Historical Events API - APIVerve Documentation

API Overview

Historical Events is a simple tool for getting historical events. It returns a list of historical events between 300BC and 2012 To use this API, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

Important: Ensure that this API is enabled from within your dashboard to use it in your application. If not, you may receive a 403 error

View API in Directory

Client Libaries

To get started with minimal code, most of our APIs are available through client libraries:

Get Historical Events by Keyword

1 Token

Get a list of historical events that match a specific keyword

	
#GET Request
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing

x-api-key (required)

This is a required header on every request. Your API Key is found from within your dashboard

accept

This is an optional header. Set the value to application/json, application/xml, or application/yaml

textstring(required)

The keyword for which you want to get the historical events (e.g., moon landing)

Sample Request

	
import requests

url = "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents"

querystring = {'text': 'moon landing'}

headers = {
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

	
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage
{
	Method = HttpMethod.Get,
	RequestUri = new Uri("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing"),
	Headers =
	{
		{ "x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY" }
	},
};
using (var response = await client.SendAsync(request))
{
	response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
	var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
	Console.WriteLine(body);
}

	
const data = null;

const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.withCredentials = true;

xhr.addEventListener('readystatechange', function () {
	if (this.readyState === this.DONE) {
		console.log(this.responseText);
	}
});

xhr.open('GET', 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing');
xhr.setRequestHeader('x-api-key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

xhr.send(data);

	
const request = require('request');

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
  }
};

request(options, function (error, response, body) {
	if (error) throw new Error(error);

	console.log(body);
});

	
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
		.uri(URI.create("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing"))
		.header("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
		.method("GET", HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.noBody())
		.build();
HttpResponse response = HttpClient.newHttpClient().send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
System.out.println(response.body());

	
import Foundation

let headers = [
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
]

let request = NSMutableURLRequest(url: NSURL(string: "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing")! as URL,
				cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy,
                timeoutInterval: 10.0)

request.httpMethod = "GET"
request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers

let session = URLSession.shared
let dataTask = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
	if (error != nil) {
		print(error as Any)
	} else {
		let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse
		print(httpResponse)
	}
})

dataTask.resume()

	
curl --request GET \
	--url 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?text=moon landing' \
	--header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

Sample Response

	
{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "count": 6,
    "filteredOn": [
      "text"
    ],
    "events": [
      {
        "year": "1969",
        "month": "05",
        "day": "18",
        "date": "1969/05/18",
        "event": " Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' (Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, John Young) is launched, on the full dress-rehearsal for the Moon landing.",
        "range": "May",
        "granularity": "year"
      },
      {
        "year": "1969",
        "month": "05",
        "day": "25",
        "date": "1969/05/25",
        "event": "Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' returns to Earth, after a successful 8-day test of all the components needed for the upcoming first manned Moon landing.",
        "range": "May",
        "granularity": "year"
      },
      {
        "year": "1969",
        "month": "07",
        "day": "20",
        "date": "1969/07/20",
        "event": " Apollo program: The lunar module ''Eagle'' lands on the lunar surface. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon at 02:56 UTC, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.cite web|title=Manned Space Chronology: Apollo_11|url=http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|publisher=spaceline.org|accessdate=2008-02-06| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080214213826/http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html| archivedate= 14 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}cite web|title= Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing quotInspired Worldquot|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|publisher=nationalgeographic.com|accessdate=2008-02-06| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209140059/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html| archivedate= 9 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}",
        "range": "July",
        "granularity": "year"
      },
      {
        "year": "1969",
        "month": "07",
        "day": "20",
        "date": "1969/07/20",
        "event": "The ''Apollo 11'' astronauts return from the first successful Moon landing, and are placed in biological isolation for several days, on the chance they may have brought back lunar germs. The airless lunar environment is later determined to preclude microscopic life.",
        "range": "July",
        "granularity": "year"
      },
      {
        "year": "1971",
        "month": "02",
        "day": "08",
        "date": "1971/02/08",
        "event": "Apollo program: ''Apollo 14'' returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.",
        "range": "February",
        "granularity": "year"
      },
      {
        "year": "1973",
        "month": "01",
        "day": "07",
        "date": "1973/01/07",
        "event": "Elvis Presley's concert in Hawaii. The first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings.",
        "range": "January",
        "granularity": "year"
      }
    ]
  },
  "code": 200
}

