Politics

Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became the world's first female head of government when she was elected Prime Minister on July 21, 1960, following the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike. She served three terms (1960–65, 1970–77, 1994–2000) and remained in office until age 84. Her election opened a new era; today over 70 women have served as heads of state or government worldwide.

On September 19, 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in national elections. The campaign was led largely by Kate Sheppard, who organized a landmark petition signed by nearly 32,000 women — about one quarter of the adult female population. Women in the United States gained this right in 1920, France in 1944, and Switzerland not until 1971.

Salvador Allende became the world's first democratically elected Marxist head of state when he won Chile's 1970 presidential election. His government nationalized copper mines and other industries before being overthrown in a US-backed military coup on September 11, 1973, led by General Augusto Pinochet. This marked the beginning of a 17-year dictatorship that reshaped Chile's politics and economy.

On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops marched into Washington D.C. and set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other government buildings — the only time since the Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the U.S. capital. According to legend, a sudden violent storm with a possible tornado helped extinguish the fires and forced the British to retreat.

Despite having a larger population than Wyoming or Vermont, the 700,000+ residents of Washington D.C. have no voting representation in the U.S. Senate and only a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives. This situation — often summarized as 'taxation without representation,' the same phrase used by colonists before the American Revolution — is still printed on D.C. license plates today.

George Washington voluntarily stepped down after two terms as president in 1797, even though he could have served for life. This set a powerful unwritten precedent that every subsequent president followed for 150 years — until Franklin D. Roosevelt broke it by winning a third term in 1940. Congress formally codified Washington's tradition in 1951 with the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.

At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington enslaved 317 people at Mount Vernon. He had moral reservations about slavery — as shown in his will, which provided for the emancipation of his enslaved workers after Martha's death — but he never publicly advocated for abolition and profited enormously from enslaved labor throughout his life. Martha Washington freed the enslaved people in 1801, a year after George's death.

After the Revolutionary War, some American officers and civilians genuinely wanted to make George Washington the king of the new nation. In 1782, Colonel Lewis Nicola wrote Washington a letter suggesting a monarchy with Washington as king. Washington firmly rejected the idea, writing back that no letter had 'given me more painful sensations' and that the proposal was 'big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my Country.'

Following the failed Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Hitler was convicted of treason and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison — of which he served only nine months. During his imprisonment, he dictated 'Mein Kampf' (My Struggle) to his deputy Rudolf Hess. The book outlined his ideology of racial hierarchy, antisemitism, and German expansionism with chilling clarity. By 1939, it had sold over 5 million copies and been translated into 11 languages.

Contrary to popular belief, Hitler did not seize power through a coup. After a failed beer hall putsch in 1923 landed him in prison, he changed strategy. The Nazi Party grew through legal elections, exploiting economic desperation during the Great Depression. Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg in January 1933 through constitutional means. Within 18 months, through the Enabling Act and Hindenburg's death, he had legally dismantled German democracy.