Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Today: 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signs a ten-year truce with Al-Kamil, the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, gaining control of Jerusalem without military conflict. 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, brother of King Edward IV of England, is executed for treason, allegedly by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey […]
Monday, February 17, 2025
Today: 1600 – Philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in Rome for heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. 1753 – Sweden moved from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar by skipping February 17 and 18. 1801 – The U.S. House of Representatives resolved a tied presidential election, selecting Thomas Jefferson as the […]
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Today: 600 – Pope Gregory I decreed that “God bless you” should be the correct response to a sneeze. 1659 – The first known check (cheque) in England was written, a precursor to modern banking transactions. 1742 – Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, became the British Prime Minister after the resignation of Sir Robert Walpole. […]
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Today: 399 BC – The philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by drinking hemlock in Athens. 590 – Pope Gregory I (later known as Gregory the Great) is elected Pope of the Catholic Church. 1493 – Christopher Columbus writes a letter describing his discoveries in the New World, which is widely circulated across Europe. 1764 […]
Friday, February 14, 2025
Today: 399 BC – Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian court for corrupting the youth and impiety. 1493 – Christopher Columbus writes a letter describing his discoveries in the New World to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. 1764 – The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is founded by Pierre Laclède […]
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Today: 1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England, was executed for adultery at the Tower of London. 1633 – Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition for advocating the heliocentric model of the solar system. 1668 – Spain formally recognized Portugal’s independence with […]
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Today: 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, the de facto Queen of England for nine days, is executed for high treason in the Tower of London. 1733 – English colonist James Oglethorpe founds the city of Savannah, Georgia, establishing the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United […]
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Today: 660 BC – According to legend, Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan, ascended to the throne, marking the traditional founding of Japan. 1534 – Henry VIII of England was formally recognized as the Supreme Head of the Church of England following the Act of Supremacy. 1752 – The first hospital in the United […]
Monday, February 10, 2025
Today: 1258 – The Mongols, led by Hulagu Khan, seize and sack Baghdad, bringing an end to the Abbasid Caliphate and killing thousands in the city. 1306 – Robert the Bruce murders his rival John Comyn in the church of Greyfriars in Dumfries, Scotland, a pivotal event leading to his eventual coronation as King of […]
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Today: 1825 – The U.S. House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as the 6th President of the United States after no candidate secured a majority in the Electoral College. 1861 – Jefferson Davis was elected the provisional president of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. 1870 – The U.S. Weather […]