Historical Moments
Explore the history behind the clues.
These historical moment guides explain the context, visual clues and common wrong guesses behind famous scenes from history. Use them to sharpen your eye before playing the Then & There Daily Challenge.
Each guide is connected to the underlying scene record, including its reconstruction image, historical anchor notes and further reading. Learn more about the curation process on How Scenes Are Made.
1066 · Senlac Hill, East Sussex, England
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was the decisive clash between William of Normandy and King Harold Godwinson during the Norman Conquest of England.
1944 · Normandy, France
D-Day Landings
The D-Day landings opened the Allied invasion of occupied France and began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.
1773 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against British taxation in which colonists dumped East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.
1863 · Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was a major American Civil War battle fought between Union and Confederate forces in Pennsylvania.
1453 · Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, Turkey
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople saw the Ottoman Empire capture the Byzantine capital after a major siege.
1969 · Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
Apollo 11 Launch
The Apollo 11 launch sent the first crewed mission to land humans on the Moon.
1666 · City of London, England
The Great Fire of London
A reconstructed early modern London street scene during the Great Fire, with timber buildings, smoke, flames, and townspeople fleeing.
1789 · Paris, France
Storming of the Bastille
A reconstructed revolutionary scene showing the crowd outside the Bastille in Paris in 1789.
1815 · Waterloo, Belgium
The Battle of Waterloo
A reconstructed early modern battlefield scene showing the climactic fighting at Waterloo.
1683 · Vienna, Austria
The Battle of Vienna
A reconstructed early modern siege-battle scene showing the relief of Vienna in 1683.
1755 · Lisbon, Portugal
The Lisbon Earthquake
A reconstructed urban disaster scene showing Lisbon in the aftermath of the great earthquake.
1452–1455 · Mainz, Germany
The Printing of the Gutenberg Bible
A reconstructed printing workshop scene showing the production of the Gutenberg Bible in Mainz.
1521 · Worms, Germany
Luther at the Diet of Worms
A reconstructed imperial assembly scene showing Martin Luther before Charles V at Worms.
1618 · Old Royal Palace, Prague Castle, Czechia
The Defenestration of Prague
A reconstructed early modern political scene showing the Prague defenestration inside the Old Royal Palace.
1633 · Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy
Galileo Before the Roman Inquisition
A reconstructed early modern tribunal scene showing Galileo before church officials in Rome.
1649 · Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, England
The Execution of Charles I
A reconstructed English Civil War scene showing the execution of Charles I outside the Banqueting House.
1588 · Off Gravelines, France
Spanish Armada at Gravelines
A reconstructed late Elizabethan naval battle scene showing English ships attacking the Spanish Armada near Gravelines.
1519 · Tenochtitlan, Valley of Mexico
Cortés Meets Moctezuma
A reconstructed early modern encounter scene showing Hernán Cortés meeting Moctezuma II on the causeway into Tenochtitlan.
1521 · Tenochtitlan, Lake Texcoco, Mexico
Siege of Tenochtitlan
A reconstructed conquest-era siege scene showing Spanish, Indigenous allied, and Mexica forces fighting among the canals and causeways of Tenochtitlan.
1600 · Sekigahara, Japan
Battle of Sekigahara
A reconstructed Sengoku-period battlefield scene showing opposing samurai armies at Sekigahara.
1805 · Off Cape Trafalgar, Spain
Battle of Trafalgar
A reconstructed Napoleonic naval battle scene showing British ships breaking the Franco-Spanish line off Cape Trafalgar.
1989 · Bornholmer Straße border crossing, Berlin, Germany
Opening of the Berlin Wall at Bornholmer Straße
A reconstructed Cold War scene showing crowds crossing at Bornholmer Straße as the Berlin Wall opens.
1914 · Latin Bridge area, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
A reconstructed early 20th-century street scene showing the Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
1990 · Victor Verster Prison, Paarl, South Africa
Nelson Mandela Released from Prison
A reconstructed late 20th-century political scene showing Nelson Mandela walking free after his release from prison.
1949 · Tiananmen Gate, Beijing, China
Proclamation of the People's Republic of China
A reconstructed founding ceremony scene showing Mao Zedong proclaiming the People's Republic of China at Tiananmen Gate.
1947 · Red Fort, Delhi, India
Indian Independence at the Red Fort
A reconstructed independence ceremony scene showing Indian leaders and crowds at the Red Fort in Delhi.
1963 · Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, USA
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
A reconstructed early 1960s motorcade scene showing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza.
1975 · Saigon, Vietnam
Fall of Saigon Evacuation
A reconstructed Vietnam War scene showing the final evacuation from Saigon in 1975.
1986 · Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian SSR
Chernobyl Disaster
A reconstructed Soviet disaster-response scene showing firefighters and plant workers outside Reactor 4 at Chernobyl.
1912 · North Atlantic Ocean, Titanic sinking site
Sinking of the Titanic
A reconstructed Edwardian maritime disaster scene showing RMS Titanic sinking in the North Atlantic.
1957 · Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Soviet Union
Launch of Sputnik 1
A reconstructed early space-age scene showing the launch of Sputnik 1 from Baikonur Cosmodrome.