Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Today: 456 – Magister militum Ricimer defeats Emperor Avitus at the Battle of Placentia, leading to Avitus’ resignation from the Roman throne. 1384 – Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, a unique designation for a female monarch. 1793 – Marie Antoinette, former Queen of France, is guillotined during the French Revolution. 1813 – The Battle […]
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Today: 1529 – The Siege of Vienna ends as Ottoman forces withdraw, marking the end of Suleiman the Magnificent’s expansion into Europe. 1582 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy, replacing the Julian calendar. 1783 – Frenchman Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier makes the first manned flight in a hot […]
Monday, October 14, 2024
Today: 1066 – The Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror’s Norman forces defeated King Harold II’s Anglo-Saxon army, leading to the Norman conquest of England. 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at the Battle of Byland, consolidating Scotland’s independence. 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial […]
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Today: 1307 – French King Philip IV orders the arrest of the Knights Templar, beginning the persecution of the order. 1775 – The Continental Congress authorizes the establishment of the Continental Navy, later to become the United States Navy. 1792 – The cornerstone of the White House is laid in Washington, D.C. 1843 – Henry […]
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Today: 1492 – Christopher Columbus makes landfall in the Caribbean, believed to be the Bahamas, marking the European discovery of the Americas. 1609 – The song “Three Blind Mice” is published in London, believed to be one of the earliest-known nursery rhymes. 1692 – The Salem witch trials conclude in Massachusetts with the final hanging. […]
Friday, October 11, 2024
Today: 1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria, causing widespread destruction and deaths. 1531 – Huldrych Zwingli, a Swiss reformer, is killed in battle during the Second War of Kappel. 1634 – The Burchardi flood, one of the most severe North Sea floods, devastates the island of Strand in Denmark-Norway (now Germany), killing thousands. […]
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Today: 680 – The Battle of Karbala takes place during the Second Islamic Civil War, leading to the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, an event commemorated by Shia Muslims. 732 – The Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) is fought, where Charles Martel halts the advance of Muslim forces into Western Europe. 1780 – The Great […]
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Today: 1446 – The Hangul alphabet is published in Korea by King Sejong the Great. 1514 – Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, marries King Louis XII of France. 1635 – Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious views. 1701 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut […]
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Today: 451 – The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church, begins. 1075 – Dmitar Zvonimir is crowned King of Croatia. 1480 – The Great Stand on the Ugra River occurs, marking the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia. 1600 – San Marino adopts its written constitution, still in effect […]
Monday, October 7, 2024
Today: 1571 – The Battle of Lepanto: The Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states, defeats the Ottoman fleet, marking a significant naval victory in European history. 1763 – King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, restricting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains in North America. 1780 – The American Revolutionary War: American […]