	
<Root>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error />
  <data>
    <count>6</count>
    <filteredOn>text</filteredOn>
    <events>
      <year>1969</year>
      <month>05</month>
      <day>18</day>
      <date>1969/05/18</date>
      <event> Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' (Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, John Young) is launched, on the full dress-rehearsal for the Moon landing.</event>
      <range>May</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
    <events>
      <year>1969</year>
      <month>05</month>
      <day>25</day>
      <date>1969/05/25</date>
      <event>Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' returns to Earth, after a successful 8-day test of all the components needed for the upcoming first manned Moon landing.</event>
      <range>May</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
    <events>
      <year>1969</year>
      <month>07</month>
      <day>20</day>
      <date>1969/07/20</date>
      <event> Apollo program: The lunar module ''Eagle'' lands on the lunar surface. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon at 02:56 UTC, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.cite web|title=Manned Space Chronology: Apollo_11|url=&lt;a href="http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|publisher=spaceline.org|accessdate=2008-02-06|"&gt;http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|publisher=spaceline.org|accessdate=2008-02-06|&lt;/a&gt; archiveurl= &lt;a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080214213826/http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|"&gt;http://web.archive.org/web/20080214213826/http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|&lt;/a&gt; archivedate= 14 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}cite web|title= Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing quotInspired Worldquot|url=&lt;a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|publisher=nationalgeographic.com|accessdate=2008-02-06|"&gt;http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|publisher=nationalgeographic.com|accessdate=2008-02-06|&lt;/a&gt; archiveurl= &lt;a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080209140059/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|"&gt;http://web.archive.org/web/20080209140059/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|&lt;/a&gt; archivedate= 9 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}</event>
      <range>July</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
    <events>
      <year>1969</year>
      <month>07</month>
      <day>20</day>
      <date>1969/07/20</date>
      <event>The ''Apollo 11'' astronauts return from the first successful Moon landing, and are placed in biological isolation for several days, on the chance they may have brought back lunar germs. The airless lunar environment is later determined to preclude microscopic life.</event>
      <range>July</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
    <events>
      <year>1971</year>
      <month>02</month>
      <day>08</day>
      <date>1971/02/08</date>
      <event>Apollo program: ''Apollo 14'' returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.</event>
      <range>February</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
    <events>
      <year>1973</year>
      <month>01</month>
      <day>07</day>
      <date>1973/01/07</date>
      <event>Elvis Presley's concert in Hawaii. The first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings.</event>
      <range>January</range>
      <granularity>year</granularity>
    </events>
  </data>
  <code>200</code>
</Root>

	
status: ok
error: 
data:
  count: 6
  filteredOn:
  - text
  events:
  - year: 1969
    month: 05
    day: 18
    date: 1969/05/18
    event: " Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' (Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, John Young) is launched, on the full dress-rehearsal for the Moon landing."
    range: May
    granularity: year
  - year: 1969
    month: 05
    day: 25
    date: 1969/05/25
    event: "Apollo program: ''Apollo 10'' returns to Earth, after a successful 8-day test of all the components needed for the upcoming first manned Moon landing."
    range: May
    granularity: year
  - year: 1969
    month: 07
    day: 20
    date: 1969/07/20
    event: " Apollo program: The lunar module ''Eagle'' lands on the lunar surface. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon at 02:56 UTC, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.cite web|title=Manned Space Chronology: Apollo_11|url=http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html|publisher=spaceline.org|accessdate=2008-02-06| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080214213826/http://www.spaceline.org/flightchron/apollo11.html| archivedate= 14 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}cite web|title= Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing quotInspired Worldquot|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html|publisher=nationalgeographic.com|accessdate=2008-02-06| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209140059/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_moonlanding.html| archivedate= 9 February 2008 !--DASHBot--| deadurl= no}}"
    range: July
    granularity: year
  - year: 1969
    month: 07
    day: 20
    date: 1969/07/20
    event: The ''Apollo 11'' astronauts return from the first successful Moon landing, and are placed in biological isolation for several days, on the chance they may have brought back lunar germs. The airless lunar environment is later determined to preclude microscopic life.
    range: July
    granularity: year
  - year: 1971
    month: 02
    day: 08
    date: 1971/02/08
    event: "Apollo program: ''Apollo 14'' returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing."
    range: February
    granularity: year
  - year: 1973
    month: 01
    day: 07
    date: 1973/01/07
    event: Elvis Presley's concert in Hawaii. The first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings.
    range: January
    granularity: year
code: 200

Live Test API in Playground

Get Historical Events by Date

1 Token

Get a list of historical events that happened on a specific date

	
#GET Request
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12

x-api-key (required)

This is a required header on every request. Your API Key is found from within your dashboard

accept

This is an optional header. Set the value to application/json, application/xml, or application/yaml

yearint(required)

The year for which you want to get the historical events (e.g., 1520)

monthint

The month for which you want to get the historical events (e.g., 5)

dayint

The day for which you want to get the historical events (e.g., 12)

Sample Request

	
import requests

url = "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents"

querystring = {'year': '1520', 'month': '5', 'day': '12'}

headers = {
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

	
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage
{
	Method = HttpMethod.Get,
	RequestUri = new Uri("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12"),
	Headers =
	{
		{ "x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY" }
	},
};
using (var response = await client.SendAsync(request))
{
	response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
	var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
	Console.WriteLine(body);
}

	
const data = null;

const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.withCredentials = true;

xhr.addEventListener('readystatechange', function () {
	if (this.readyState === this.DONE) {
		console.log(this.responseText);
	}
});

xhr.open('GET', 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12');
xhr.setRequestHeader('x-api-key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

xhr.send(data);

	
const request = require('request');

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
  }
};

request(options, function (error, response, body) {
	if (error) throw new Error(error);

	console.log(body);
});

