Historical Events and When They Happened

Athenian hoplites defeated a Persian landing force on the coastal plain north-east of Athens

Greek triremes trapped and sank much of the Persian fleet in a narrow strait near Athens

Spartan-led Greek stand against a massive Persian invasion force at a narrow coastal pass in central Greece

Alexander the Great crushed the Persian army of Darius III on a prepared plain in northern Mesopotamia

Hannibal encircled and destroyed a much larger Roman army on the plains of southern Italy

Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal in North Africa ending the Second Punic War

Julius Caesar besieged Vercingetorix inside a Gallic hill fort while fighting off a relief army outside

Julius Caesar routed Pompey the Great in a civil war battle on the plains of central Greece

Naval clash off western Greece where Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in a decisive sea fight

Germanic tribes ambushed and wiped out three Roman legions in dense woodland east of the Rhine

Allied southern warlords destroyed a far larger northern fleet on the Yangtze, fixing China's division into three

Constantine defeated Maxentius at a bridge over the Tiber and took control of Rome

Roman and Visigoth allies stopped Attila the Hun on the plains of northern France

Arab armies broke Byzantine control of Syria in a six-day battle beside a gorge east of the Sea of Galilee

Frankish infantry under Charles Martel halted a Muslim raiding army near Poitiers in central France

Norman victory over the English army near the Sussex coast that put William on the throne of England

Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine army opening Anatolia to Turkish settlement and migration

Lombard League infantry defeated the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa on the plain north of Milan

Saladin destroyed the Crusader army of Jerusalem, capturing the True Cross relic in the process

Crusader armies captured the port city after a long siege during the Third Crusade against Saladin

Christian kingdoms of Spain defeated the Almohad Caliphate in a decisive battle of the Reconquista

French king Philip Augustus defeated a coalition of English and German forces in Flanders

Scottish army led by Robert the Bruce defeated English forces securing independence for Scotland

English forces using longbows routed a larger French army during the early phase of the Hundred Years War

English army captured the French king John II during a major battle of the Hundred Years War

Polish-Lithuanian alliance crushed the Teutonic Knights in one of medieval Europe's largest battles

English longbowmen defeated a much larger French army during the Hundred Years War in northern France

French forces relieved the besieged city with help from Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War

Ottoman forces captured the Byzantine capital ending the Eastern Roman Empire after a long blockade

Henry Tudor defeated Richard III, ending the Wars of the Roses and beginning the Tudor dynasty

Christian Holy League fleet defeated the Ottoman navy in a major sea battle in the Gulf of Patras

Battle in central Japan that made one clan shogun and settled the country's politics for two and a half centuries

Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Imperial forces in the Thirty Years War

Parliamentarian New Model Army crushed the main Royalist field army during the English Civil War

Ottoman army besieged the Habsburg capital for two months before a relief force broke it, ending Ottoman expansion in Europe

Company victory in Bengal, won largely by bribing the opposing commander, that began British rule in India

American victory in New York that convinced France to enter the Revolutionary War as an ally

Decisive American and French victory in Virginia that forced Cornwallis to surrender and ended major fighting in the Revolution

Napoleon's greatest victory where French forces defeated a larger Russo-Austrian army in Moravia

Decisive British naval victory off Spain that ended Napoleon's hopes of invading Britain during the Napoleonic Wars

Bloodiest single day of the Napoleonic Wars fought outside Moscow between French and Russian armies

Largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars where allied forces defeated Napoleon and forced his retreat from Germany

Allied victory in Belgium that ended Napoleon's return from exile and his career as a commander for good

Bloodiest single day in American history that ended Lee's first invasion of the North during the Civil War

Three-day clash in Pennsylvania that marked the turning point of the American Civil War in the Union's favor

Union siege that captured the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River

Decisive Prussian victory that trapped a French army and led directly to the fall of the Second Empire

Decisive Japanese naval victory that destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War

German victory in East Prussia that destroyed two Russian armies in the opening weeks of the First World War

Failed Allied attempt to seize the Dardanelles and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the First World War

