1865: Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States except as punishment for a crime 1934: FDR devalues the US dollar relative to gold to $35 per ounce 1943: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad 1950: US President […]
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 1889: Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling […]
474: Zeno is crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire 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; officially […]
1521: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany, which lasts until May 25 and produces the “Edict of Worms” denouncing 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 President James Monroe urges Congress to approve creation of Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi River, for the relocation of Eastern Indian tribes to ‘promote their welfare and happiness” 1924: Vladimir Lenin is placed in […]
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 of Talikota: The Deccan Sultanates destroy 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 […]
41: Claudius succeeds his nephew Caligula as Roman Emperor after the latter’s assassination by officers of the Praetorian Guard 1848: James Marshall finds gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California 1857: University of Calcutta is founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia 1899: Rubber heel for boots or shoes is patented by American Humphrey […]
971: War elephant corps of the Southern Han defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops forcing the Southern Han state to submit to the Song Dynasty. First regular war elephant corps in the Chinese army. 1368: In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang, aged 40, ascends to the throne of China as the […]
1689: Prince William of Orange, the future King William III of Britain, summons the Convention Parliament to discuss ruling jointly with his wife, Mary, the daughter of the exiled King James II 1879: Battle of Rorke’s Drift: A British garrison of about 150 holds off 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and several […]
