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 […]
474: Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together 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 published early […]
1521: Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany which lasts until May 25th; Produced the “Edict of Worms” which denounced Martin Luther 1807: London’s Pall Mall is 1st street lit by gaslight 1813: Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom 1819: Sir Stamford Raffles lands in Singapore 1933: The name “Pakistan” is coined by […]
1820: Russian Antarctic Expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discover the continent of Antarctica 1825: US Congress approves Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for the forced relocation of the Eastern Indian tribes via the “Trail of Tears” 1888: The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for “the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge” […]
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, New South Wales, now celebrated […]
1554: Founding of the city of São Paulo in Brazil 1565: Battle at Talikota India: Deccan sultanate 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: 1st Israeli election won by David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party 1971: Military coup in Uganda under […]
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 founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia 1899: Rubber heel for boots or shoes patented by American Humphrey O’Sullivan 1908: Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes “Scouting for Boys” as a manual […]
971: War elephant corps of the Southern Han defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops; Southern Han state forced to submit to the Song Dynasty. 1st regular war elephant corps in Chinese army 1368: In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule […]
1689: Prince William of Orange (future King William III of Britain), summons Convention Parliament to discuss ruling jointly with his wife Mary (daughter of exiled King James II) 1879: Battle of Rorke’s Drift: British garrison of 150 holds off 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and a number of other decorations were awarded to the defenders. 1905: In St Petersburg, Russia, […]
