It is the last day of the first half of the year. The end of this day marks the halfway point of a leap year. It also falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in a leap year.…
June 26 in History 4 AD – Augustus adopts Tiberius. 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar. 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sasanian Empire. 684 – Pope Benedict II is chosen. 699 – En no Ozuno, a Japanese mystic and apothecary…
June 16 in History 363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians. 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler…
June 15 in History 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of…
June 13 in History 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. 1381 – In England, the Peasants’ Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, comes to a head, as rebels set fire…
May 23 in History 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne. 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void. 1568 – Dutch rebels…
May 22 in History 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet. 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. 1176 – The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to assassinate Saladin near Aleppo. 1200 – King John of England and King Philip II of France sign…
May 18 in History 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in…
May 17 in History 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army. 1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason. 1536 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage is annulled. 1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland. 1642 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676)…
May 14 in History 1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade. 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England. 1509 – Battle of Agnadello: In…