Monday, October 20, 2025
Today: 1740: Maria Theresa ascends to the Habsburg throne in Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia. 1774: The First Continental Congress creates the Continental Association, which called for a trade boycott against Great Britain. 1803: The U.S. Senate ratifies the treaty for the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the country. 1818: The United States and the […]
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Today: 202 BC: At the Battle of Zama, Roman legions led by Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leading to the end of the Second Punic War. 439: The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, capture Carthage in North Africa. 1469: Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Castile in Valladolid, Spain, laying the foundation for […]
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Today: 1009: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. 1356: The Basel earthquake, the most significant historical seismic event north of the Alps, destroys the city of Basel, Switzerland. 1648: Boston shoemakers form the first labor organization in what would become the United States. 1685: King […]
Friday, October 17, 2025
Today: 1346: The English captured King David II of Scotland at the Battle of Neville’s Cross. He was imprisoned for eleven years. 1777: British General John Burgoyne surrendered to American forces at Saratoga, New York. This was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War. 1814: The London Beer Flood occurred when vats of […]
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Today: 1793: Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was guillotined during the French Revolution. Her execution was a major event in the overthrow of the monarchy. 1846: The first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. This revolutionized surgery by allowing for painless procedures. 1859: Abolitionist John Brown […]
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Today: 1582: Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. 1815: Napoleon Bonaparte begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena. 1878: The Edison Electric Light Company is founded. 1917: Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is executed by a firing squad in France for espionage. 1945: Pierre Laval, the former premier of Vichy France, is […]
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Today: 54: Roman Emperor Claudius died, believed to have been poisoned by his wife Agrippina. 1307: King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of hundreds of Knights Templar. 1775: The Continental Congress authorized the establishment of the Continental Navy, the precursor to the United States Navy. 1792: The cornerstone of the White House was […]
Monday, October 13, 2025
Today: 54: Roman Emperor Claudius died, believed to have been poisoned by his wife Agrippina. 1307: King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of hundreds of Knights Templar. 1775: The Continental Congress authorized the establishment of the Continental Navy, the precursor to the United States Navy. 1792: The cornerstone of the White House was […]
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Today: 539 BC: The army of Cyrus the Great captures Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. 1492: Christopher Columbus’s expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean, likely on an island in the Bahamas. 1810: The first Oktoberfest is held in Munich, Bavaria, to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. 1901: President […]
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Today: 1138: A powerful earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria, resulting in one of the deadliest seismic events in history. 1776: During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Valcour Island took place on Lake Champlain, where a small American fleet commanded by Benedict Arnold engaged a much larger British force. 1811: The Juliana, the first steam-powered […]