This day usually marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, which is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere and the fewest hours of daylight in the Southern Hemisphere. June…
June 7 in History 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). 879 – Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. 1002 – Henry II, a cousin of Emperor Otto III, is elected and crowned King of Germany. 1099 – First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins. 1420 – Troops…
May 20 in History 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery. 685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is…
April 26 in History 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. 1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. 1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown). 1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia. 1721 – A…
January 25 in History AD 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate. 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to overthrow of the dynasty. 1348 – A strong earthquake strikes the South Alpine region of Friuli in modern Italy,…