Those were the days

The world, as they say, was not built in a day. But every few years or centuries, a day arrives which makes the world a little bit different. DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (Quercus, Rs 595), by Hywel Williams, lists 50 such days. The first of them is the battle of Salamis (September 28, 480 BC), in which Athenians defeated the Persians. While there are the obvious ones like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the battle of Waterloo, there are also odd ones such as the matriculation of Isaac Newton. (Wouldn’t the day he had the falling-apple epiphany have been more appropriate?) Extreme left top is a woodcut depicting the passing of the Emancipation Act in America, heralding the abolition of slavery; extreme left bottom is the still-fresh memory of the twin-tower bombings; and right, the impression of man’s foot on the moon.