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ondisdae.bsky.social
On Dis Dae
@ondisdae.bsky.social
Historian
#OTD January 8, 2023

Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil’s Congress. When strongman politics can’t accept losing, democracy becomes optional and mobs become “patriots.”

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #brazil #democracy #history #authoritarianism #politics
January 9, 2026 at 2:28 AM
#OTD January 8, 2011

Rep. Gabby Giffords is shot in Tucson. Political violence doesn’t arrive out of nowhere; it arrives after years of dehumanizing rhetoric.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #tucson #gunviolence #politics #history #usa
January 9, 2026 at 2:23 AM
#OTD January 8, 2002

No Child Left Behind becomes law. Proof that big slogans can mask quiet damage when education is treated like branding instead of a public trust.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #education #usa #history #policy #schools
January 9, 2026 at 1:39 AM
#OTD January 8, 1973

The Watergate trial begins. Accountability only happens when the pressure is too loud to ignore and the cover story starts to crack.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #watergate #history #corruption #accountability #politics
January 9, 2026 at 1:03 AM
#OTD January 8, 1912

San Diego restricts free speech, triggering brutal unrest. Because speech is always “free” until it threatens money, power, or control.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #freespeech #labor #history #protest #rights
January 9, 2026 at 12:42 AM
#OTD January 8, 1900

President McKinley places Alaska under military rule. When “order” becomes the excuse, civilian governance is always the first casualty.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #alaska #usa #history #military #civilrights
January 9, 2026 at 12:34 AM
#OTD January 8, 1877

Crazy Horse fights his last battle against the U.S. Cavalry. Resistance crushed once power decides negotiation is no longer useful and promises are only kept while convenient.

Photo credit: public domain
#January8th #crazyhorse #wolfmountain #power
January 9, 2026 at 12:25 AM
#OTD January 8, 1811

Charles Deslondes leads a major slave revolt in Louisiana that is crushed. Resistance punished twice: first with violence, then with silence.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #slavery #louisiana #history #resistance #justice
January 8, 2026 at 11:48 PM
#OTD January 8, 1790

George Washington delivers the first State of the Union. An early attempt to define national unity before faction hardens into permanent warfare.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #usa #history #democracy #government #politics
January 8, 2026 at 10:44 PM
#OTD January 8, 1547

The first Lithuanian-language book is published. Language preserved on paper becomes cultural survival when power tries to standardize, erase, or control identity.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #lithuania #history #language #culture #books
January 8, 2026 at 7:21 PM
#OTD January 8, 1454

The papal bull Romanus Pontifex grants Portugal sweeping rights to colonize and trade across Africa. One signature turning exploitation into “permission.”

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #colonialism #africa #portugal #history #empire
January 8, 2026 at 5:04 PM
#OTD January 8, 871

Æthelred I and Alfred the Great rally Wessex to repel Viking forces. Proof that when institutions strain, survival depends on local cohesion, leadership, and whether the line holds.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #england #vikings #history #conflict
January 8, 2026 at 4:43 PM
#OTD January 8, 307

Sima Chi becomes emperor of China’s Jin dynasty amid a contested succession. Another reminder that “lawful” transfers of power often depend on who controls the court, the guards, and the story.

Photo credit: public domain
#january8th #china #history #power #politics #succession
January 8, 2026 at 3:21 PM
#OTD January 7, 1610

Galileo Galilei makes observations that challenge the accepted model of the universe, evidence that will be resisted despite what can be clearly seen.

Photo credit: public domain
#january7th #science #truth #galileo #history
January 8, 2026 at 4:48 AM
#OTD January 7, 1558

French forces capture Calais, England’s last possession on the European mainland, marking the end of centuries of English territorial claims in France.

Photo credit: public domain
#january7th #empire #borders #europe #history
January 7, 2026 at 6:30 PM
#OTD January 7, 1078

The people of Constantinople revolt, lynch the unpopular official Nikephoritzes, and proclaim a new emperor, turning public rage into street justice.

Photo credit: public domain
#january7th #byzantineempire #mobrule #history
January 7, 2026 at 4:19 PM
#OTD January 7, 49 BC

The Roman Senate declares Julius Caesar a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting Caesar to defy the order and march to Rome, accelerating the collapse of the Republic.

Photo credit: public domain
#january7th #rome #power #legitimacy #history
January 7, 2026 at 3:57 PM
#OTD January 6, 2021

Supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt certification of the presidential election, exposing deep fractures in democratic legitimacy.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #capitolattack #democracy #politics
January 7, 2026 at 4:19 AM
#OTD January 6, 1991

The Bank of New England collapses amid fears of systemic risk, reinforcing the doctrine that some institutions are considered “too big to fail.”

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #toobigtofail #banks #economy #history
January 7, 2026 at 4:13 AM
#OTD January 6, 1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech, redefining freedom to include freedom from want and freedom from fear.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #fourfreedoms #democracy #fdr #history
January 7, 2026 at 4:03 AM
#OTD January 6, 1919

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt dies, marking the end of the Progressive Era figure who warned that unchecked corporate power posed a greater threat to democracy than foreign enemies.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #corporatepower #history
January 7, 2026 at 3:59 AM
#OTD January 6, 1929

King Alexander suspends Yugoslavia’s constitution, inaugurating the “January 6th Dictatorship” under the justification of restoring order and national stability.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #authoritarianism #dictatorship #democracy
January 7, 2026 at 3:52 AM
#OTD January 6, 1907

Maria Montessori opens the first Casa dei Bambini in Rome, a humane response to the social damage caused by industrialization and urban poverty.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #education #reform #industrialage #society
January 7, 2026 at 3:48 AM
#OTD January 6, 1721

Findings from the South Sea Bubble inquiry are published, exposing fraud by company directors and corrupt politicians after one of history’s great speculative collapses.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #corruption #financialcrisis #markets #history
January 7, 2026 at 3:35 AM
#OTD January 6, 1066

Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England following the death of Edward the Confessor, triggering a succession crisis that will soon lead to the Norman Conquest.

Photo credit: public domain
#january6th #england #legitimacy #succession #power
January 7, 2026 at 2:49 AM