1565: Portuguese soldier Estácio de Sá founds the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1642: Georgeana (York) in Maine becomes the first incorporated American city 1780: Pennsylvania becomes first US state to abolish slavery (for newborns only) 1847: Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state) […]
202 BC: Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty’s rule over China 1710: In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock 1915: French forces attempt to drive the […]
1693: First women’s magazine “The Ladies’ Mercury” is published in London 1900: The Trades Union Congress and the Independent Labour Party (formed in 1893) meet in London, resulting in a Labour Representative Committee and eventually the modern UK Labour Party in 1906 1933: Nazi Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, is destroyed by fire, possibly set […]
1616: The Roman Inquisition delivers injunction to Galileo demanding he abandon his belief in heliocentrism, which states the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun 1797: Bank of England issues its first £1 note 1815: Napoléon Bonaparte and his supporters leave Elba to start a 100-day reconquest of France 1885: Berlin Conference gives Congo to […]
1570: Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign and absolves her subjects from allegiance to the crown 1836: Samuel Colt patents the first practical revolving-cylinder, multi-shot revolver, allowing it to fire multiple shots without reloading 1862: First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed […]
1525: Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s troops defeat the French, killing or wounding 5,000 and capturing French King Francis I 1582: Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar 1739: Battle of Karnal: Army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor […]
Eugene Delacroix’s iconic 1826 oil painting “Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi” will travel to Greece in April for the first time since its creation, marking the 200th anniversary of the heroic Exodus of Messolonghi’s besieged defenders.
1455: Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible [estimated date] [1] 1540: Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the Seven Cities of Gold (Cibola) 1836: The Alamo is besieged for 13 days until March 6 by the Mexican army under General Santa Anna; the entire garrison is eventually killed 1904: […]
303: First official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia, ordering all churches to be closed and scriptures burnt 1632: Galileo Galilei’s book “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems” is published comparing the Copernican and Ptolemaic systems and whether the Earth orbits the sun 1774: British House of Lords […]
1173: Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury 1613: Michael Romanov, son of the Patriarch of Moscow, is elected the first Russian Tsar of the House of Romanov 1804: World’s first steam locomotive, built by Richard Trevithick, runs for the first time along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales […]