	
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
		.uri(URI.create("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12"))
		.header("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
		.method("GET", HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.noBody())
		.build();
HttpResponse response = HttpClient.newHttpClient().send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
System.out.println(response.body());

	
import Foundation

let headers = [
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
]

let request = NSMutableURLRequest(url: NSURL(string: "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12")! as URL,
				cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy,
                timeoutInterval: 10.0)

request.httpMethod = "GET"
request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers

let session = URLSession.shared
let dataTask = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
	if (error != nil) {
		print(error as Any)
	} else {
		let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse
		print(httpResponse)
	}
})

dataTask.resume()

	
curl --request GET \
	--url 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520&month=5&day=12' \
	--header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

Live Test API in Playground

Get Historical Events by Year

1 Token

Get a list of historical events that happened on a specific year

	
#GET Request
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520

x-api-key (required)

This is a required header on every request. Your API Key is found from within your dashboard

accept

This is an optional header. Set the value to application/json, application/xml, or application/yaml

yearint(required)

The year for which you want to get the historical events (e.g., 1520)

Sample Request

	
import requests

url = "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents"

querystring = {'year': '1520'}

headers = {
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

	
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
var client = new HttpClient();
var request = new HttpRequestMessage
{
	Method = HttpMethod.Get,
	RequestUri = new Uri("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520"),
	Headers =
	{
		{ "x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY" }
	},
};
using (var response = await client.SendAsync(request))
{
	response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
	var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
	Console.WriteLine(body);
}

	
const data = null;

const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.withCredentials = true;

xhr.addEventListener('readystatechange', function () {
	if (this.readyState === this.DONE) {
		console.log(this.responseText);
	}
});

xhr.open('GET', 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520');
xhr.setRequestHeader('x-api-key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

xhr.send(data);

	
const request = require('request');

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
  }
};

request(options, function (error, response, body) {
	if (error) throw new Error(error);

	console.log(body);
});

	
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
		.uri(URI.create("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520"))
		.header("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
		.method("GET", HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.noBody())
		.build();
HttpResponse response = HttpClient.newHttpClient().send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
System.out.println(response.body());

	
import Foundation

let headers = [
	"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
]

let request = NSMutableURLRequest(url: NSURL(string: "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520")! as URL,
				cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy,
                timeoutInterval: 10.0)

request.httpMethod = "GET"
request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers

let session = URLSession.shared
let dataTask = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
	if (error != nil) {
		print(error as Any)
	} else {
		let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse
		print(httpResponse)
	}
})

dataTask.resume()

	
curl --request GET \
	--url 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/historicalevents?year=1520' \
	--header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

Live Test API in Playground

Response Types

The Historical Events API supports the following response content types:

application/json, application/xml, application/yaml

You can specify the response content type by setting the Accept header in your request. If you don't specify a content type, the API will default to application/json.

Authentication

The Historical Events API uses an API Key to authenticate requests. You can view and manage your API key by visiting your dashboard.

Your API keys carry many privileges. To keep them from being abused, please do not share the keys on client-side code or Github etc. Keep them very secure.

To use any API, you must have it enabled from within your dashboard. Disabled APIs will fail to respond to your requests.

All requests made to the API must contain the header x-api-key in each of your requests. API requests without authentication will fail.

All API requests must also be made over secure HTTPS. Requests made over plain HTTP will fail.

Error Code	Meaning
401	Your request was made with invalid credentials. This error also appears when you don't pass the `x-api-key` header in your request.
403	Typically, this occurs when you are trying to access an API that you have not enabled.

Rate Limits

	
{
    "status": "error",
    "data": null,
    "error": "tokens have been depleted",
    "code": 429
}

Each subscription has its own monthly token limit. Your token count is based on your subscription plan. If you reach your limits, don't worry. You can always upgrade or downgrade at any time.

When you reach your limit, the service will stop responding and typically return an HTTP 429 response status code. The error will also contain a detailed JSON.

The Historical Events API uses the following error code:

Error Code	Meaning
429	You have exceeded your rate limit and further requests will be denied until the next cycle.

Error Codes

For reference, the Historical Events API uses the following error codes:

Error Code	Meaning
Code	Message
200	The request was successful. The response will include the requested data.
400	The request was invalid. The response will include a message that explains the error.
401	The request was not authorized. Usually, this means that the API key is missing or invalid.
403	This means that the request was trying to access a resource that it does not have permission to access.
404	This means that the resource you are trying to access does not exist.
429	This means that you have reached the rate limit. The response will include a Retry-After header that indicates how many seconds you need to wait before making a new request.
500	This means that there was an error on the server side. We are alerted when this happens and we will work to fix it as soon as possible.

Historical Events API Reference

API Overview

Client Libaries

Get Historical Events by Keyword

Request Headers

Request Parameters

Sample Request

Sample Response

Get Historical Events by Date

Request Headers

Request Parameters

Sample Request

Get Historical Events by Year

Request Headers

Request Parameters

Sample Request

Response Types

Authentication

Rate Limits

Error Codes

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