Jan 16, 1920: Prohibition is born Feb 14, 270: St Valentine's martyrdom gives birth to a romantic tradition Jul 5, 1946: The bikini swimsuit makes its debut at a Paris fashion show Dec 22, 1849: Dostoyevsky is led out for a pretend execution Strange sometimes to think, even the biggest events of world history happened on a particular day - a rainy February 25th, a sweltering July 2nd, your father's birthday . . . W. B. Marsh and Bruce Carrick present a leap year of historical stories in turns amazing, horrifying, touching and tearful. Spanning the history of man's life on earth and every corner of the inhabited world, they paint a picture of infinite richness and minute, enthralling detail. Read about the first-ever tanks going into combat on the Somme, Pushkin's death in a duel, Nietzsche's dramatic breakdown in Turin, Jesse Owens humiliating the Nazis at the Olympic Games and much, much more.