Europe. Gangster Al Capone dies. The UFO craze begins after a number of anomalous sightings in America. The German state of Prussia is officially abolished. The International Monetary Fund commences operations. The Diary of Anne Frank is published. India and Pakistan acquire independence. New Zealand acquires de-facto independence. Chuck Yeager becomes the first man to break the sound barrier. Princess Elisabeth marries Prince Philip in Westminster Abbey. Tom Blower becomes the first man to swim the North Channel between Britain and Ireland. Shannon Airport becomes the world’s first duty-free airport.

Eighty Years Ago (1937)

Fred Whittle builds the first workable jet engine. The town of Guernica in Spain is bombed. Later that year, Pablo Picasso completes his famous painting depicting the bombing. The Hindenburg airship is engulfed in flame upon arrival in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The Golden Gate bridge is opened to traffic. The Volkswagen motor company is founded. Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” is premiered in Germany. The Irish Constitution comes into force. Amelia Earhart disappears during her attempt to circumnavigate the world. The “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” leads to the Japanese invasion of China. The Nanking Massacre takes place later that year. Stalin orders mass executions of kulaks (land-owners) in the Soviet Union. JRR Tolkein’s book “The Hobbit” is published. The animated movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is released.

Ninety Years Ago (1927)

The first transatlantic telephone call takes place between New York and London. Werner Heisenberg formulates his Uncertainty Principle. The first Volvo car rolls off the production lines in Sweden. Charles Lindbergh flies from New York City to Paris. Teams begin carving the presidential sculptures of Mount Rushmore. After the expulsion of Leon Trotsky, Josef Stalin takes sole leadership of the Soviet Union. The Fianna Fáil party takes their seats in the Dáil (Irish Parliament), establishing themselves as the official opposition party.

One Hundred Years Ago (1917)

Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates, heralding an end to Romanov rule of Russia. Responding to the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the President of the United States declares war on Germany. During the World War I Battle of Messines, a single allied bomb kills over 10,000 German soldiers. Two young women take the  Cottingley Fairies photographs, an ingenious hoax only admitted in the 1980s. Crowds in Fatima, Portugal, claim to see the sun dance in the sky; it’s claimed to be a miracle associated with Virgin Mary. The Battle of Passchendaele takes place in Belgium. Mata Hari is executed for spying for Germany. The Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin take control of Russia in the October Revolution. The Balfour Declaration announces British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Russia exits World War I.

Two Hundred Years Ago (1817)

The states of Alabama and Mississippi are created. The “dandy horse“, an early form of bicycle is invented. Start of a great cholera pandemic in Bombay. Europe is hit by famine. Jane Austin’s novel “Persuasion” is published following her death. The Elgin Marbles are put on display in the British Museum in London; their location has remained a controversy ever since.

Three Hundred Years Ago (1717)

Edward Teach, also known as the pirate Blackbeard, sets out on a rampage through the Caribbean. The Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stewart begins his exile in Avignon after giving up his fight to reclaim the British crown. François-Marie Arouet (soon to be known as Voltaire) is imprisoned in the Bastille in Paris for writing a satirical poem about the Regent of France.

Four Hundred Years Ago (1617)

King of France Louis XIII wrests power from his mother and executes her accomplices to become sole ruler. The Finspång witch trial in Sweden; the seven convicted women are thrown on a bonfire for sorcery. Ferdinand II is elected King of Bohemia; his unpopular rule is soon to end in disaster for all of central Europe. King James VI and I travelled to Scotland in an attempt to unite the Scottish and English churches. The troubled Mustafa I becomes Ottoman Emperor. Sir Walter Raleigh leaves Cork for his last journey to the Americas.

Five Hundred Years Ago (1517)

Martin Luther starts the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenburg Castle Church. The Fifth Lateran Council of the Catholic Church is concluded in Rome. The first European diplomatic trade mission to China takes place. The Mamluk Sultanate ends when Egypt is absorbed into the Ottoman Empire. Evil May Day, a violent protest against foreigners, takes place in London. A severe bout of sweating sickness hits England. Aztec ruler Moctezuma II hears of Europeans reaching the eastern borders of his empire. The foundation of the port of Le Havre in France.

Six Hundred Years Ago (1417)

The Avignon Papacy, a rival to the Roman Papacy, comes to an end with the deposition of Pope Benedict XIII. English king Henry V invades Normandy, consolidating his gains from the Battle of Agincourt. English is restored as the official language of England by King Henry V; for centuries the official languages had been French and Latin.

Seven Hundred Years Ago (1317)

The Great Famine, caused by intensely bad weather over Europe, reaches its height and starts to abate. Edward Bruce’s devastating campaign continues in Ireland, reaching as far south as Cashel. Philip V becomes King of France after successfully outmanoeuvring his niece for the crown.

Eight Hundred Years Ago (1217)

The Fifth Crusade arrives in the Holy Land. The forces of French King Louis I are defeated by the forces of William Marshal in the First Baron’s War; Louis relinquishes his title to the English crown later that year. The Mongols under Mukhali invade central China. The Great Charter is issued by Henry III, securing rights for the Anglo-Norman lords in Ireland.

Nine Hundred Years Ago (1117)

Iceland abolishes slavery. Baldwin I, Crusader king of Jerusalem, expands his kingdom into Egypt.

One Thousand Years Ago (1017)

Foundation of the Druze religion. King Cnut divides England into four earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria. Aziz al Dawla becomes Fatimid Emir of Aleppo.

One Thousand Three Hundred Years Ago (AD 717)

The Siege of Constantinople: Emperor Leo III defeats the huge army of Muslim general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, using Greek Fire to repel the besiegers. Charles Martel consolidates his power to become ruler of Francia.

One Thousand Four Hundred Years Ago (AD 617)

The Banu Hashim clan is pressurised to withdraw its protection of Muhammad, founder of Islam.

One Thousand Five Hundred Years Ago (AD 517)

Indian mathematician Aryabhata completes a major treatise on algebra, trigonometry and astronomy – many of his theorems continue to be used in classrooms today. India’s first satellite was named in his honour.

One Thousand Six Hundred Years Ago (AD 417)

The Visigoths are granted the territories of Aquitaine and become allies of the Western Roman Empire.

One Thousand Nine Hundred Years Ago (AD 117)

Hadrian becomes Roman Emperor.

Two Thousand Years Ago (AD 17)

After defeating the German tribes, Roman general Germanicus returns in triumph to Rome; he is appointed governor of the eastern empire. Herod Antipas founds the city of Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Two Thousand One Hundred Years Ago (BC 83)

The Dictator Sulla arrives back in Italy and defeats his rival Gaius Norbanus. Birth of Mark Antony.

Two Thousand Two Hundred Years Ago (BC 183)

Death of Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Hannibal’s armies.