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April 22

Illustration of various forms of nihilism

Nihilism is a family of philosophical views. Existential nihilism asserts that life is inherently meaningless and lacks a higher purpose, suggesting that all individual and societal achievements are ultimately pointless. Moral nihilism denies the objective existence of morality, arguing that moral evaluations and practices rest on misguided assumptions without any foundation in external reality. Epistemological forms of nihilism challenge objective knowledge and truth. Some versions argue that these phenomena are relative to the perspectives of individuals or cultural contexts, while others deny their existence altogether. Cosmological nihilism is the view that reality is unintelligible and indifferent to human understanding. Metaphysical nihilism holds that there is no fundamental reason for why something exists rather than nothing. Nihilism is also described as a broad cultural phenomenon or historical movement that pervades modernity in the Western world. (Full article...)

April 22

Two-cent piece

• 1073 – Gregory VII was elected pope following the death of Alexander II.
• 1864 – U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized the minting of the two-cent piece (pictured), the first U.S. coin to bear the phrase "In God We Trust".
• 1951 – Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army attacked positions occupied mainly by Australian and Canadian forces, starting the Battle of Kapyong.
• 2004 – Flammable cargo exploded at a railway station in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing at least 54 people and injuring more than a thousand others.
• 2020 – A truck struck and killed four Victoria Police officers on the Eastern Freeway, Australia, the force's deadliest single incident.

April 22

Sheila Dikshit

As of 2026, more than 200 chief ministers of states in India have been members of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the two major parties in the political system of the Republic of India. According to the Constitution of India, the governor is the de jure head at the state level, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. In the parliamentary system of government, the chief minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet. Their term is normally limited to five years if they have the assembly's confidence. There are no limits to the number of terms the chief minister can serve. Five INC chief ministers have been women, including Sheila Dikshit (pictured), who was Chief Minister of Delhi from 1998 to 2013. Dikshit is the longest-serving INC chief minister, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister of any party. As of March 2026, the INC is in power in three states: Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. (Full list...)

April 22

J. Robert Oppenheimer (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in overseeing the development of the first nuclear weapons. During the Second Red Scare, Oppenheimer's stances, together with his past associations with the Communist Party USA, led to a security hearing before the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the revocation of his security clearance in 1954. He continued to lecture, write, and work on physics, and in 1963 received the Enrico Fermi Award for contributions to theoretical physics. This portrait photograph of Oppenheimer was taken around 1944, while he was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory. The image is in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by MyCatIsAChonk Recently featured: Elizabeth II Doris Fawn-breasted brilliant Archive More featured pictures

April 23

Beyoncé (born 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups. Beyoncé then embarked on a successful solo career, releasing eight chart-topping studio albums—from Dangerously in Love (2003) to Cowboy Carter (2024)—and becoming one of the best-selling musicians in history. Her singles include nine US Billboard Hot 100 number ones, among them "Crazy in Love", "Irreplaceable", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Break My Soul", and "Texas Hold 'Em". Her accolades include a record 35 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award. A cultural icon spanning three decades, Beyoncé was named Billboard's greatest pop star of the 21st century and Rolling Stone's eighth-greatest singer of all time. Her business endeavors include the nonprofit BeyGood, the hair care brand Cécred, the whiskey SirDavis, and Parkwood Entertainment. (Full article...)

April 23: National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey (1920)

Blanco Encalada

• 1016 – Edmund Ironside became King of England, reigning for only seven months before the country was conquered by Cnut the Great.
• 1891 – Chilean Civil War: The armored frigate Blanco Encalada (pictured) was sunk at the Battle of Caldera Bay, the first ironclad warship lost to a self-propelled torpedo.
• 1976 – The American band the Ramones released their debut album, which became highly influential on the emerging punk rock movement.
• 2009 – The gamma-ray burst GRB 090423 was detected coming from the most distant astronomical object of any kind known at the time.

April 23

Alceste (Gluck). Scene from French premiere on 23 April 1776. Set design credit: François-Joseph Bélanger; restored by Adam Cuerden Recently featured: J. Robert Oppenheimer Elizabeth II Doris Archive More featured pictures

April 24

Ornithoprion is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish. Its only species lived during the Moscovian age. Its fossils are preserved in black shales from the Midwestern United States. Ornithoprion's genus name, which is Greek for 'bird saw', was inspired by its bird-like skull and the saw-like appearance of the teeth in the lower jaw. The specific name honors the German zoologist Oscar Hertwig. Ornithoprion had a unique projection of its lower jaw termed the mandibular rostrum, which was covered by a beak of fused bony scales. It inhabited shallow, seasonal marine and brackish water environments. The rounded shape of Ornithoprion's teeth suggests that it hunted hard-shelled invertebrates, and bite marks and damage to some of its fossils indicate that it was fed on by other carnivores. Ornithoprion was small relative to other members of its order, with a cranium length of up to 10 cm (3.9 in) and an estimated body length of up to approximately 91 cm (36 in). (Full article...)

