Thursday, April 10, 2025
Today: 837 – Halley’s Comet made its closest known approach to Earth, at a distance of about 0.03 AU (approximately 3.1 million miles). 1606 – The Charter of the Virginia Company of London was established by King James I, permitting English colonists to settle in North America. 1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first […]
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Today: 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa, expanding the Second Bulgarian Empire. 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for India; it will later discover Brazil by accident. 1566 – David Rizzio, the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, is murdered […]
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Today: 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated by a soldier, leading to the rise of Macrinus as emperor. 632 – The Islamic prophet Muhammad delivered his Farewell Sermon at Mount Arafat during his final pilgrimage. 1820 – The famous ancient Greek statue, the Venus de Milo, was discovered on the island of Milos. 1832 […]
Monday, April 7, 2025
Today: 1348 – Charles University in Prague, the first university in Central Europe, was founded by Emperor Charles IV. 1788 – The American settlement of Marietta, Ohio, was founded, becoming the first permanent U.S. settlement in the Northwest Territory. 1827 – English chemist John Walker sold the first friction match, which he called “lucifers.” 1906 […]
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Today: 1320 – The Declaration of Arbroath was signed by Scottish nobles, asserting Scotland’s independence from England. 1652 – The Dutch establish Cape Colony in South Africa, which later becomes Cape Town. 1830 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) was formally organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, New York. 1862 […]
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Today: 1242 – During the Battle on the Ice, Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeated the Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus in present-day Estonia. 1614 – Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia, helping to establish a period of peace between the colonists and the Powhatan Confederacy. 1621 […]
Friday, April 4, 2025
Today: 1968 – Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. 1975 – Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1949 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. 1960 – Charles Hard Townes and Arthur […]
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Today: 1043 – Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. 1559 – The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed, ending the Italian Wars between France and Spain. 1860 – The first successful Pony Express run began between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. 1865 – Union forces captured the Confederate capital of […]
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Today: 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights what is now Florida. 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, establishing the U.S. Mint. 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his First Symphony in Vienna. 1865 – Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his government flee the Confederate capital, Richmond, […]
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Today: 1789 – The U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York City. 1826 – Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine. 1853 – Cincinnati became the first U.S. city to pay its firefighters a regular salary. 1867 – Singapore became a British crown colony. 1873 – The British White Star […]