Monday, December 2, 2024
Today: 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French in a ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. 1823 – President James Monroe outlined the Monroe Doctrine in his annual message to Congress, warning European nations against further colonization in the Americas. 1845 – President James K. Polk reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine, asserting […]
Sunday, December 1, 2024
Today: 1640 – Portugal regained independence from Spain after 60 years of Iberian Union, marking the start of the Portuguese Restoration War. 1821 – Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) declared independence from Spain. 1824 – The U.S. presidential election was decided in the House of Representatives after no candidate secured a majority of electoral […]
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Today: 3340 BCE – The oldest known eclipse is recorded in Ireland, as later dated from ancient carvings. 1016 – Cnut the Great (Canute), King of Denmark, claims the English throne after the death of Edmund Ironside. 1700 – The Battle of Narva occurs during the Great Northern War, where Swedish forces under Charles XII […]
Friday, November 29, 2024
Today: 1775 – The Second Continental Congress established the American Navy, appointing Esek Hopkins as its first commander in chief. 1781 – The crew of the British slave ship Zong massacred more than 130 African slaves by throwing them overboard to collect insurance money, sparking one of the most infamous events in abolitionist history. 1847 […]
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Today: 1520 – Ferdinand Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean after navigating through the South American strait that now bears his name, the Strait of Magellan. 1660 – The Royal Society of London was founded, a key institution in the development of modern science. 1814 – The Times of London was the first newspaper to be […]
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Today: 1095 – Pope Urban II delivered the speech at the Council of Clermont that launched the First Crusade, calling Christians to reclaim the Holy Land. 1295 – The first elected representatives to the English Parliament convened in Westminster, marking the beginnings of modern parliamentary democracy. 1703 – The Great Storm of 1703 began, considered […]
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Today: 1778 – Captain James Cook became the first European to visit Maui in the Hawaiian Islands during his third Pacific voyage. 1789 – A national Thanksgiving Day was observed in the United States for the first time as proclaimed by President George Washington. 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln declared November 26 as the official […]
Monday, November 25, 2024
Today: 1120 – The White Ship sank in the English Channel, killing William Adelin, heir to the English throne, leading to a succession crisis in England. 1491 – The Siege of Granada began, marking the final campaign of the Reconquista in Spain. 1758 – The British captured Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, […]
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Today: 1642 – Dutch navigator Abel Tasman became the first European to discover Van Diemen’s Land, later named Tasmania, in Australia. 1859 – Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published, laying the foundation for the theory of evolution by natural selection. 1863 – The Battle of Lookout Mountain during the American Civil War […]
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Today: 1499 – Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne, was hanged at Tyburn after attempting to lead a rebellion against King Henry VII. 1644 – John Milton published Areopagitica, a pamphlet advocating for freedom of the press. 1863 – During the American Civil War, the Union Army won the Battle of Chattanooga, securing […]