Category: What Happened on this DAY?

509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi (“Four Rulers of the World”). 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar. 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as […]

202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen. 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés. 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is […]

  380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.[1] 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.[2] 907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao dynasty in northern China. 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, […]

747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy‘s Nabonassar Era. 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor.[1] 1233 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols capture Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty, after besieging it for months. 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples. 1365 – […]

138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.[1] 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.[2] 1336 – Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.[3] 1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.[4] 1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name […]

484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.[1] 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence.[2] 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.[3] 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.[4] 1527 – Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague.[5] 1538 – Treaty of […]

303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.[1] 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type. 1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile. 1739 – At York Castle, the […]

705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty. 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand.[1] 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.[2] 1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city’s throne.[3] 1632 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the dedicatee, receives the first printed copy […]

  1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. 1440 – The Prussian Confederation is formed. 1613 – Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia. 1797 – A force of 1,400 French soldiers invaded Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen. They were defeated by 500 British reservists. 1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes […]

1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.[1] 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.[2] 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.[3] 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas. 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States […]