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 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 10 in History 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending…
This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox). May 5 in History 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 – Rebel barons renounce…
April 30 in history 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends. 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire. 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops. 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. 1492 – Spain…
April 17 in History 1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II. 1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to…
April 14 in History 43 BC – Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Caesar’s assassin Decimus Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius. AD 69 – Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of…
April 6 in History 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur. 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by…
April 2 in History 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights land in what is now the United States state of Florida. 1755 – Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India. 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint. 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere…
It is the first day of the second quarter of the year, and the midway point of the first half of the year. April 1 in History 33 – According to one historian’s account, Jesus Christ’s Last Supper is held.…