1616: First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy 1821: Act of Independence of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua declare their independence from the Spanish Empire 1835: HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, reaches the Galápagos Islands 1916First Use of Tanks in War 1916: First use […]
1752: Britain and the British Empire, including the American colonies, adopt the Gregorian Calendar after skipping 11 days between September 3 and September 13 1922: Burning of Smyrna, the Asia Minor Catastrophe to Greeks: Ottoman army expels Greeks and other non-Turks from Asia Minor, destroying much of the port city of Smyrna (August 13 OS) […]
509 BC: Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome’s Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the Ides of September 335: Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem 1224: Francis of Assisi is afflicted with stigmata after a vision while praying on Mount La Verna 1501: Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, a […]
1624: The first submarine is publicly tested in London on the Thames for King James I 1758: French astronomer Charles Messier mistakes the Crab Nebula for a comet while searching for Halley’s Comet, leading him to begin his Messier Catalogue 1909: World’s first patent for synthetic rubber is granted to German chemist Fritz Hofmann 1940: […]
1297: Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scottish rebel William Wallace defeats the English 1609: An expulsion order is issued against the Moriscos of Valencia, beginning the expulsion of all of Spain’s Moriscos (former Muslims and their descendants) 1697: Battle of Zenta: Holy League forces led by Prince Eugene of Savoy defeat an Ottoman army under Mustafa […]
1776: George Washington asks for a spy, and Nathan Hale volunteers 1813: American naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry defeats the British in the Battle of Lake Erie 1846: Elias Howe takes out a US patent for a lockstitch sewing machine 1924: Leopold and Loeb are found guilty of the murder of Bobby Franks in Chicago […]
1000: Battle of Svolder, Baltic Sea: King Olaf on board the Long Serpent is defeated in one of the greatest naval battles of the Viking Age and leaps to his death overboard 1543: Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned Queen of Scots in the central Scottish town of Stirling 1776: Congress officially renames […]
70: Roman army under General Titus completes the siege of Jerusalem by destroying what remained after four months of occupation and plundering 1380: Battle of Kulikovo: Moscow’s great monarch Dmitry defeats the Mongols, beginning the decline of the Tatars 1504: Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in Florence 1565: First permanent European settlement in the […]
1714: Treaty of Baden is signed by the Holy Roman Empire and France, ending the War of the Spanish Succession; France retains Alsace and Landau, and Austria gains the east bank of the Rhine 1812: Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Bonaparte wins a Pyrrhic victory against Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov in the most ferocious battle of […]
1522: Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish expedition, now led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, returns to Seville without its captain after a three-year epic voyage, becoming the first to circumnavigate the globe 1666: After St. Paul’s Cathedral and much of the city burned down over four days, the Great Fire of London is finally extinguished 1901: US President […]
