Some of the more interesting things that happened on this day.
1415 The French suffer a catastrophic defeat during the Hundred Years War when King Henry V, of England, and his heavily-outnumbered and lightly armoured infantry and archers humiliate the French cavalry at Agincourt, on Saint Crispin’s Day. In the process most of France’s nobility is wiped out.
1795 Colonel Robert Gordon, explorer of the interior of South Africa, commits suicide because of his inability to prevent the British occupation of the Cape.
1854 The infamous Charge of the Light Brigade – an act of supreme folly, and bravery, in the face of insurmountable odds – takes place. It happens when the British light cavalry charges by mistake into the heart of the Russian Imperial army at Balaclava in the Crimean War. During the suicidal charge, 110 soldiers are, 161 injured and 475 horses killed. British Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson would go on to immortalize the event in his poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade. The débâcle has long-term consequences for the British army.
1854 The siege of Makapan’s Cave takes place, after warriors of Ndebele chief Makapan kill 23 white men, women and children who had been on a hunting expedition. The siege lasts 25 days, and hunger, thirst and bullets nearly wipe out the tribe. Paul Kruger slips into the cave under the cover of darkness and urges them to leave the cave, assuring them only Makapan was wanted, but to no avail.
1878 Britain annexes the lands of the amaXesibe, near Mount Ayliff, in what is today, the Eastern Cape.
1900 Britain annexes Transvaal’s gold fields.
1922 End of the Civil War in Russia – the Bolsheviks win due to popular support.
1957 One of the most ruthless and feared organized crime bosses in American history, Albert Anastasia, the leader of Murder Inc, is killed while sitting in a New York barber’s chair.
1983 The US invades Grenada.
2009 Bombings in Baghdad kill 155 people and wound at least 721 others.
2018 Flash floods near the Red Sea in Jordan kill 17 as a school bus is washed away.
2019 Leicester City rout Southampton, 9-0 at St Mary's to record biggest win by an away side in an English top-flight league match in the history of the Football League.
2020 British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix for his 92nd career victory; moves 1 win clear of Michael Schumacher in the all-time F1 victories list.
2021 Afghanistan to become the world's worst humanitarian crisis as nearly 23 million people face acute hunger over winter according to the World Food Programme.
2021 Elon Musk makes a record $25 billion in one day.