The Storming of the Bastille (1789)

The Bastille was a 14th-century fortress and a notorious state prison in Paris. In 1789, an angry mob stormed the prison, freeing the political prisoners held in the edifice that had come to symbolize the French monarchy’s oppression of the people.

The assault launched the French Revolution.

Although the building itself was razed a year later, the Bastille became a symbol of French independence, and July 14th became a national holiday.