962: Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist 1688: King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch flees to France from William of Orange 1783: US General George Washington resigns his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army […]
1790: Supposedly impenetrable Turkish fortress of Izmail stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) 1885: Samurai Itō Hirobumi, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan 1989: After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu 1990: Labor activist Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland’s first […]
1620: Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS: Dec 11] [some sources disagree, and OS/NS adds to confusion, could be +/- several days] 1898: Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium 1968: First manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders aboard […]
1522: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta. 1803: French flag lowered in New Orleans to mark the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase from France to USA, purchased for $15M 1812: “Grimm’s […]
1776: Thomas Paine publishes his first “American Crisis” essay beginning “These are the times that try men’s souls” (date disputed) 1783: William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister at age 24 1932: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins transmitting overseas 1958: First radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends […]
218 BC: Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil 1271: Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China 1603: First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen […]
1398: Tamerlane captures and sacks Delhi, defeating Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud’s armies by setting camels loaded with hay alight and charging them at the Sultan’s armored elephants 1531: Pope Clement VII publishes papal bull “Cum ad nihil magis”, introduces the Inquisition into Portugal at Evora, Coimbra and Lisbon 1788: Russian army of Grigory Potemkin assaults […]
755: An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during Chinese Tang Dynasty 1598: Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point – in the final battle of the war Korean navy decisively defeats the Japanese 1653: Parliamentarian General Oliver Cromwell appointed as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland […]
533: Byzantine General Belisarius defeats the Vandals, under King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron 1256: Hulagu Khan captures and destroys Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut, in present-day Iran, part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia 1488: Bartolomeu Dias returns to Portugal after becoming 1st known European to sail round the Cape of Good […]
644: Uthman ibn Affan, companion of Muhammad, appointed 3rd Caliph of Islam 1287: During St. Lucia’s Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history 1542: Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days […]
