Almanac - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

TOP TEN LISTS

World's Most Dangerous Animals

Deadliest animals in the world ranked by estimated number of human fatalities per year

Best Selling Musicians

Top selling musicians of all time ranked by estimated number of albums sold

Best Selling Books of All-Time

Best selling novels worldwide ranked by estimated number of copies sold

Fastest Manned Aircraft in the World

Fastest manned aircraft (excluding spacecraft) ranked by top speed

World's Most Practiced Religions

Major religions of the world ranked by estimated number of followers

Worst Genocides of the Twentieth Century

The ten worst genocides of the 20th century listed by dictators responsible; ranked by number of deaths

World's Fastest Land Animals

The fastest land animals in the world ranked by maximum speed

Home Top Ten Lists Timelines

Today in History

Wednesday, 12 August 2026

2007

The bulk carrier M/V ''New Flame'' collides with the oil tanker ''Torm Gertrud'' at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar, ending up partially submerged.

2005

Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is fatally shot by an LTTE sniper at his home.

2004

New Jersey Governor James McGreevey comes out publicly as gay and would resign from office the following November.

2000

The Oscar class submarine K-141 ''Kursk'' of the Russian Navy explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise.

1994

Major League Baseball players go on strike. This will force the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

1992

Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

1985

Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster.

1982

Mexico announces it is unable to pay its enormous external debt, marking the beginning of a debt crisis that spreads to all of Latin America and the Third World.

1981

The IBM Personal Computer is released.

1980

The Montevideo Treaty, establishing the Latin American Integration Association, is signed.

FACTOIDS

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime.

Blue Whale

The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived.

Gold

Every ton of seawater contains approximately 1 milligram of dissolved gold.

Mosquito

Studies show that mosquitoes prefer biting blondes to brunettes.

Timelines

People's Republic of China

Afghanistan