Only full-scale clash of dreadnought fleets during the First World War fought in the North Sea

Ten-month struggle near the Meuse that became the longest battle of the First World War

British and French offensive on the Western Front that opened with the bloodiest day in British military history

British offensive in Flanders that became notorious for its mud and enormous casualties

Air campaign in which the Royal Air Force prevented a planned German invasion of the British Isles

Nearly nine-hundred-day blockade by German and Finnish forces that starved the Soviet Union's second city

British victory in Egypt that stopped Rommel's advance toward the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern oil fields

American carrier victory in the Pacific that sank four Japanese fleet carriers and halted their eastward expansion

Soviet victory that encircled and destroyed the German Sixth Army during the brutal winter fighting along the Volga

Largest tank battle in history where Soviet forces defeated a major German offensive on the Eastern Front

Allied invasion of northern France that began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation

Last major German offensive in the West that created a dangerous salient in the Ardennes during winter

American capture of a Japanese island whose volcanic ash and tunnels produced one of the Pacific War's fiercest fights

Last major battle of the Pacific war, fought for an island meant to stage the invasion of Japan

Vietnamese forces overran a French base in a remote valley, ending French rule in Indochina

Series of battles in which Greek city-states repelled invasions by the vast Achaemenid Persian Empire during the fifth century BCE

Two centuries of war among seven Chinese kingdoms that ended when one of them conquered the rest and unified China

Lengthy struggle between Athens and Sparta along with their respective allies for supremacy across ancient Greece

Three major conflicts fought between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire over dominance in the Mediterranean Sea region

Series of three conflicts between the Roman Republic and King Mithridates VI of Pontus in Asia Minor

Campaigns led by Julius Caesar that brought the region of Gaul under Roman control through repeated military victories

Jewish revolt against Roman rule in Judea that ended with the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem

Final major Jewish uprising against Roman authority in Judea led by Simon bar Kokhba in the second century

Last great war between the Byzantine Empire and Sasanian Persia that exhausted both powers before the Arab conquests

Centuries-long series of conflicts following the rise of Islam as Arab forces expanded into Byzantine territories

Long effort by Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula to recapture territory from Muslim rulers over several centuries

Major revolt against the Tang dynasty in China led by general An Lushan that devastated the empire for years

Series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land in the Middle East

Series of campaigns by German and Scandinavian Christians against pagan peoples around the Baltic Sea

Rapid expansion of the Mongol Empire across Asia and into Europe under Genghis Khan and his successors

Campaign by northern French nobles against the Cathar heretics in southern France

Centuries-long struggle that ended with the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire

Conflict between France and the county of Flanders that included famous urban uprisings

Long dynastic conflict between England and France over the French crown fought on and off across five generations

Bohemian religious wars fought after the burning of Jan Hus, and the first in which handguns decided battles

Civil war in England between the rival houses of Lancaster and York for the throne

Century and a half of war among Japanese warlords, ended by three successive unifiers and one decisive battle

Prolonged series of conflicts involving France, Spain and the Italian states over control of the peninsula

Conflict among Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Sweden for dominance over the eastern Baltic

Decades of civil war between Catholic and Protestant factions that tore France apart in the sixteenth century

Dutch revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule that eventually created the independent Dutch Republic

Japanese invasions of Korea that drew in Ming China and ended when the Japanese ruler died at home

Major European conflict that began as a religious struggle in the Holy Roman Empire and spread across the continent

Series of armed conflicts between Parliamentarians and Royalists that led to the execution of a king

Long struggle in which Russia, Sweden and their allies fought for supremacy in northern Europe

Major European war triggered by the death of the childless Charles II of Spain

Global conflict involving most European powers and their colonies fought across several continents

Colonial revolt in which thirteen British colonies won independence forming the United States

Series of major conflicts pitting Napoleonic France against shifting coalitions of European powers

Military conflict between the United States and Great Britain over trade and territorial issues

Armed conflict between the United States and Mexico over disputed territory in the southwest

