Opinion - The Korea Times

TUESDAY, Oct. 21, 2025

1803-English scientist John Dalton reads his paper "On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids" to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Soc - 1st outline of his atomic theory 1816-Oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia, Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by English clergyman Rev. Hutchings 1854-Florence Nightingale, with a staff of 38 nurses, is sent to the Crimean War 1950-Chinese Communist forces occupy Tibet 1964-Society Hill Towers, a complex of three 31-story skyscrapers designed by I. M. Pei and Associates, inaugurated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1971-Nobel prize for literature awarded to Pablo Neruda 1988-Philippine's former president Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda Marcos indicted on racketeering charges 2013-The Parliament of Canada confers Honorary Canadian citizenship on women's rights and education activist Malala Yousafzai 2015-German Chancellor Angela Merkel says German view of Holocaust will not change, after Benjamin Netanyahu says idea came from Mufti of Jerusalem

Oct 20, 2025

MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2025

202-B.C. Battle of Zama: Hannibal Barca and the Carthaginian army are defeated by Roman legions under Scipio Africanus, ending the Second Punic War 1781-British forces under General Charles Cornwallis sign terms of surrender to George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown at 2 p.m., effectively ending the American Revolutionary War 1926-Russian Politburo throws out Leon Trotsky and his followers 1943-Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey 1983-U.S. Senate establishes Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday, observed on the third Monday in January (on or near his January 15 birthday) 1987-Black Monday: Stock markets around the world crash, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which falls 508.32 points (22%), 4½ times the previous daily record 2015-Scientists from the University of California find evidence that life on Earth may have begun 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million years earlier than previously thought 2021-Moscow's mayor orders unvaccinated people over 60 years to

Oct 19, 2025

FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2025

1854-French and British forces bombard Sevastopol for the first time during the Crimean War 1907-Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland 1933-Albert Einstein arrives in US as a refugee from Nazi Germany 1943-Burma Railway built by Allied POWs and Asian laborers is completed for use by the Japanese army 1973-OPEC oil ministers use oil as an economic weapon in the Arab-Israeli War, mandating a cut in exports and recommending an embargo against unfriendly states 1985-French author Claude Simon wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.” 2007-The Dalai Lama receives the United States Congressional Gold Medal 2015-Star forward Cristiano Ronaldo becomes Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer across all competitions, overtaking club legend Raul with his 324th goal in a 3-0 win over Levante 2017-Islamic State headquarters in Raqqa is declared under full control of the US-led alliance by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesperson Talal Sello after four months of fightings

Oct 16, 2025

THURSDAY, Oct. 16, 2025

1813-Battle of Leipzig, the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I, sees Napoleon's forces defeated by Prussia, Austria, and Russia 1900-Great Britain and Germany sign the Anglo-German Treaty, agreeing to maintain the territorial integrity of China and support the 'open door' policy called for by the US Secretary of State 1934-Mao Zedong and 25,000 troops begin their 6,000 mile Long March from the south of China to the north and west 1962-Cuban Missile Crisis begins as US President John F. Kennedy is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba 1978-Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected Pope John Paul II 1998-Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a Spanish warrant requesting his extradition on murder charges

Oct 15, 2025

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2025

1581-The first ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," commissioned by Catherine de Medici, is staged in Paris 1582-Gregorian calendar is introduced in Spain, Portugal, and the Papal States after skipping 10 days from October 4 to sync the calendar to the solar year and compensate for the drift that has occurred due to the Julian calendar having too many leap days 1815-Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on island of St Helena to begin his exile 1842-Karl Marx appointed editor-in-chief of newspaper Rheinische Zeitung 1969-Vietnam Moratorium Day in the US, millions nationwide protest against the war 1970-Anwar Sadat elected 3rd President of Egypt, succeeding the late Gamal Abdel Nasser 1990-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize 1993-Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Oct 14, 2025

TUESDAY, Oct. 14, 2025

1066-Battle of Hastings: William, Duke of Normandy and his Norman army defeat the English forces of Harold II who is killed in the battle 1322-Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence 1774-First Continental Congress makes Declaration of Colonial Rights in Philadelphia 1867-15th and last Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns in Japan 1884-George Eastman patents paper strip photographic film 1933-Nazi Germany announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations 1982-US President Ronald Reagan proclaims a war on drugs

Oct 13, 2025

MONDAY, Oct. 13, 2025

54 -Agrippina the Younger murders her husband, Roman Emperor Claudius, with poison to secure the line of succession for her son Nero 1307-French King Philip IV has Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Knights Templar arrested and charged with idolatry and corruption 1884-International Meridian Conference in Washington DC establishes Greenwich in London, England as the universal time meridian of longitude 1924-Mecca falls without struggle to Saudi forces led by Abdulaziz Ibn Saud 1943-Italy declares war on former Axis partner Germany 1944-U.S. first army begins battle of Aachen, first German city captured during World War II 2010-Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground

Oct 12, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

FRIDAY, Oct. 10, 2025

1780 -The Great Hurricane of 1780 hits Barbados and goes on to kill 20,000 to 30,000 people in the Caribbean, making it the Atlantic's deadliest recorded hurricane 1871-The Great Chicago Fire is finally extinguished after 3 days, leaving approximately 300 dead, 100,000 homeless, and costing $222 million in damage 1913-Yuan Shikai installed as the 1st President of China 1954-Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after the withdrawal of French troops 1957-A fire at the Windscale nuclear plant in Cumbria, England, becomes the world's first major nuclear accident 1963-American chemist and anti-nuclear weapons campaigner Linus Pauling wins the Nobel Peace Prize the same day the first nuclear test treaty comes into effect 2021-Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen says country won't bow to Chinese pressure in defiant speech on Taiwanese National Day, day after Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to "fulfil reunification"

Oct 9, 2025

FRIDAY, Oct. 3, 2025

2333-BC State of Gojoseon (modern-day Korea) is founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of Chinese Emperor Yao 52-B.C. Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and Battle of Alesia 1283-Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, becomes the first person executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered 1904-France & Spain sign treaty for Morocco Independence 1922-First facsimile photo is sent over city telephone lines in Washington, D.C. 1935-Italy invades Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1989 Panamanian Defense Force attempted coup of Manuel Noriega fails 1990-Reunification of East Germany and West Germany; West German flag is raised above the Brandenburg Gate at the stroke of midnight

Oct 2, 2025

THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2025

1187-Sultan of Egypt Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders 1492-King Henry VII of England invades France 1789-George Washington transmits the proposed constitutional amendments (United States Bill of Rights) to the states for ratification 1928-"Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", known as Opus Dei, founded by Catholic priest Josemaría Escrivá in Madrid, Spain 1944-Polish resistance fighters capitulate in the Warsaw Uprising after an estimated 250,000 people are killed 1972-Aeroflot Il-18 crashes near Black Sea resort of Sochi, kills 105 1985-Russian party leader Gorbachev visits Paris (his first trip abroad) 2001-NATO states it will support US military strikes against Afghanistan in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks 2007-President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il

Oct 1, 2025

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