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Oil painting by Edward Moran of the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886, with the statue above a crowd of flag-decked boats and gun smoke in New York Harbor

Today in history · 140 years ago · October 28, 1886U.S. History

The Statue of Liberty Was Unveiled 140 Years Ago Today in Fog, Rain and a Mistimed Speech

On 28 October 1886 the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in fog so thick nobody could see her face, and the sculptor dropped the flag before the speech was over.

Priya Raman · October 28, 2026

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Engraving from 1896 of a British cruiser firing on the sultan's palace in Zanzibar harbour, with smoke rising from the waterfront and the lighthouse behind

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The Shortest War in History Lasted 38 Minutes, and Zanzibar Was Billed for the Shells

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Black-and-white photograph of Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres sitting side by side in the Knesset in the 1980s, Peres reading a note

Israel Is Deadlocked Again. In 1984 the Answer Was Two Prime Ministers Taking Turns

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Black-and-white photograph of Washington pitcher Walter Johnson walking across the infield past a row of press photographers during the 1925 World Series

The Rays Need Three Straight Wins. Six Teams Have Done It, One With an Umpire's Help

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Black-and-white photograph of a packed crowd of men in dark suits on the floor of the London Stock Exchange, between 1910 and 1920

Big Bang at 40: The Weekend That Emptied London's Stock Exchange Floor

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Catherine the Great Took Russia in One Morning in 1762 and Kept It for 34 Years

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Lithograph of 1835 showing winged bat-people, unicorns and other animals beside a lake and waterfall on the moon, sold by the New York Sun as a view of Herschel's discoveries

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The New York Sun Found Bat-Men on the Moon in 1835 and Sold Out Every Day

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Black-and-white night photograph of three children on a New York street at Halloween in 1964, two of them in moulded plastic masks, one a grinning space monster and one a blonde woman's face

Halloween (1978) Cost $300,000 and Its Killer Wore a $2 Captain Kirk Mask

Hannah Lindqvist · October 27, 2026

Mughal miniature of about 1618 showing the emperor Jahangir seated beside Shah Abbas I of Persia, in orange, at a table of gifts

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Hormuz Fell in 1622 When a Shah Hired the English Fleet to Evict Portugal

Eleanor Whitcombe · October 27, 2026

Photograph of the painted food counter in Regio V at Pompeii, with jar openings set into the top and frescoes of hanging ducks, a rooster and a dog on a leash

Pompeii Had 80 Fast-Food Counters, and Four Emperors Tried to Close Them

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Black-and-white photograph of a worker in a hard hat on scaffolding in dry dock, inspecting the buckled hull of the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts after it struck an Iranian mine in April 1988

Before Hormuz 2026: The One-Day War the US Navy Fought Iran in April 1988

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Lithograph of a Salem witch trial courtroom scene, a young woman standing accused before the judges, published in 1892

The Salem Witch Trials Ended With a Fast Day, a Jury's Apology and One Accuser Standing Up in Church

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Police photograph of the five lines of pencilled capital letters found on the back cover of the Rubaiyat linked to the Somerton Man

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The Somerton Man Lay Unnamed for 73 Years, Then a Hair in a Bust Named Him

Jonah Okafor · October 27, 2026

Hand-coloured print of a crowded London barber's shop in 1811, with men being shaved and wigs dressed

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Why the Barber's Pole Is Red and White: It Was Once Covered in Real Blood

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A 1778 Continental Congress thirty-dollar note, printed in Philadelphia, promising the bearer thirty Spanish milled dollars

Why the Dollar Sign Is an S With a Line Through It: Blame the Spanish Peso

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Thomas Nast's two-page Harper's Weekly cartoon Andy's Trip, October 1866, with Andrew Johnson in a central medallion surrounded by scenes from his speaking tour

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Andrew Johnson's 1866 Midterm Tour Ended Up in His Impeachment

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A baker in white overalls cutting up a pumpkin for pies on a stool in a bakery back room, with pumpkin halves and a bucket of peeled pieces, 1939 photograph

Nearly All US Canned Pumpkin Comes From One Illinois Town

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Photograph of Anwar Sadat, pipe in mouth, and Menachem Begin standing at a bank of microphones in the late 1970s

Israel Votes Tomorrow. In 1977 One Word on TV Ended 29 Years of Labor Rule

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Reading room of the Kansas City Central Library in Missouri, with wooden tables, lamps and bookshelves, photographed in 2021

25 Years Ago the Patriot Act Passed 98 to 1, and Librarians Fought Back

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Oil painting of Princess Caraboo by Edward Bird, 1817: a young woman in a white turban with feathers and a yellow dress, standing on a shore

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Princess Caraboo of Javasu Was a Cobbler's Daughter From Devon

Tomás Ferreira · October 26, 2026

Albrecht Dürer's 1514 engraving of a peasant couple dancing, arms flung out and feet kicking

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Strasbourg's 1518 Dancing Plague: The Council Hired a Band

Hannah Lindqvist · October 26, 2026

Sixth-century mosaic of the Empress Theodora in a jewelled crown and purple robe, from the church of San Vitale in Ravenna

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In 532 Justinian Had the Ships Loaded to Flee. Theodora Told Him to Stay

Tomás Ferreira · October 26, 2026

Photochrom print of Piccadilly Circus, London, in the 1890s, with horse-drawn cabs and omnibuses keeping to the left around the Shaftesbury fountain

Why Britain Drives on the Left: Napoleon, a Wagon and a Swedish Sunday

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Photograph of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, bearded and in a dark jacket, speaking at a microphone during the 1989 campaign

Brazil Votes Today. The First Time Lula Lost a Runoff, It Took a TV Edit and a Kidnapping

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Behind-the-scenes photograph from the making of Godzilla in 1954: two crew members adjust the monster suit on a miniature set of electricity pylons

Godzilla Was Born From a Tuna Boat Caught Under an H-Bomb in 1954

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Photograph of King Njoya of Bamum seated on his beaded throne in Foumban, with German colonial officers beside him, early 1900s

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The King of Bamum Invented an Alphabet, a Language and a Corn Mill, Then France Exiled Him

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Painting: Hyacinthe Rigaud's 1701 portrait of Louis XIV in coronation robes

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Louis XIV Revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and Handed His Rivals 200,000 Skilled Workers

Tomás Ferreira · October 25, 2026

Stained glass panel of King Louis IX of France carrying the Crown of Thorns, made in Paris around 1245 to 1248

The First Paris Student Strike Began Over a Wine Bill and Lasted Two Years

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Illustrated cover of Puck magazine from 13 September 1911 showing a woman in a blue dress and wide black hat on a striped sofa, captioned Why Worry About Mona Lisa

Picasso Was Born 145 Years Ago Today. In 1911 Paris Police Asked Him About the Mona Lisa

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Photograph of the playing field and stands inside Tropicana Field on opening day 2010

The World Series Comes Monday to a Dome That Waited Eight Years for a Team

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