46 BC: Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) in the battle of Thapsus. 1453: Turkish forces under Sultan Mehmed II begin the siege of the Byzantine Empire capitol of Constantinople (now İstanbul), which falls May 29 1652: Cape Colony, the first European settlement in South Africa, established by […]
1242: Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeats the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice 1722: Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen is the first European to discover Easter Island / Rapa Nui in the southeastern Pacific 1818: Battle of Maipú: Chile’s independence movement led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín win a decisive victory […]
1581: Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard his galleon “Golden Hind” at Deptford, England 1655: Battle at Postage Farina, Tunis: English fleet defeats Barbary pirates 1789: First US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington’s presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ends 1791) 1949: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington, D.C. […]
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 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 Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe, and George Gamow 1974: Ayatollah Khomeini calls for […]
Many people know the rich and legendary history of Greece. However, who knew that the ancient Greeks originated from numerous tribes?
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 which expels Jews from their kingdoms 1657: […]
240 BC: 1st 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: 15th […]
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 parliamentary election 1912: Captain Robert Falcon Scott, storm-bound in a tent […]
