763 BC: Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history 1215: English King John signs the Magna Carta at Runnymede, near Windsor in Surrey, places limits on royal authority and puts in writing the principle that the king and his government are not above the law 1775: George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, […]
1381: Richard II in England meets leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt on Blackheath. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance. 1645: Battle of Naseby, Leicestershire: “New Model Army” under Oliver Cromwell & Thomas Fairfax beat royalists forces of English King Charles I 1821: Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general […]
1373: Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Perpetual Alliance (world’s oldest still in existence) signed in London between King Edward III of England and King Ferdinand I of Portugal 1866: US House of representatives passes 14th Amendment (Civil rights) 1878: Congress of Berlin begins, determines the territories of the states in the Balkan 1956: The last British troops leave the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt 2000: South Korean […]
1381: Peasants’ Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath 1830: Beginning of the French colonization of Algeria: 34,000 French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch 1864: The Battle of Trevilian Station, the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War in Louisa County ends with Confederate tactical victory and Union successful retreat […]
1184 BC: Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes 631: Emperor Taizong of Tang of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk for the release of Chinese prisoners captured during transition from Sui to Tang from northern frontier; succeeds in freeing 80,000 1776: Continental Congress creates committee to draft a Declaration […]
1190: Third Crusade: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa drowns while crossing the Saleph River (modern Turkey) leading an army to Jerusalem 1786: A landslide dam on the Dadu River caused by earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China 1898: US Marines land in Cuba during the Spanish–American War 1916:Great Arab Revolt begins against ruling […]
68: Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, imploring his secretary Epaphroditos to slit his throat to evade a Senate-imposed death by flogging 721: Odo of Aquitaine defeats a Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse 1549: Book of Common Prayer is adopted by the Church of England 1815: End of the Congress of Vienna: New European political situation is set 1856: 500 Mormons […]
452: Italy invaded by Attila the Hun 793: Vikings in long ships from modern-day Norway plunder St Cuthbert’s monastery on Lindisfarne Island, off the northeast coast of England capturing and killing monks 1191: King Richard I of England arrives at Acre in modern day Israel to join the Siege of Acre during the Third Crusade 1783: Laki volcano in southern Iceland begins 8-month […]
1494: Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal divide the new world along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa 1628: English King Charles I ratifies the Petition of Rights 1654: Louis XIV crowned King of France 1753: British Museum founded by an Act of Parliament with royal assent from King George II (opens in 1759) 1929: Vatican […]
1523: Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union 1716: French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana 1916: The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes central government to virtually collapse in the face of pressure from warlords, and from political reformers including Sun Yat-sen 1944: Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as […]
