Welcome to another episode of Today in History — I’m Sen, your host.

You’re going to hear a set of historical events from this day in the past… twice. On this first listen, just relax and focus on the sounds and rhythm of what is being said.

Here we go. So, what happened today in history?

On July 4, 1998, the Japanese spacecraft Nozomi was launched to Mars. This marked the moment when Japan joined the U.S. and Russia as a space-exploring nation.

On the same day in 2015, Chile won their first international soccer title. In the final of the Copa América, they beat Argentina on penalties after a goalless draw.

On July 4, 2019, a bust of the pharaoh Tutankhamun was sold at a Christie’s auction in London for £4.7 million. The foreign minister of Egypt told the auction house to cancel the sale of the 3000-year-old artifact. He said that the object was stolen and should be repatriated. In the past ten years, demands have become louder for Western institutions, especially museums, to stop ignoring the colonial history of cultural artifacts.

Now for the second listen. Try focusing more on the individual words and meaning this time.

On July 4, 1998, the Japanese spacecraft Nozomi was launched to Mars. This marked the moment when Japan joined the U.S. and Russia as a space-exploring nation.

On the same day in 2015, Chile won their first international soccer title. In the final of the Copa América, they beat Argentina on penalties after a goalless draw.

On July 4, 2019, a bust of the pharaoh Tutankhamun was sold at a Christie’s auction in London for £4.7 million. The foreign minister of Egypt told the auction house to cancel the sale of the 3000-year-old artifact. He said that the object was stolen and should be repatriated. In the past ten years, demands have become louder for Western institutions, especially museums, to stop ignoring the colonial history of cultural artifacts.

Which words caught your attention? How about ‘title’? Here, it describes being the winner of a sports competition — for example, Chile winning the Copa América. And ‘repatriate’ means to return to the country of origin, and can be used for people or objects, like the bust of Tutankhamun.

That’s it for this episode of Today in History. Be sure to join me tomorrow for some more historical facts!

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Episode notes:
 
title: being the winner in a sports competition
repatriate: to return something or someone to the country of origin