This Week in History · 29 Jun 2026 · 9 min

Globe Theatre Burns, Einstein's Relativity & Canada Is Born | Jun 29–Jul 4

From Shakespeare's Globe burning to the ground to Einstein quietly mailing the theory of special relativity, this week in history is packed with world-changing moments. Plus: the Tunguska explosion, the first Tour de France, the Civil Rights Act, and the birth of Canada.

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Globe Theatre Burns, Einstein's Relativity & Canada Is Born | Jun 29–Jul 4

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On July eighth, fourteen ninety-seven, in Lisbon, Portugal, a fleet of four ships and roughly one hundred seventy men slipped out of the harbor under the command of Vasco da Gama, bound for a destination no European vessel had ever reached by sea. Da Gama's mission was to find a direct ocean route to India, bypassing the overland spice trade that had made middlemen rich for centuries.

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