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The History Files: 26 stories from History Daily

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History Daily tells one story from the past each day. From forgotten photographs to acts of forgiveness, these are the moments that shaped our world, told with care and context.

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When Nadia Comăneci's perfect 10 broke the Olympic scoreboard

In 1976, Nadia Comăneci scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics, but the scoreboard could only display 1.00.

Nadia Comăneci’s First Perfect 10

The context missing from the famous Saigon execution photograph

The famous Saigon execution photo by Eddie Adams shows General Loan shooting Viet Cong captain Nguyễn Văn Lém after an attack.

The Truth Behind Saigon Execution

Coco Chanel's 1954 couture comeback after 15 years away

Coco Chanel returned to couture on February 5, 1954, after 15 years away, presenting her new collection at 31 Rue Cambon in Paris.

Coco Chanel's 1954 Comeback

Buster Keaton stood still as a two-ton house facade fell around him

Buster Keaton performed one of cinema's most dangerous stunts in Steamboat Bill, Jr., standing still as a real two-ton house facade fell around him.

Buster Keaton's Falling House

How a nine-year-old's photograph changed how the world saw war

The story of The Terror of War photograph: how Nick Ut's 1972 image of Kim Phúc fleeing napalm changed global views on war.

The Story Behind The Terror of War

John Scott Harrison's body was stolen from his grave the night he was buried

In 1878, John Scott Harrison was buried in Ohio, but grave robbers stole his body that night for medical dissection at a Cincinnati college.

John Scott Harrison's Stolen Body

Katherine Johnson checked John Glenn's orbit calculations by hand

Katherine Johnson manually verified IBM computer calculations for John Glenn's historic orbital flight, ensuring his safe return to Earth.

Katherine Johnson Checks Glenn's Math

The day Pope John Paul II forgave the man who shot him

In 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca shot Pope John Paul II. Two years later, the Pope visited him in prison and forgave him face to face.

John Paul II Forgives His Shooter

The first person ever photographed was getting his shoes shined

Louis Daguerre's 1838 Boulevard du Temple photo accidentally captured the first people ever photographed: a shoe shiner and his customer.

The First Person Photographed

How an American pilot dropped candy from the sky for Berlin's children

In 1948, pilot Gail Halvorsen dropped candy on handkerchief parachutes to hungry children near Berlin's Tempelhof airport during the airlift.

Gail Halvorsen’s Candy Drops

Pina Bausch staged Rite of Spring on earth

Pina Bausch premiered her groundbreaking Rite of Spring at Wuppertal Opera House on December 3, 1975, with dancers performing on a soil-covered stage.

Pina Bausch Staged Spring On Earth

How a spinning wheel photograph shaped India's independence movement

Margaret Bourke-White's 1946 photograph of Gandhi at his spinning wheel connected him to India's civil disobedience movement and shaped global opinion.

Gandhi Beside His Spinning Wheel

How Desmond Tutu used forgiveness to heal South Africa

Desmond Tutu's 1998 TRC hearings asked apartheid victims to forgive perpetrators, offering truth and reconciliation as a path to heal South Africa.

Tutu's Radical Forgiveness

Nelson Mandela invited his former jailers to his inauguration

Nelson Mandela invited his former prison guards to his 1994 inauguration, turning forgiveness into a powerful public act.

#south-africa

How Desmond Tutu used forgiveness to heal South Africa

Nelson Mandela invited his former jailers to his inauguration