178 years ago today
The Communist Manifesto Published
On February 21, 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto — originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party — in London, commissioned by the Communist League. The pamphlet opened with one of the most arresting sentences in political history: "A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism." In just under 50 pages, Marx and Engels laid out a theory of historical materialism, the class struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat, and a call to revolutionary action. Published days before the outbreak of the Revolutions of 1848 that would sweep across Europe, the Manifesto seemed almost prophetic in its timing. Though initially obscure, it would become the foundational text of socialist and communist movements worldwide, shaping the political landscape of the twentieth century more profoundly than almost any other document — its influence felt from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
On the record: Karl Marx
This day, across time
- 1613EventRomanov Dynasty Established in Russia
- 1677DiedBaruch Spinoza
- 1804EventFirst Steam Locomotive Demonstrated
- 1848FeaturedThe Communist Manifesto Published
- 1878EventFirst Telephone Directory Issued
- 1885EventWashington Monument Dedicated
- 1893BornAndrés Segovia
- 1907BornW. H. Auden
- 1916EventBattle of Verdun Begins
- 1925EventThe New Yorker Publishes Its First Issue
- 1933BornNina Simone
- 1936BornBarbara Jordan
- 1946BornAlan Rickman
- 1965EventMalcolm X Assassinated
- 1972EventNixon Visits China
- 1975EventWatergate Convictions
- 1979BornJennifer Love Hewitt
- 1979BornJordan Peele
- 1994EventCIA Officer Aldrich Ames Arrested
- 2018DiedBilly Graham
Alive in 1848
OverlapSame years; not influence
Karl Marxturned 30 this year
Abraham Lincolnturned 39 this year
Charles John Huffam Dickensturned 36 this year
Charles Robert Darwinturned 39 this year
Edgar Allan Poeturned 39 this year
Friedrich Nietzscheturned 4 this year
Otto von Bismarckturned 33 this year
Queen Victoriaturned 29 this year
Richard Wagnerturned 35 this year
Robert E. Leeturned 41 this year
3 more figures were alive that year
Step into the moment
Simulation · scenario
The Manifesto Goes to Print
Brussels, Belgium
Karl Marx, February 21, 1848. A simulation set on this date. The figure doesn’t know how the day ends.
On This Day in History
11 EventsRomanov Dynasty Established in Russia
Mikhail Romanov was elected Tsar of Russia by the Zemsky Sobor, a national assembly, ending the chaotic Time of Troubles and founding the Romanov dynasty that would rule Russia for the next 304 years until the 1917 revolution.
First Steam Locomotive Demonstrated
Richard Trevithick demonstrated the world's first self-propelling steam locomotive at the Pen-y-Darren ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, hauling ten tonnes of iron and 70 men along nine miles of track and launching the age of the railway.
The Communist Manifesto Published
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto in London, presenting their theory of historical materialism and class struggle in a pamphlet that would shape the political history of the twentieth century.
First Telephone Directory Issued
The world's first telephone directory was issued in New Haven, Connecticut, listing the names of 50 subscribers of the Connecticut District Telephone Company — a single card rather than a book, but the beginning of a form of publication that would endure for over a century.
Washington Monument Dedicated
The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was officially dedicated in a ceremony, having taken decades to complete due to funding shortfalls and the interruption of the Civil War. At 555 feet, it was the tallest structure in the world when completed in 1884.
Battle of Verdun Begins
The German Army launched its massive offensive against French positions at Verdun, beginning one of the longest and bloodiest battles in history. The Battle of Verdun would last until December 1916, producing nearly a million casualties while the front lines barely moved.
The New Yorker Publishes Its First Issue
Harold Ross published the first issue of The New Yorker magazine, which would become one of the most influential literary and cultural magazines in the English language, shaping American journalism, fiction, and criticism across the twentieth century.
Malcolm X Assassinated
Malcolm X, the Black nationalist leader and former Nation of Islam minister who had recently moderated his views after a transformative pilgrimage to Mecca, was shot and killed by gunmen at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. He was 39 years old.
Nixon Visits China
President Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing for a historic week-long visit, meeting Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai — the first visit to the People's Republic of China by an American president, ending 23 years of diplomatic isolation and fundamentally reshaping Cold War geopolitics.
Watergate Convictions
Former Attorney General John Mitchell, White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and domestic affairs adviser John Ehrlichman were sentenced to prison for their roles in the Watergate scandal, the most serious political corruption case in American presidential history.
CIA Officer Aldrich Ames Arrested
CIA officer Aldrich Ames was arrested for selling the identities of U.S. intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia over nine years, resulting in the execution of at least ten CIA sources — the worst intelligence disaster in CIA history.
Born on This Day
Nina Simone
Singer-Songwriter & Pianist
Nina Simone was a classically trained pianist who became one of the most powerful voices of the civil rights era, blending jazz, blues, soul, and classical music with deeply political conviction. Songs like "Mississippi Goddam" and "Feeling Good" remain among the most emotionally devastating recordings of the twentieth century.
W. H. Auden
Poet
W.H. Auden is considered one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century in the English language, known for his technical virtuosity and his ability to address political and social themes with equal seriousness and wit. His poem "Funeral Blues" — "Stop all the clocks" — became widely known after its use in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Alan Rickman
Actor & Director
Alan Rickman's magnetic stage presence and silky baritone made him one of the most sought-after actors in British theatre before his films — including Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, Galaxy Quest, and the Harry Potter series as Professor Severus Snape — made him beloved worldwide.
Andrés Segovia
Classical Guitarist
Andrés Segovia single-handedly elevated the classical guitar from a folk instrument to a concert hall staple, transcribing works by Bach and other masters for the guitar and commissioning new works from leading twentieth-century composers. He is universally regarded as the father of the modern classical guitar.
Barbara Jordan
Politician & Lawyer
Barbara Jordan became the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate and then to the U.S. House of Representatives from the South. Her commanding speech during the Nixon impeachment hearings in 1974, opening with "My faith in the Constitution is whole," made her one of the most admired orators in American political history.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Actress & Singer
Jennifer Love Hewitt rose to fame in the teen horror films I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel before becoming a television star in Party of Five and Ghost Whisperer, for which she received Golden Globe nominations.
Jordan Peele
Director & Actor
Jordan Peele made his directorial debut with Get Out (2017), a social horror film that grossed over $255 million on a $4.5 million budget and earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay — the first Black screenwriter to win that award. He followed it with Us and Nope, establishing himself as one of the most distinctive voices in American cinema.
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Malcolm X
Civil Rights Leader & Minister
Malcolm X was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem at age 39. His electrifying advocacy for Black self-determination, his autobiography — written with Alex Haley — and his evolving philosophy of pan-African solidarity made him one of the most influential and controversial figures of the twentieth century.
Billy Graham
Evangelist
Billy Graham, who preached in person to more people than any other individual in history — an estimated 215 million people across more than 185 countries — and served as a spiritual adviser to U.S. presidents from Truman to Obama, died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina at age 99.
Baruch Spinoza
Philosopher
Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose rationalist pantheism and early arguments for democracy and freedom of thought made him one of the most radical and influential thinkers of the seventeenth century, died in The Hague at age 44, likely of a lung disease.
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