April 24: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (1915)

Max Bruch

• 1866 – German composer Max Bruch (pictured) conducted the premiere of his first violin concerto, which later became his most famous work.
• 1915 – The Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire began with the arrest and deportation of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople.
• 1944 – World War II: The British Special Boat Service executed a successful raid to destroy an Axis radio station on the Greek island of Santorini.
• 2011 – Secret documents relating to detainees at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp were released on WikiLeaks and several independent news organizations.

April 24

Le Corbusier, the architect whose buildings are designated as a World Heritage Site

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier is a World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of 17 building projects in seven countries by the Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. These sites demonstrate how modern movement architecture was applied to respond to the needs of society and show the global reach of an architectural style and an architect. Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was an architectural designer, urban planner and writer who was one of the pioneers of what is now referred to as modern architecture. He designed buildings all over the world, and was an important representative of the 20th-century modernist movement, which introduced new architectural techniques to meet the needs of the changing society. The properties that comprise this site are of various building types and include individual houses, apartment buildings, a factory, a chapel, a monastery, a legislative assembly, a museum and a cultural centre. (Full list...)

April 24

The Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta) is a small primate in the tarsier family, Tarsiidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs on islands including Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. With a height of 85–160 mm (3.3–6.3 in), it has very large eyes fixed in their sockets, a flexible neck allowing head rotations up to 180°, long ankle bones for leaping, and large mobile ears suited to its nocturnal life. It is mainly insectivorous, feeding on insects and other small animals in forest habitats. The species is classed as near threatened because of habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade, and is protected by conservation laws and sanctuaries. Formerly placed in the genus Tarsius, it is now the sole species in Carlito, a genus named after conservationist Carlito Pizarras. This Philippine tarsier was photographed in the forest north of Loboc on Bohol. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp Recently featured: Alceste (Gluck) J. Robert Oppenheimer Elizabeth II Archive More featured pictures

April 25

The bombing of Obersalzberg was a World War II air raid that targeted a complex of residences and bunkers built for Adolf Hitler at Obersalzberg, Bavaria. It was carried out by 359 Allied heavy bombers on 25 April 1945, during the last days of the war in Europe. The Allies believed that the German Government would use the Obersalzberg complex to command an Alpine Fortress. Many buildings were destroyed, though Hitler's residence and the bunker network were only slightly damaged. Hitler was not present. Two bombers were shot down with the loss of four airmen, and 31 Germans were killed. Historians have identified several motives for the attack, including supporting Allied ground forces, demonstrating the effectiveness of the heavy bomber, convincing die-hard Germans that the war was lost and obscuring the memory of pre-war appeasement policies. The raid was celebrated at the time, but as the Alpine Fortress proved to be a myth most post-war histories make little mention of it. (Full article...)

April 25: Liberation Day in Italy (1945); Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand

USS Triton

• 1643 – First English Civil War: Despite being vastly outnumbered, a Parliamentarian force under James Chudleigh defeated a Royalist army near Okehampton, Devon, at the Battle of Sourton Down.
• 1915 – First World War: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire.
• 1916 – The first issue of Irish War News was published in Ireland.
• 1960 – The U.S. Navy submarine Triton (pictured) completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.
• 1983 – The first issue of The Jakarta Post was published in Indonesia.
• 2015 – Nepal was struck by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing more than 8,000 people.

April 25

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April 26

Neapolitan ragù is a ragù associated with Naples, Italy, made by browning then braising meat over several hours in tomato purée and sauce. The meat is then removed and the sauce is left to continue cooking and thickening. The dish is served in two stages: first as sauce served over pasta, then as meat eaten alone or with vegetables, lightly dressed with the remaining sauce. The people of Naples hold their version in high regard, calling it rraù. Writers from the area describe it as the "queen of sauces". Although it contains tomato and meat, it is perceived to be a meat sauce, with the tomato as a conduit for meat flavours. Neapolitan ragù evolved from the French ragoût, introduced to Italy in the late 17th century. Ingredients foreign to the modern ragù, such as asparagus and truffle, were dropped while tomatoes and pasta were added. In the 19th century, emigrants brought the dish to America, where it was developed into the Italian-American gravy and the dish spaghetti and meatballs. (Full article...)

April 26

Lorenzo de' Medici

• 1478 – In a conspiracy to replace the Medici family as rulers of the Republic of Florence, the Pazzi family attacked Lorenzo de' Medici (pictured) and killed his brother Giuliano at Florence Cathedral.
• 1915 – First World War: Britain, France and Russia signed a secret treaty promising territory to Italy if it joined the war on their side.
• 1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established.
• 1989 – A tornado struck the Manikganj District of Bangladesh and killed an estimated 1,300 people, making it the deadliest tornado in history.
• 1994 – Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people on board.

