1508: Maximilian I is proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor, the first emperor in centuries not crowned by the Pope 1778: Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance are signed in Paris between the United States and France, the first treaties negotiated by the United States. The first treaty establishes formal diplomatic and commercial […]
1576: Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) abjures Catholicism at Tours 1597: A group of early Japanese Christians, known as the 26 Martyrs, are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society 1885: King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as his personal colonial […]
211 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies in Eboracum (York) in England, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta 960 Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song initiates three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China 1789 First US Electoral College chooses George Washington […]
1451: Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire 1509: Battle of Diu: Portuguese Armada defeats a Mamluk Egyptian fleet in a naval battle at the port of Diu, India, establishing Portuguese trading control in the Indian Ocean 1870: Iowa ratifies the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing suffrage for […]
1653: New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed New York City 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million. 1901: Queen Victoria’s funeral takes place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, England 1922: James […]
1587: Queen Elizabeth I of England signs the death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots 1843: Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America opens, the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) 1884: First volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, is published 1908: King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, […]
1865: Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States except as punishment for a crime 1934: FDR devalues the US dollar relative to gold to $35 per ounce 1943: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad 1950: US President […]
1661: Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years 1815: Burned US Library of Congress re-established with Thomas Jefferson’s 6,500 volumes 1889: Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling […]
474: Zeno is crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7) 661: Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate. 1595: William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” is thought to have been first performed; officially […]
1521: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany, which lasts until May 25 and produces the “Edict of Worms” denouncing Martin Luther 1807: London’s Pall Mall becomes the first street lit by gaslight 1813: Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom 1819: […]
