1242: Battle on the Ice: Russian Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky defeats the Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus between Estonia and Russia 1722: Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen is the first European to discover Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, in the southeastern Pacific Ocean 1818: Battle of Maipú: Chile’s independence movement, led […]
1581: Francis Drake is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard his galleon, the “Golden Hind” at Deptford, England 1655: Battle of Porto Farina: English fleet defeats Barbary pirates in Tunis 1789: First US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington’s presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ends 1791) 1949: The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in […]
1367: An alliance of King Peter of Castile, Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt of England, Aquitaine, Majorca and Navarra defeats Count Henry of Castile in the Battle of Navarrete, fought near Nájera in La Rioja, Castile 1645: English Long Parliament passes the Self-Denying Ordinance, limiting regional armies, significant step toward New Model […]
1513: Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida 1792: The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime 1801: Napoleonic Wars: The British […]
527: Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne The ruins of Pompeii, still standing after over 2000 yearsRuins of Pompeii 1748: The ruins of Pompeii are rediscovered by Spaniard Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre 1948: “Big Bang” theory proposed in scientific journal “Physical Review” by American cosmologists […]
1146: Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine are present and join the Crusade. 1492: Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon issue the Alhambra Decree expelling Jews from their kingdoms 1657: English […]
240 BC First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1856 The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War 1867: The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (109 million in 2018 dollars), roughly 2 cents an acre 1870: The […]
845: Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving 1549: The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded 1901: Edmund Barton is elected Prime Minister in Australia’s first federal election 1912: Captain Robert Falcon Scott, storm-bound in a tent […]
364: Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor 1854: Great Britain and France declare war on Russia, expanding the Crimean War 1910: First seaplane takes off from water under its own power, piloted by Henri Fabre from the Étang de Berre lagoon in Martigues, France 1939: Spanish Civil War ends as Madrid […]
1513: Spaniard Juan Ponce de León and his expedition first sight Florida 1625: Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland ascends the English throne 1794: Naval Act of 1794 is signed by President George Washington, authorizing the building of six frigates and establishing a permanent US Navy 1914: First successful non-direct blood transfusion is […]
