HISTORY

1496: Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine 1521: Martin Luther is Excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church for failing to recant parts of his Ninety-five Theses which started the Protestant Reformation 1977: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs incorporate Apple Computer, Inc 1777: General George Washington’s revolutionary army defeats British forces at Battle of Princeton, New Jersey 1925: Benito Mussolini dissolves the Italian parliament and […]

366: The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire 1492: Muhammad XII, the last Emir of Granada, surrenders his city to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile, ending both the Reconquista and centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula 1942: World War II: the 28 nations at war with Axis powers pledge […]

45 BC: The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time 630: Prophet Muhammad sets out with an army 10,000 strong to conquer Mecca 1758: The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature establish the “starting point” for standardized species names across the animal kingdom, based on the binomial nomenclature by Carolus Linnaeus 10th edition of Systema Naturae 1863: Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to […]

406: 80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine at Mainz, beginning invasion of Gallia 1744: English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth’s nutation motion (wobble) 1775: Battle of Quebec: American Continental Army led by Richard Montgomery is defeated trying to take the British stronghold of Quebec City in the American Revolutionary War, General Montgomery is killed and Benedict Arnold is injured 1861: 22,990mm […]

1460: Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield (Northern England), Duke of York killed and his forces soundly defeated by forces for King Henry VI 1703: Tokyo hit by Earthquake; about 37,000 die 1906: The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, later laid down the foundations of Pakistan 1922: Creation of the USSR formally […]

1835: Treaty of New Echota is signed between the US government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction to cede all lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States 1845: Texas admitted as 28th state of the Union 1903: French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad and Ubangi-Shari 1911: Sun Yat-sen elected 1st President of […]

1065: New church devoted to St Peter the Apostle built by Edward the Confessor – later called the ‘west minister’ consecrated in London (rebuilt mid 13th century) 1612: First observation of Neptune – Galileo observes and records a “fixed star” without realising it is a planet 1767: King Taksin crowned King of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as his capital 1836: Spain recognizes the […]

1512: Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World 1657: “Flushing Remonstrance” petition signed in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, protesting the ban on Quaker worship 1939: Between 20,000 and 40,000 die in magnitude 8 earthquake in Erzincam, Turkey 1945: International Monetary Fund formally established […]

1492: 1st Spanish settlement La Navidad in the New World is founded by Christopher Columbus (modern Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti) 1620: Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS: Dec 16] 1792: Trial of French King Louis XVI, court hears the kings defense brought by Raymond Desèze 1825: Decembrist uprising in Russia against Tsar Nicholas I […]

1: 1st Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus 800: Pope Leo III crowns Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Roman Emperor 1066: William the Conqueror is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman conquest of England 1741: Astronomer Anders Celsius introduces Centigrade temperature scale 1868: Despite bitter opposition, US President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in Southern rebellion (Civil War) 1991: Mikhail […]