Chinese civil war led by a man who believed he was Jesus's younger brother, and among the deadliest ever fought

Conflict fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between Russia and an alliance of Britain, France and Turkey

Uprising against Company rule across northern India that ended with the crown taking over the government of the country

Conflict in which France and Sardinia defeated Austria in Lombardy, advancing the unification of Italy

Civil war fought in the United States between the Union and eleven Southern states that seceded

Conflict between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Second French Empire ending in French defeat

Short conflict in which the United States defeated Spain and acquired several colonies

Conflict in South Africa between the British Empire and the Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State

Uprising in China against foreign influence that was crushed by an eight-nation alliance

War between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over influence in Manchuria and Korea

Global war centered in Europe that involved many of the world's great powers and their colonies

Conflict following the First World War between Greece and the Turkish nationalists in Anatolia

Prolonged struggle between the Nationalist government and the Chinese Communist Party for control of the country

Invasion of Ethiopia by Fascist Italy that ended in Italian occupation until 1941

Civil war in Spain between the Republicans and Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco

Major war between China and Japan that merged into the larger Second World War

Global conflict between the Allied and Axis powers, the deadliest war in history by a very wide margin

Conflict between North Korea supported by China and South Korea backed by United Nations forces

Cold War conflict in Southeast Asia between communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam

Brief and decisive war in which Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria in under a week

Nine-year conflict in which Soviet forces supported the Afghan government against mujahideen rebels

Brief but intense conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands

War in which a US-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait after the 1990 invasion

Conflict launched by a US-led coalition to overthrow Saddam Hussein and occupy Iraq

Macedonian conquests that carried Greek armies from the Aegean to the Indus River in under a decade

Greek expedition from Massalia that reached northern Europe and described the midnight sun and polar ice

Carthaginian march over the mountains into Italy with elephants during the Second Punic War

Chinese Buddhist monk pilgrimage across Central Asia to India in search of sacred texts and teachings

Icelandic voyage that founded the first Norse settlements on Greenland after exile from Iceland

Norse expedition from Greenland that reached the coast of North America centuries before Columbus

Armed pilgrimage from Europe that captured Jerusalem and established several Latin Christian states in the Levant

Venetian merchant journey across Asia that reached the court of Kublai Khan and returned after two decades

Nestorian monk travels from China to Europe as an ambassador seeking allies against the Mamluks

Moroccan scholar journey that covered North Africa the Middle East India and parts of China over three decades

Seven Chinese treasure fleets that sailed as far as East Africa decades before Europe reached the Indian Ocean

Portuguese voyage that rounded the southern tip of Africa and opened the route to the Indian Ocean

Four Spanish expeditions across the Atlantic that reached the Caribbean and began European awareness of the Americas

English sponsored expedition that reached the coast of North America and claimed land for Henry VII

Portuguese fleet that sailed around Africa and reached India opening a direct sea route for European trade

Spanish campaign that toppled the Aztec Empire and claimed central Mexico for the crown of Castile

Spanish expedition that became the first to sail all the way around the world, though its commander died en route

Spanish conquest that overthrew the Inca Empire and seized the riches of Peru

French expedition that explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and named Canada

English voyage that raided Spanish ports and completed the second global circumnavigation

English attempt to plant a permanent settlement on the coast of present-day North Carolina

Three Dutch attempts to reach Asia north around Russia, the last ending with the ship crushed in ice

English expedition that explored the river later named after its captain in present-day New York

Dutch expedition that sighted Tasmania and New Zealand while seeking trade routes

French journey down the Mississippi River that claimed the entire basin for Louis XIV

Russian voyage that confirmed the separation of Asia and North America by sea

First French circumnavigation, a scientific voyage of two ships that charted parts of the Pacific

British expedition aboard the Endeavour that mapped New Zealand and the east coast of Australia

British expedition that crossed the Antarctic Circle and proved no large southern continent existed

British expedition that sought the Northwest Passage and discovered the Hawaiian Islands

First public demonstration of a hot-air balloon that carried a sheep, duck and rooster aloft

