Friday, January 31, 2025

Today: 1606 – Guy Fawkes is executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the English Parliament. 1747 – The first venereal disease clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. 1865 – The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. 1917 – Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare, a […]

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Today: 1649 – King Charles I of England was executed for treason, marking the end of the English Civil War and the temporary abolition of the monarchy. 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, the former Lord Protector of England, was posthumously executed, with his body exhumed and hanged in a symbolic act of retribution by the restored […]

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Today: 1595 – William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is believed to have been performed for the first time. 1676 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia after the death of his father, Tsar Alexis. 1814 – France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne during the Napoleonic Wars. 1834 – President Andrew […]

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Today: 814 – Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, died in Aachen, Germany. 1077 – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was absolved by Pope Gregory VII after standing barefoot in the snow in Canossa, Italy. 1547 – King Henry VIII of England died, and his nine-year-old son Edward VI became king. 1573 – Articles of […]

Monday, January 27, 2025

Today: 98 – Trajan succeeded Nerva as Roman emperor, marking the beginning of his reign and the Roman Empire’s expansion to its greatest territorial extent. 1302 – Dante Alighieri, the famous Italian poet and author of The Divine Comedy, was exiled from Florence due to political conflicts. 1606 – The trial of Guy Fawkes and […]

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Today: 1500 – Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 1531 – Lisbon, Portugal, is struck by a devastating earthquake, killing thousands. 1699 – The Treaty of Karlowitz is signed, ending the Austro-Ottoman War and marking the Ottoman Empire’s loss of significant territory in Europe. 1788 – The British First […]

Saturday, January 25, 2025

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 – […]

Friday, January 24, 2025

Today: 41 AD – Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his Praetorian guards, leading to the accession of Claudius as emperor. 1438 – The Council of Basel suspended Pope Eugene IV. 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolved the Cavalier Parliament, which had been in session since 1661. 1742 – Charles VII was elected […]

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Today: 1368 – Zhu Yuanzhang ascended to the throne as the Hongwu Emperor, founding China’s Ming dynasty. 1556 – The Shaanxi earthquake, one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, struck China, killing an estimated 830,000 people. 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, was […]

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Today: 1506 – The first contingent of the Swiss Guard arrived at the Vatican to serve as the personal bodyguards of Pope Julius II. 1689 – The Convention Parliament convened to determine if James II of England had vacated the throne when he fled to France. 1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrived in Brazil, […]