1492: Christopher Columbus, with Juan de la Cosa as second-in-command, sets sail on his first voyage with three ships: Santa María, Pinta, and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, for the “Indies” 1596: German astronomer and priest David Fabricius discovers the light variation of Mira, the first variable star 1914: Germany invades Belgium and […]
338 BC: Macedonian army led by Philip II defeats the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony over Greece and the Aegean Sea 216 BC: Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army under the command of consuls […]
527: Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire after the death of his uncle Justin I William the Conqueror and his army land at Pevensey as depicted in the Bayeux TapestryNorman Invasion of England 1086: Results of the Domesday inquiry are presented to William the Conqueror in Salisbury (the date of compilation […]
1620: Pilgrim Fathers depart Leiden, Netherlands, for England on their way to America British Royal Field Artillery gunners hauling an 18-pounder field gun out of the mudBattle of Passchendaele 1917: World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins and lasts until November 6, 1917, causing approximately 500,000 casualties 1961: Israel welcomes its […]
30 BC: Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to Octavian’s invasion of Egypt 1178: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa is crowned King of Burgundy 1419: First Defenestration of Prague: Anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm Prague Town Hall […]
1588: The “Invincible” Spanish Armada is sighted approaching England, and several skirmishes follow, forcing the invading fleet to make a long and costly retreat around Scotland and Ireland 1609: Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs at Ticonderoga, New York, setting the stage for French-Iroquois conflicts for the next 150 years 1848: Irish […]
1794: French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of “the Terror” are guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris 1914: Austria-Hungary decides against mediation and declares war on Serbia, the first declaration of war of World War I 1917: Silent Parade organized by James Weldon Johnson, 10,000 African Americans march on Fifth Avenue in […]
1793: Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completes the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico 1921: Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives 1969: NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar module, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, lands on the surface of the Moon. Seven […]
1595: Astronomer Johannes Kepler has an epiphany and develops his theory of the geometrical basis of the universe while teaching in Graz, Austria 1843: Steamship SS Great Britain is launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and the largest vessel afloat in the […]
64: Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero 1334: Bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by artist Giotto di Bondone 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, […]