April 26

Marcus Aurelius (26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161. This bust depicting Aurelius was found in the Roman villa of Chiragan and is in the collection of the Musée Saint-Raymond. Bust credit: unknown; photographed by Daniel Martin Recently featured: Philippine tarsier Alceste (Gluck) Archive More featured pictures

April 27

Enzyme kinetics is the study of the rates of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions where the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction are investigated. The study of an enzyme's kinetics can reveal the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme, its role in metabolism, how its activity is controlled, and how a modifier might affect the rate. Some enzymes change shape significantly during the mechanism; in such cases, it is helpful to determine the enzyme structure with and without bound substrate analogues that do not undergo the enzymatic reaction. When enzymes bind multiple substrates, enzyme kinetics can show the sequence in which these substrates bind and determine the sequence in which products are released. There is typically one rate-determining step that determines the overall kinetics, which may be a chemical reaction or a conformational change of the enzyme or substrates. (Full article...)

April 27: Koningsdag in the Netherlands

Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn

• 630 – Shahrbaraz usurped the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but was himself killed six weeks later.
• 1945 – World War II: The photograph Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn (pictured) was taken after German troops withdrew to Norway at the end of the Lapland War.
• 1965 – Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation: British forces repelled a surprise Indonesian attack on a base at Plaman Mapu in Sarawak.
• 1997 – American spree killer Andrew Cunanan murdered Jeffrey Trail, a former friend and a Gulf War veteran, who became the first victim of Cunanan's killing spree.
• 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, made its maiden flight from Toulouse, France.

April 27

Kirby logo

The Kirby video game series is a franchise of platform games and other genres (including puzzle and racing games) published and produced by Nintendo. The games have been developed by Japan-based HAL Laboratory, a Nintendo second-party developer. All Kirby video games have been developed exclusively for Nintendo video game consoles and handhelds dating from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the eighth generation of video game consoles. The series debuted in Japan on April 27, 1992, with Hoshi no Kirby, which later was released in the North American and PAL regions in August 1992 as Kirby's Dream Land. (Full list...)

April 27

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April 28

Cook in 2009

This Side of the Moon is the third studio album by American singer Elizabeth Cook, released on May 17, 2005, by Hog Country Production. A country album, This Side of the Moon features lyrics about love and heartbreak. Cook based the album on her poor experience with Warner Bros., the record label which had released her unsuccessful second studio album, Hey Y'all, in 2002, after a delay. Most of the songs on This Side of the Moon were written by Cook and songwriter Hardie McGehee, working for Sis 'N Bro Music. Critics likened Cook's vocals to those of country artists such as Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. This Side of the Moon had a limited release in August 2004 before becoming more widely available the following year. The album received little airplay and, after its release, Cook worked as a waitress to secure steady pay. Critical response at the time was generally positive and, in retrospective articles, reviewers felt This Side of the Moon helped enhance Cook's musical career. (Full article...)

April 28: Workers' Memorial Day

Mounted police maintaining order at the 1923 FA Cup final

• 1253 – The Japanese monk Nichiren declared the mantra Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, now a central part of Nichiren Buddhism.
• 1789 – Fletcher Christian, the acting lieutenant on board the Royal Navy ship Bounty, led a mutiny against the commander William Bligh in the South Pacific.
• 1923 – The FA Cup final (crowd and police pictured) between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United was held on the opening day of the Empire Stadium in London.
• 1945 – World War II: Benito Mussolini, the deposed fascist dictator of Italy, was executed by partisans in Giulino.
• 1983 – The West German news magazine Stern published excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.

April 28

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April 29

During the 1998–99 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 67th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 49th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. The club signed two new forwards, each for a new club record transfer fee, but started the season in poor form, winning only one of the first eight league games. The team then went on a much-improved run, being undefeated for 17 league games, and began challenging for promotion to the Football League First Division. Gillingham finished the regular season in fourth place in the Second Division, qualifying for the play-offs for promotion to the First Division. After defeating Preston North End in the semi-finals, they played Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in the final, which Manchester City won the subsequent penalty shoot-out to gain promotion. (Full article...)

April 29

HMS Endeavour

• 1760 – Seven Years' War: France began an unsuccessful attempt to retake Quebec City, which had been captured by Britain.
• 1770 – On his first voyage, British explorer James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour (pictured) landed at Botany Bay, making the first recorded European landfall on the eastern coast of Australia.
• 1922 - Sixteen-year-old Lilian Salkeld became the first woman to walk from London to Brighton
• 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Army liberated Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, and killed German prisoners of war.
• 1995 – Before a crowd of about 165,000 at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki competed in the main event of Collision in Korea, the highest attended professional wrestling event of all time.
• 2015 – The ringleaders of the Bali Nine were executed in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin to Australia in 2005.

April 29

Paul Greengrass, writer, director, and co-producer of the film

United 93 is a 2006 British docudrama and action film that has garnered awards and nominations in various categories, with recognition for its direction, screenplay, cinematography, and film editing. The film was written and directed by Paul Greengrass (pictured), who co-produced it with Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Lloyd Levin. The film largely chronicles the events aboard the United Airlines Flight 93, one of the four hijacked flights during the September 11 attacks; Flight 93 was the only plane to not hit its intended target, due to the intervention of its passengers and crew. The film garnered two nominations at the 79th Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Film Editing. At the 60th British Academy Film Awards, it received six nominations and won two awards for Best Direction and Outstanding British Film. Several critics groups including the London Film Critics' Circle, National Society of Film Critics, and New York Film Critics Circle awarded it Best Film. (Full list...)

April 29

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