1755: Lisbon earthquake kills more than 50,000 in Portugal 1814: Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars 1894: Vaccine for diphtheria is announced by Dr. Émile Roux of Paris 1916: Paul Miliukov delivers in the Russian State Duma the famous “stupidity or treason” speech, […]
1517: Martin Luther sends his Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating the Protestant Reformation 1541: Michelangelo finishes painting “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the Sistine Chape in Vatican City [1] 1876: Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876 ravages British India (modern-day Bangladesh), killing over 200,000 1917: British War Cabinet […]
1340: Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada in the last Marinid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula 1899: Battle of Ladysmith: Boers defeat the British, leading to the Siege of Ladysmith in Natal […]
539 BC: King Cyrus “the Great” of Persia marches into Babylon, freeing Jewish captives and allowing them to return home 1268: Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the German Hohenstaufen dynasty of kings and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed with Frederick I, Margrave of Baden, by Charles I of Sicily 1665: Battle of Mbwila […]
1492: Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name “Juana” 1538: The first university in the Americas, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established in Santo Domingo 1746: The Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao are demolished by an earthquake, killing 18,000 1831: Michael Faraday demonstrates his dynamo invention, an […]
312: Roman Emperor Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross 1795: Pinckney’s Treaty [Treaty of San Lorenzo] is signed by Spain and the US, establishing the southern boundary of the US and giving Americans the right to navigate the Mississippi River 1962: Black Saturday during the Cuban Missile […]
1850: Robert McClure sights the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time, from Banks Island towards Melville Island 1861: The Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months 1863: International conference begins in Geneva aimed at improving medical conditions on battlefields, leads to the formation of the Red Cross 1977: Last natural case of […]
1415: Battle of Agincourt: Henry V’s forces defeat a larger French army as the longbow overcomes the armored knight at Azincourt, France 1854: Infamous “Charge of the Light Brigade” during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War results in over 100 deaths 1962: US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson demands USSR UN representative […]
1260: Qutuz, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (1259-60), is assassinated by Baibars, a fellow Mamluk leader, who seizes power for himself 1648: Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War in the Holy Roman Empire; Switzerland’s independence is recognized 1929: On “Black Thursday,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 12.8%, marking the start of the stock […]
42 BC: Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi – Brutus’s army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus commits suicide. 1911: First aerial reconnaissance mission is flown by an Italian pilot over Turkish lines during the Italo-Turkish War 1942: During WWII, Britain launches major offensive at El Alamein, Egypt 1977: Paleontologist […]
