Today:
41 – Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his guards, and Claudius was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard.
1327 – Edward III became King of England after the forced abdication of his father, Edward II.
1494 – Alfonso II became King of Naples after the death of his father, Ferdinand I.
1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly married Anne Boleyn, marking a pivotal moment in the English Reformation.
1573 – The Battle of Mikatagahara was fought in Japan between the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Takeda Shingen.
1755 – Moscow State University was founded by Mikhail Lomonosov; it is celebrated as Students’ Day in Russia.
1787 – Shays’ Rebellion, an uprising of Massachusetts farmers, was defeated at the Battle of Springfield.
1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, to Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, popularizing the tune for weddings.
1945 – The Battle of the Bulge ended as Allied forces defeated the Germans in one of the final major battles of World War II.
1990 – Avianca Flight 52 crashed near New York City after running out of fuel, resulting in 73 fatalities.