1451: Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire 1509: The Battle of Diu, naval battle at port of Diu, India between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, establishes Portuguese trading control 1870: US state of Iowa ratifies the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution allowing suffrage for all races and […]
1653: New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed New York City 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million. 1901: Queen Victoria’s funeral takes place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, England 1922: James […]
1587: Queen Elizabeth I of England signs death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots 1843: Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America – The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) opens 1884: 1st volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, published 1908: King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince […]
1865: Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States – except as punishment for a crime [1] [2] 1865: General Robert E. Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies during US Civil War 1943: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad […]
1661: Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years 1815: Burned US Library of Congress re-established with Thomas Jefferson’s 6,500 volumes 1902: Britain and Japan sign a treaty after months of negotiating which commits each country to supporting an independent China and Korea, although […]
474: Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7) 661: Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate. 1595: William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” is thought to have been first performed. […]
1521: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany which lasts until May 25. Produced the “Edict of Worms” which denounced Martin Luther. 1807: London’s Pall Mall becomes the first street lit by gaslight 1813: Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom 1819: […]
1820: Russian Antarctic Expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discover the continent of Antarctica 1825: US Congress approves Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for the forced relocation of the Eastern Indian tribes via the “Trail of Tears” 1924: Vladimir Lenin is placed in a Mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow […]
1482: “Pentateuch” the Jewish Bible is 1st printed as a book in Bologna, Italy 1531: Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die 1564: The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism 1788: Captain Arthur Phillip and British colonists hoist the Union Flag at Sydney Cove, […]
1554: City of São Paulo founded in Brazil 1565: Battle at Talikota, India: Deccan sultanate destroys Vijayanagar’s army and the last Hindu kingdom of Southern India 1840: American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes is first to identify Antarctica as a new continent 1949: First Israeli election won by David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party 1971: Military coup […]