French scientific voyage that mapped parts of the Pacific before vanishing at sea

First recorded climb of the highest peak in the Alps by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard

British naval mission to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies

British survey that mapped the Pacific coast of North America in great detail

Scottish journey that traced the course of the Niger River through West Africa

Five-year scientific journey through Spanish America that measured everything from ocean currents to volcano heights

American overland expedition across the western United States to explore new territories and reach the Pacific coast

British naval survey voyage that carried Charles Darwin around the world and visited the Galapagos Islands

American naval exploring expedition that confirmed the existence of the Antarctic continent

British naval voyage that discovered the Ross Sea and the towering Ross Ice Barrier in Antarctica

British naval attempt to navigate the Northwest Passage that ended with the loss of both ships and all crew

Australian crossing of the continent from south to north that ended in starvation for the leaders

Search through central Africa that located the missing missionary David Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika

Global oceanographic voyage that collected thousands of deep-sea specimens and mapped the ocean floor

Swedish voyage that completed the first navigation of the Northeast Passage along the Siberian coast

Norwegian attempt to drift across the Arctic Ocean locked in pack ice aboard the specially built ship Fram

Norwegian voyage that became the first to completely transit the Northwest Passage in a small fishing vessel

First sustained powered flight of a heavier-than-air machine, made on a North Carolina beach with five witnesses

American over-ice journey claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole using sledges and Inuit guides

Norwegian overland journey that reached the geographic South Pole using dog sleds and skis

British attempt to reach the South Pole that ended with the death of the entire polar party on the return

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition whose ship was crushed by ice forcing a famous open-boat rescue

First solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St Louis

American expedition that established the first base on the Ross Ice Shelf and flew over the South Pole

Balloon ascent that carried Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer higher than any human had flown before

Norwegian raft voyage across the Pacific to test whether ancient South Americans could have reached Polynesia

First confirmed climb of Mount Everest achieved by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay via the south col route

First human spaceflight, a single orbit of the Earth lasting under two hours before a parachute landing

American spaceflight that landed two men on the Moon and returned them safely watched live worldwide

Uncrewed NASA probe launched in 1977 on a tour of the outer planets, still transmitting from interstellar space

First orbital flight of NASA's reusable shuttle that launched and landed like an airplane

Babylonian law code cut into a stone pillar, setting penalties for everything from surgery to boat hire

Proclamation granting religious toleration to Christians throughout the Roman Empire after years of persecution

Imperial order making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire

Compilation of Roman law ordered by a Byzantine emperor that became the foundation of civil law across Europe

Pact that split the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms ruled by the grandsons of Charlemagne

Proclamation by Henry I of England promising to restore laws and customs from before the Norman Conquest

Agreement ending the investiture controversy between the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor over bishop appointments

English charter forced on King John by his rebel barons, limiting what a king could lawfully do alone

Letter sent by Scottish nobles to the pope asserting independence from English rule under Robert the Bruce

Imperial decree fixing the procedure for electing the Holy Roman Emperor by seven prince-electors

Agreement recognizing Henry V of England as heir and regent to the French throne during the Hundred Years War

Agreement dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian

Settlement allowing German princes to choose Lutheranism or Catholicism for their territories

Peace ending sixty years of Italian wars, in which France gave up its claims on the peninsula

Alliance of Dutch provinces declaring independence from Spanish rule during the Eighty Years War

Royal decree granting French Protestants limited religious freedoms after decades of civil conflict

Agreement signed aboard ship by the Pilgrims, setting up self-government for their colony at Plymouth

Series of treaties ending the Thirty Years War and establishing principles of state sovereignty in Europe

Parliamentary act limiting royal power and affirming rights of subjects following the Glorious Revolution

Legislation merging the kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single United Kingdom of Great Britain

Collection of agreements concluding the War of the Spanish Succession and reshaping European colonial holdings

Document adopted by American colonies announcing separation from Great Britain and founding a new nation based on liberty

Agreement in which Britain recognized American independence and set the boundaries of the new republic

