June 1st Through History

Explanation: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is often considered one of the most influential albums in the history of pop music. It was recorded between December 1966 and April 1967 and marked a turning point in the way rock albums were conceived as art works in their own right.

Explanation: Flight AF447 linked Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The investigation revealed that the accident was caused by a combination of icing on the Pitot tubes and piloting errors. The black boxes were not recovered until 2011, after two years of searches at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Explanation: Hugh Capet is the founder of the Capetian dynasty, which reigned over France for more than three centuries in direct line. His election ended the Carolingian dynasty. The exact date of the coronation remains uncertain, some historians placing the event in July 987.

Explanation: The European Central Bank (ECB) was created to manage the monetary policy of the eurozone and prepare the introduction of the single currency. The euro was introduced as scriptural money on 1 January 1999, and banknotes and coins entered circulation on 1 January 2002.

Explanation: Adolf Eichmann had been captured in Argentina in 1960 by the Israeli Mossad secret services, then tried in Jerusalem. He was one of the main organizers of the logistics of the Shoah. His trial was of major historical importance for the memory of the Holocaust and inspired philosopher Hannah Arendt in her reflection on the 'banality of evil'.

Explanation: The Gotthard Base Tunnel is 57.1 kilometers long and crosses the Swiss Alps. It required 17 years of work and an investment of more than 12 billion Swiss francs. It allows trains to cross the Alps at high speed without having to climb mountain passes, considerably reducing travel times.

Explanation: Les Fleurs du mal caused a scandal at its release: Baudelaire and his publisher were convicted for 'offense to public and religious morality'. Six poems were censored and could only be legally published in France in 1949. The work is today considered one of the masterpieces of French poetry.

Explanation: Kentucky was previously a county of Virginia before becoming a state in its own right. Its name reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning 'meadow' or 'land of tomorrow'. It is famous for its bourbon whiskey, its racehorses and the annual Louisville derby.

Explanation: The French Republican calendar, established during the French Revolution, was organized around the seasons and nature. It was used officially from 1793 to 1806, under Napoleon. Each day bore the name of a plant, an animal or a tool, replacing the saints of the Catholic calendar.

Explanation: Clausewitz wrote 'On War' (Vom Kriege), published posthumously in 1832. The book remains a fundamental reference in military academies around the world. His famous formula that 'war is the continuation of politics by other means' has deeply influenced modern strategic thought.