| (1521) Conquistadors capture capital city of the Aztecs
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Conquistador Hernán Cortés and his troops have laid siege to Tenochtitlan for more than two months and now the Aztec empire’s sprawling capital surrenders. European military might, combined with a smallpox epidemic brought by the invading Spaniards, dooms what will become Mexico City.. |
| (1624) France’s ‘Red Eminence’ gets a prime royal appointment
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| French clergyman Armand Jean du Plessis rose through Church ranks with impressive speed, becoming Cardinal Richelieu two years ago, and he’s now appointed King Louis XIII’s chief minister. Richelieu will hold considerable power and dodge some very wily conspiracies launched against him.. |
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| (1918) US Marines enlist their first female recruit
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Her country embroiled in World War I, 39-year-old Opha Johnson is first in line to enlist at the US Marine Corps Reserves, becoming the first female Marine in history. More than 300 other women will follow Johnson’s lead and serve as Marines during the war, paving the way for future women in the US military.. |
| (1961) East is sealed off from West in a divided capital
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| While the city sleeps, Soviet-backed East German soldiers begin erecting a barbed-wire barrier in Berlin, making solid what’s been for 15 years a geopolitical split within Germany’s capital. Transit between communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin is now strictly verboten. . |
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