Founding document setting out the federal system of the United States, and the oldest written national constitution still in force

French revolutionary statement of universal rights, adopted weeks after the fall of the Bastille

First ten amendments to the United States Constitution protecting individual freedoms such as speech and religion

American purchase of French claims to the Mississippi basin, roughly doubling the territory of the United States

British act outlawing the trade in enslaved people across the empire, though not slavery itself

Comprehensive settlement that redrew the borders of Europe after the final defeat of Napoleon

United States policy warning European powers against further colonization or interference in the Americas

Agreement between Maori chiefs and the British Crown establishing New Zealand as a colony

Agreement ending the First Opium War and opening Chinese ports to British trade

Pact opening Japanese ports to American ships and ending centuries of isolation

Russian decree freeing twenty-three million serfs, the largest single act of emancipation before the American one

Executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states during the American Civil War

Agreement revising the Treaty of San Stefano and recognizing new Balkan states

Meeting of European powers that set the rules for carving up Africa, with no African present

British statement that supported a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine

The peace settlement that ended the First World War by imposing strict terms on defeated Germany

Agreement letting Germany annex the Czech borderlands, made by four powers with no Czech in the room

Joint declaration by Roosevelt and Churchill that outlined postwar goals including self-determination

System of monetary rules created after the war that fixed currencies to the dollar and gold

Ultimatum issued by the Allies that demanded Japan's unconditional surrender in 1945

Founding treaty that established the United Nations and its rules for maintaining international peace after 1945

Historic document adopted by the UN that lists fundamental rights every person should enjoy worldwide

Four treaties that set standards for humanitarian treatment of victims of war and prisoners

Agreement that created NATO as a military alliance to defend Western Europe against possible Soviet attack

Soviet-led military alliance formed to counter NATO and coordinate the armed forces of Eastern Europe

Founding document that created the European Economic Community and began the process of European integration

Agreement that reserved the continent for peaceful scientific research and banned military activity

Pact that prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water

International agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and promoting disarmament

Final act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe that recognized postwar borders

Framework agreements between Egypt and Israel that led to a peace treaty the following year

Agreement between the United States and Soviet Union to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles

Treaty phasing out the chemicals that were destroying the ozone layer, ratified by every country on earth

Treaty that created the European Union and laid the groundwork for the single currency

Trade agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico that removed most tariffs

Treaty that replaced GATT and created the World Trade Organization to govern global trade

International treaty that committed developed nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by set targets

Peace accord that largely ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland through power-sharing institutions

Treaty that established the International Criminal Court to prosecute genocide and war crimes

Reform treaty that streamlined decision-making in the European Union after its enlargement to the east

Bilateral arms control agreement that further reduced the deployed strategic nuclear warheads on both sides

Global accord under which nations pledged to limit temperature rise and reduce carbon emissions

Catastrophic Bronze Age volcanic explosion on the island of Thera that affected the entire Aegean region

Devastating epidemic that struck Athens during the Peloponnesian War and killed many citizens including Pericles

Massive fire that destroyed much of central Rome over several days during the reign of Nero

Volcanic eruption that buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under many meters of ash and pumice

Pandemic that swept through the Roman Empire and may have been smallpox brought back by returning troops

Major quake and tsunami that devastated Crete and sent destructive waves across the eastern Mediterranean

First known bubonic plague pandemic that devastated the Byzantine Empire and surrounding regions for years

Norman vessel that sank in the English Channel carrying the heir to the English throne and many nobles

One of the largest historical earthquakes in the Levant that caused widespread damage and many deaths

Indonesian volcanic eruption, the largest in seven thousand years, whose ash cooled summers across the whole northern hemisphere

Widespread European famine caused by years of cold wet weather that ruined harvests across the continent

Plague pandemic that killed perhaps a third of Europe within a few years of reaching its southern ports

Chinese earthquake generally reckoned the deadliest in recorded history, striking a densely settled region at night

Destruction of many Spanish ships along Irish and Scottish coasts after failed invasion attempt

