This Week in History · 4 May 2026 · 8 min

Joan of Arc, Beethoven's Ninth & the Birth of Coca-Cola | May 5–10

From Joan of Arc's siege-breaking victory at Orléans to Nelson Mandela's inauguration, this week in history delivers ten world-changing moments across six centuries. Beethoven premieres his Ninth Symphony deaf, Bannister breaks the four-minute mile, and a pharmacist in Atlanta mixes the world's most famous drink.

This Week in History
Now Playing
Joan of Arc, Beethoven's Ninth & the Birth of Coca-Cola | May 5–10

Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.

What's covered

On August twenty-fourth, nineteen thirty-two, above the American continent, Amelia Earhart climbed into her cockpit in Los Angeles and pointed her aircraft east. Hours later, she touched down in Newark, New Jersey, becoming the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop in a solo flight.

Listen now →

Chapter summary auto-generated from the verified script. Listen to the full episode for the complete content.

More episodes

From This Week in History