1523: Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union 1716: French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana 1916: The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes the central government to virtually collapse in the face of warlords, including Sun Yat-sen 1944: Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as the 156,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands […]
1873 Sultan Bargash bin Said under British pressure closes the infamous slave market of Zanzibar in modern day Tanzania 1947: US Secretary of State George Marshall outlines the “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Western Europe 1963: State of siege proclaimed in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini arrested 1967: Six-Day War begins between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria 1968: Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan shoots Robert F. […]
1760: Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians 1940: British complete the “Miracle of Dunkirk” by evacuating 338,226 allied troops from France via a flotilla of over 800 vessels including Royal Navy destroyers, merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft and even lifeboats 1945: US, Soviet Union, Britain […]
4000 BC: Approximate domestication of the horse in the Eurasian steppes near Dereivka, central Ukraine (hypothesis only) 1215: Beijing, under control of Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Beijing 1676: Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian […]
1279 BC: Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty) 1578: Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Frobisher Bay, Canada. Eventually mines fools gold, famously used to pave the streets of London. 1902: Boer War Ends; Treaty of Unity signed, Britain annexes Transvaal 1910: Union of South Africa declares its independence […]
1431: Hundred Years’ War: 19 year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal in Rouen, France 1539: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto’s expedition of 10 ships and 700 men lands in Florida 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between US and Mexico comes into force, giving New Mexico, California and parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona and […]
1453 Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire falls to the Turks under Mehmed II; ends the Byzantine Empire 1592 Battle of Sacheon: Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun Shin repels a Japanese fleet – first use of Korean Turtle ship 1660 On his 30th birthday Charles II returns to London from exile in the Netherlands to claim the English […]
585: BC Solar eclipse, as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales, while Lydians at war with the Medes leads to a truce. One of the cardinal dates from which other dates calculated. 1431: Joan of Arc is accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing again, providing justification for her execution 1588: Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia […]
1896: Dow Jones index begins with an average of 12 industrial stocks (closing is 40.94) 1908: At Masjed Soleyman (مسجد سليمان) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, rights acquired by the United Kingdom 1927: Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and 15th million) Model T Ford / Tin […]
1720: The Ship “Le Grand St Antoine” reaches Marseille, bringing Europe’s last major plague outbreak. Kills around 100,000 1810: In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo 1914: British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill 1961: JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon […]
