HistoryPod | 'On This Day' History Podcast and Videos

Podcast

17th August 1836: Parliament passes the 1836 Marriage Act, allowing non-Anglican ceremonies

Parliament passed the Marriage Act that legalised civil marriages and introduced their formal registration.Read more

Podcast

16th August 1858: Queen Victoria sends the first transatlantic telegram

Queen Victoria sent the first telegram using the newly-installed transatlantic telegraph cable to US President James Buchanan.Read more

Podcast

15th August 1969: Woodstock Music and Art Fair opens on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel in New York

Officially promoted as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music,” Woodstock remains one of the defining moments in the history of modern popular music.Read more

Podcast

14th August 1941: Roosevelt and Churchill issue the Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was issued by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.Read more

Podcast

13th August 1876: The premiere of Wagner’s complete Ring cycle takes place in Germany

The first complete performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle took place in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.Read more

Podcast

12th August 1977: Space Shuttle Enterprise completes the first free flight of the Space Shuttle programme

After separation from the carrier aircraft the pilots completed a controlled descent and precise landing at Edwards Air Force Base, confirming earlier aerodynamic predictions and providing engineers with valuable information for the construction and operation…Read more

Podcast

11th August 1919: The Weimar Republic officially established when Friedrich Ebert signs the new constitution into law

It took the best of part of seven months for the delegates of the new German National Assembly to agree on the terms of the new Weimar constitution, which Ebert signed into law whilst on…Read more

19th August 1989: The Pan-European Picnic opens the Cold War border between Hungary and Austria