1534: French explorer Jacques Cartier claims for France the lands around Gaspé by erecting a 30-foot cross at Pointe-Penouille [1] 1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate, and her one-year-old son becomes King James VI of Scotland 1832: Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains through Wyoming’s South Pass […]
1777: King Louis XVI of France and his Foreign Minister clandestinely agree to supply the United States with munitions during the American Revolution 1829: William Austin Burt patents America’s first typewriter, the typographer 1840: Union Act passed by the British Parliament, uniting Upper and Lower Canada 1944: Bretton Woods Conference ends, establishes the International Bank […]
1099: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the First Crusade 1456: Hungarian army under John Hunyadi defeats the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II and ends the Siege of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár), halting Ottoman expansion in Europe for 70 years 1515: First Congress of […]
356 BC: Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World 365: An earthquake on Crete followed by a tsunami around the Eastern Mediterranean allegedly destroys Alexandria 1861: First Battle of Bull Run [Battle of First Manassas], the first major battle of the US Civil War, […]
1793: Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completes the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico 1921: Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives 1969: NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar module, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, lands on the surface of the Moon. Seven hours […]
1595: Astronomer Johannes Kepler has an epiphany and develops his theory of the geometrical basis of the universe while teaching in Graz, Austria 1843: Steamship SS Great Britain is launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and the largest vessel afloat in the […]
64: Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero 1334: Bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by artist Giotto di Bondone 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, […]
180: Six residents of Carthage, North Africa, are executed for being Christian, the earliest recorded instance of Christianity in the region 1203: Siege of Constantinople begins during the Fourth Crusade, as Roman Catholic Crusaders, aboard a Venetian fleet, attack the city 1762: Empress Catherine II becomes Tsarina of Russia after the death and rumored assassination […]
622: Islamic Era begins: Muhammad and his followers begin migration from Mecca to Medina (Hijra) 1054: The Great Schism between Western and Eastern churches begins when Roman Cardinal Humbert issues a bull of excommunication against Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, on the altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople 1517: copy of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, […]
1099: City of Jerusalem is captured and plundered by Christian forces during the First Crusade 1381: John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of Richard II of England 1410: Battle of Grunwald (First Battle of Tannenburg, Battle of Žalgiris), one of Medieval Europe’s largest battles during […]
