479 BC: Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Plataea, Persian forces led by Mardonius routed by Greek army under Pausanias; together with Greek success at Battle of Mycale halts Persian invasion of Greece 479 BC: Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Mycale won by Greek forces over Persian naval troops on Ionian coast, double victory with that at Plataea ends Persian […]
1346: Battle of Crécy, south of Calais in northern France; Edward III’s English longbows defeat Philip VI’s army, cannons used for first time in battle 1682: English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him 1873: First free kindergarten in the U.S. started by Susan Blow in Carondelet, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri 1924: The Catastrophe of Smyrna: known as the […]
1609: Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers 1718: Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana; New Orleans founded 1768: Captain James Cook departs from Plymouth, England, on his first voyage on board the Endeavour, bound for the Pacific Ocean 1894: Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet 1944: French General Charles […]
79: Believed until 2018 to be the date of the massive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which buried the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, killing untold thousands. Latest evidence suggests the eruption occurred after 17 October. 410: Rome overrun by Visigoths under Alaric I for the first time in nearly 800 years, seen as the fall of […]
79: Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on feast day of Vulcan, Roman god of fire (goes on to destroy Pompeii) [approx date] 1305: Scottish patriot William Wallace is executed for high treason by Edward I of England at Smithfield, London 1542: Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code 1850: 1st US National Women’s Rights Convention convenes in Worcester, Massachusetts 1942: Battle of Stalingrad: […]
1485: Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor’s forces defeat English King Richard III during last battle in the Wars of the Roses. Richard is killed, the last English monarch to die in battle. 1639: Madras (now Chennai), India, founded by the British East India Company on sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers 1642: English Civil War begins between […]
1192: Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192) 1703: The Edirne Event: Turkish army removes Sultan Mustafa II, lessening the power of the sultans 1772: King Gustav III of Sweden completes a coup d’etat by adopting a new Constitution and installing himself as an enlightened despot, ending 50 […]
1597: 1st Dutch East India Company ships return from the Far East 1619: 1st known African Americans in English North America (approx. 20) land at Point Comfort (Fort Monroe), Virginia. They are then sold or traded into servitude. 1741: Alaska first sighted by Danish explorer Vitus Bering at head of Russian expedition 1866: President Andrew Johnson formally declares US Civil War […]
43 BC: Octavian, later known as Augustus, compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul 1839: Details of Louis Daguerre’s 1st practical photographic process are released in Paris 1942: World War II: Over 4,000 Canadian and British soldiers killed, wounded or captured raiding Dieppe, France 1988: Iran and Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war (11 PM EDT) 1991: Conservative members […]
1737: First public admittance to the Salon de Paris art exhibition at the Louvre in Paris 1838: United States Exploring Expedition headed by Charles Wilkes departs for the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica 1914: US President Woodrow Wilson issues “Proclamation of Neutrality” 1919: Anti-Cigarette League of America forms in Chicago, Illinois 1920: 22 year old representative Harry T. Burn is deciding vote in Tennessee’s and […]
