Turning points in history
Moments that changed everything
Turning points in history, explained with the context behind the headline.
Latest stories
2003
Breakfast in London, breakfast again in New York. For 27 years, that was possible.
On this day · OCTOBER 24 2003 Breakfast in London, breakfast again in New York. For 27 years, that was possible. On October 24, 2003, British Airways flew Concorde's…
Read the story →2001
Green hill. Blue sky. A Start button. You can probably picture it right now.
On this day · OCTOBER 25 2001 Green hill. Blue sky. A Start button. You can probably picture it right now. On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP to the…
Read the story →1998
At 77, he went back to space.
On October 29, 1998, shuttle Discovery lifted off from Florida on mission STS-95 with Senator John Glenn aboard. Thirty-six years earlier, in 1962, Glenn had become the…
Read the story →1994
At 45, he won back the title he lost 20 years earlier
George Foreman lost the heavyweight title to Muhammad Ali in 1974. He retired, then came back a decade later. On November 5, 1994, behind on the scorecards against…
Read the story →1994
After nearly half a century in a formal state of war, two neighbors signed for peace.
On October 26, 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty at the Arava/Wadi Araba border crossing. The agreement was signed by Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and…
Read the story →1992
One small country's vote almost stopped the European Union.
In February 1992, twelve European nations signed the Maastricht Treaty. It could only take effect if every member ratified it. On June 2, 1992, Danish voters rejected…
Read the story →1991
As the Soviet Union came apart, a desert republic on the Caspian Sea stepped out on its own.
On October 27, 1991, Turkmenistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union, following a referendum the day before. Within weeks the USSR itself ceased to exist.…
Read the story →1990
Before it was a country, it was a declaration.
On this day · OCTOBER 25 1990 Before it was a country, it was a declaration. On October 25, 1990, as the Soviet Union was cracking apart, the parliament of the Kazakh…
Read the story →1988
The worm that broke the early internet
On the evening of November 2, 1988, a program began copying itself across the young internet. By the next morning, universities and research labs were cutting their…
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