1575: Indian Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi 1857: Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China 1861: Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs and granting them full rights as free citizens [OS: Feb 19] 1887: Anne Sullivan begins teaching 6-year-old blind-deaf […]
1791: Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris 1796: Napoléon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Italy 1807: US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808 1888: The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal […]
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 […]
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 […]
