Kon-Tiki Crosses Pacific: Heyerdahl Proves a Theory
Thor Heyerdahl and five companions smashed their balsa raft into a Raroia reef after drifting 4,300 miles across the Pacific for 101 days. This daring voyage proved pre-Columbian South Americans could have reached Polynesia using only period materials, sparking decades of genetic research that eventually confirmed limited DNA mixing between the regions.
August 7, 1947
79 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 7
Athens suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Crannon, effectively ending its influence in the region and solidifying Macedonian control over Greece.
Antipater’s Macedonian forces crushed the Athenian-led coalition at the Battle of Crannon, ending the Lamian War. This defeat dismantled the last major Greek at…
Majorian was the last capable Western Roman emperor. He rebuilt the army, recovered parts of Gaul and Spain, and was planning a campaign to retake North Africa …
The Avar and Slav armies abandoned their siege of Constantinople after the Byzantine navy decimated their fleet in the Golden Horn. This failure shattered the A…
Pope Stephen III was elected in 768 and immediately turned to the Franks for military protection against the Lombards, who were threatening to swallow Rome whol…
Otto I was crowned at Charlemagne's throne in Aachen on August 7, 936, inaugurating the reign that would produce the Holy Roman Empire. He defeated the Magyars …
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