Category: What Happened on this DAY?

1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.[1] 1205 – Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans.[2] 1322 – Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia, having […]

1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; the Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.[1] 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg.[2] 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.[3] 1781 – American […]

46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.[1] 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.[2] 1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.[3] 1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance[4] in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht; Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France […]

  250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.[1] 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.[2] 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.[3] 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.[4] 1749 – The first issue […]

  AD 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.[1] 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.[2] 533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.[3] 1492 – Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.[4] 1680 – Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the […]

Pre-Julian Roman calendar 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.[1] Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction) 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.[2] 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.[3] Julian […]

  534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.[1] 999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill in Ireland. 1066 – Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the […]

  875 – Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Charles II. 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. 1503 – The Battle of Garigliano (1503) was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded […]

418 – A papal conclave begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I.[1] 457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by Emperor Leo I the Thracian. 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths. He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l’Adour (Southern Gaul). 893 – An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia. 1065 – Edward the Confessor‘s Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.[2] 1308 – The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan […]

537 – The construction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is completed. 1512 – The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regard to native Indians in the New World. 1521 – The Zwickau prophets arrive in Wittenberg, disturbing the peace and preaching the Apocalypse. 1655 – Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege. 1657 – The Flushing Remonstrance articulates […]