1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle aged 44 after being convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot 1672: Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London 1807: Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon’s forces and Russian Empire – 1st battle Napoleon isn’t victorious 1960: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating […]
1301: Edward of Caernarfon (later Edward II) becomes the first English Prince of Wales 1842: Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien 1856: Colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the 1st piece of legislation (the Electoral Act of 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way […]
1508: Maximilian I proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor, 1st Emperor in centuries not to be crowned by the Pope 1778: France recognizes USA, signs Treaty of Alliance in Paris, 1st US treaty 1819: Stamford Raffles founds Singapore as a British trading port 1840: The Treaty of Waitangi is signed between 40 Māori Chiefs (later signed by 500) and representatives of the British crown […]
1576: Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) abjures Catholicism at Tours 1597: A group of early Japanese Christians, known as the 26 Martyrs, are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society 1885: King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal colonial possession 1885 News of the fall […]
211: Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies in Eboracum (York) in England, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta 960: Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song, initiating three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China 1789: 1st US electoral college chooses George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President 1859: One of the oldest known […]
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 of the United States Constitution allowing suffrage for all races and colors 1928: Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black reports his […]
1653: New Amsterdam becomes a city (later renamed New York) 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War: US acquires Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona for $15 million 1901: Queen Victoria’s funeral takes place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, England 1922: James Joyce’s “Ulysses” first published by Sylvia Beach in Paris (1,000 copies) 1943: German 6th Army surrenders […]
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 Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers […]
1865: Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of US Constitution, abolishing slavery in US 1865: General Robert E. Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies during US Civil War 1943: Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad 1950: US President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb 1985: South African President P. W. Botha offers to free Nelson […]
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 it acknowledges Japan’s ‘special […]