Severe bubonic plague outbreak in northern Italy that killed a huge share of the population

Last major outbreak of bubonic plague in England that killed a large portion of the city population

Massive urban blaze that consumed much of medieval London over four days leaving thousands homeless

Long-lasting eruption of Mount Etna that destroyed villages and changed the landscape of Sicily

Earthquake, fire and tsunami that destroyed the Portuguese capital on a holy day and badly shook European thought

Famine in Company-ruled Bengal that killed perhaps a third of the province in four years

Caribbean hurricane that remains the deadliest Atlantic storm on record, striking during the American revolutionary war

Eight-month Icelandic fissure eruption that poured out lava and sulfurous haze across the north Atlantic and Europe

Severe outbreak of yellow fever that emptied the American capital and killed many residents

Enormous volcanic eruption in Indonesia that caused the year without a summer and global crop failures

Rapid spread of cholera through New York City that killed thousands in a few months

Potato blight and its aftermath in Ireland, which killed about a million people and drove a million more abroad

Devastating urban conflagration that swept through Chicago destroying homes and businesses over several square miles

Firestorm that destroyed a Wisconsin lumber town and the forest around it, the deadliest fire in American history

Catastrophic volcanic explosion in Indonesia that generated massive tsunamis and altered global weather patterns for years

Chinese flood that burst the dikes of a raised riverbed and drowned a plain the size of a small country

Catastrophic dam failure that unleashed a wall of water destroying the Pennsylvania town and killing over two thousand people

Deadly hurricane that struck Texas and flooded the island city killing thousands in one of Americas worst disasters

Powerful earthquake and resulting firestorm that destroyed much of San Francisco in the early twentieth century

British passenger liner that sank after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage across the Atlantic

British ocean liner torpedoed by a German U-boat off Ireland, killing nearly twelve hundred passengers and crew

Massive detonation of a munitions ship in Halifax harbor that flattened much of the city and killed nearly two thousand

Global influenza pandemic that killed tens of millions of people in the aftermath of the First World War

Massive earthquake that leveled Tokyo and Yokohama and triggered fires that killed over one hundred thousand

Flooding of the Yangtze and Huai basins, reckoned the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history

German airship that burst into flames while docking in New Jersey, ending the era of passenger dirigibles

Famine across China during a forced industrial campaign, the deadliest in recorded history by a wide margin

Most powerful earthquake ever recorded that struck southern Chile and generated tsunamis across the Pacific

Deadliest earthquake of the twentieth century that struck industrial Tangshan and killed several hundred thousand

Partial nuclear meltdown in Pennsylvania that became the most serious accident in United States commercial nuclear history

Catastrophic volcanic blast in Washington state that flattened forests and killed fifty-seven people in minutes

Global epidemic caused by HIV that has killed more than forty million people since it was first recognized

Industrial gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in India that killed thousands overnight and injured many more

Colombian volcano whose eruption melted glaciers and sent deadly mudflows that buried the town of Armero

Reactor explosion in Soviet Ukraine that spread radioactive fallout across Europe and emptied a whole city permanently

NASA shuttle that exploded seventy-three seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members including a teacher

Oil tanker that ran aground in Alaska and released millions of gallons of crude into Prince William Sound

Second-largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century that cooled global temperatures for over a year

NASA shuttle that disintegrated during reentry after foam damaged its wing, killing the entire crew

Massive tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake that devastated coastlines across fourteen countries

Category five hurricane that flooded New Orleans after levees failed and displaced over a million residents

Devastating magnitude seven earthquake that destroyed much of Port-au-Prince and killed over one hundred thousand

Offshore drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that caused the largest marine oil spill in history

Icelandic volcano whose ash cloud grounded flights across Europe for more than a week in 2010

Japanese nuclear plant meltdown triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami that released radiation into the sea

Cruise ship that capsized after striking rocks off Italy, killing thirty-two passengers and crew

Coronavirus pandemic that closed borders, schools and workplaces worldwide and killed several million people over three years