Europe is marking one of its most joyous days in history. The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on the continent was on Thursday.

In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto becomes the first European colonizer to discover the Mississippi River. In 1909, President William Howard Taft announced he would continue the conservation policies put in place by his predecessor,

Countries across the world will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. But this year’s events may be more bittersweet than in the past.