09

Nov

On This Day…

1494 - Piero the Unfortunate of the de' Medici family, ruler of Florence, loses his power and flees the state 1799 - Napoleon Bonaparte pulls off a coup and becomes the dictator of…

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08

Nov

On This Day…

392 - Roman Emperor Theodosius declares Christian religion the state religion 1519 - 1st meeting of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II and Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan, Mexico 1701 - William Penn presents Charter of Privileges 1734 - Vincent…

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07

Nov

On This Day…

1492 - Ensisheim Meteorite strikes a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim in Alsace, France. Oldest meteorite with a known date of impact. 1872 - Cargo ship Mary Celeste sails from…

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06

Nov

On This Day…

1813 - Chilpancingo congress declares Mexico independent of Spain 1860 - Abraham Lincoln (Rep-R-Ill) elected 16th American President 1913 - Mahatma Gandhi arrested for leading Indian miners' march in South Africa 1917 - The second…

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05

Nov

On This Day…

1492 - Christopher Columbus 1st learns about growing and harvesting maize (corn) from Cuba's indigenous population 1556 - Second Battle of Panipat: Hindu Emperor of north India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya defeated by forces…

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04

Nov

On This Day…

1576 - Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spanish defeat Walloon and capture Antwerp 1841 - First wagon train arrives in California 1862 - Dr Richard Gatling patents Gatling machine gun in Indianapolis 1879 -…

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03

Nov

On This Day…

644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina 1534 - English parliament passes Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII and subsequent monarchs become Head of Church of…

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02

Nov

On This Day…

1875 - Verney Cameroon reaches Benguela in Angola, from Africa's east coast, 1st European to cross equatorial Africa 1917 - Balfour Declaration proclaims support for a Jewish state in Palestine 1930 - Coronation of…

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01

Nov

On This Day…

1755 - Lisbon earthquake kills more than 50,000 in Portugal 1814 - Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars 1848 - WHSmith…

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31

Oct

On This Day…

Today - Although Halloween, celebrated this day, is now observed largely as a secular holiday, it is, as the eve of All Saints' Day, also a religious holiday among some Christians. 1517 -…

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30

Oct

On This Day…

1340 - Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada,…

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28

Oct

On This Day…

1492 - Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name "Juana" 1538 - The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established on…

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27

Oct

On This Day…

312 - Roman Emperor Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross 1795 - Pinckney's Treaty [Treaty of San Lorenzo] signed by Spain and US, establishing the southern boundary…

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26

Oct

On This Day…

1850 - Robert McClure sights the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time (from Banks Island towards Melville Island) 1861 - Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months 1863 -International conference begins…

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25

Oct

On This Day…

1415 - Battle of Agincourt: Henry V's forces defeat larger French army and the longbow defeats the armoured knight 1854 - The infamous "Charge of the Light Brigade" during the Battle of…

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24

Oct

On This Day…

1260 - Qutuz, Mamluk Sultans of Egypt (1259-60), is assassinated by Baibars, a fellow Mamluk leader, who seizes power for himself 1648 - Treaty of Westphalia ends The Thirty Years' War in…

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23

Oct

On This Day…

42 BC - Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi - Brutus's army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus commits suicide. 1911 - 1st aerial reconnaissance mission is flown by an Italian pilot over…

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22

Oct

On This Day…

1633 - Battle of Liaoluo Bay: Dutch East India Company defeated by Chinese Ming naval forces in southern Fujian sea 1721 - Tsar Peter the Great becomes "All-Russian Imperator" 1879 - Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton…

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21

Oct

On This Day…

1520 - Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reach Cape Virgenes and become the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific Ocean 1805 - Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats combined French and…

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20

Oct

On This Day…

1097 - 1st Crusaders arrive in Antioch during the First Crusade 1603 - Chinese uprising in the Philippines fails after 23,000 killed 1803 - US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase 1864 - US President Abraham…

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19

Oct

On This Day…

19th October 202 BC - Battle of Zama: Hannibal Barca and the Carthaginian army are defeated by Roman legions under Scipio Africanus, ending 2nd Punic War 1781 - British forces under General Charles…

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18

Oct

On This Day…

1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock 1685 - French King Louis XIV revokes…

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17

Oct

On This Day…

733 - Battle at Tours (Poitiers): Charles Martel's Frankish and Burgundian forces beat those of al-Andalus under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi halting Islamic influence (date disputed) 1854 - French and British forces…

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16

Oct

OnThisDay…

1813 - Battle of Leipzig, largest battle in Europe prior to WWI, Napoleon's forces defeated by Prussia, Austria and Russia 1847 - English novelist Charlotte Brontë (under the pseudonym Currer Bell) published Jane Eyre, which…

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15

Oct

On This Day…

1581 - Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine" is staged in Paris 1582 - Gregorian calendar introduced in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states, after skipping…

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14

Oct

On This Day…

1066 - Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror and his Norman army defeat the English forces of Harold II who is killed in the battle 1322 - Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at…

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13

Oct

On This Day…

54 - Nero succeeds Claudius as Roman Emperor 1307 - French King Philip IV has Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Knights Templar arrested and charged of idolatry and corruption 1884 - Greenwich in London established…

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12

Oct

On This Day…

539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon 1279 - Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon 1492 - Christopher Columbus's expedition makes…

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11

Oct

On This Day…

890 - The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was organized. 1899 - The South African (Boer) War began between Great Britain and the two Boer (Afrikaner) republics—the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State.…

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10

Oct

On This Day…

680 - Al-Hussein (Al-Ḥusayn ibn) and his followers killed at Karbala by army of Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, on the way to Kufa 1780 - Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to…

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09

Oct

On This Day…

768 - Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks 1000 - Leif Ericson discovers "Vinland" (possibly L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America…

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08

Oct

On This Day…

1480 - Great standing on the Ugra river, standoff between forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and Ivan III Grand Prince of all Rus, Tataro-Mongols retreat, leads to disintegration of…

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07

Oct

On This Day…

1571 - Battle of Lepanto: Holy League of southern European nations destroy Ottoman fleet in significant loss off Western Greece 1737 - A cyclone causes 40 foot waves that are believed to…

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06

Oct

On This Day…

1889 - Thomas Edison shows his 1st motion picture 1917 - Battle of Passchendaele: Canadian troops capture the village of Passchendaele in the Third Battle of Ypres, after 250,000 casualties on both sides…

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05

Oct

On This Day…

1789 - French Revolution: Women of Paris march to Versailles in the March on Versailles to confront Louis XVI about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism, demand bread, and have…

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04

Oct

On This Day…

1537 - The 1st complete English-language Bible, the "Matthew Bible" is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale 1582 - Last Julian calendar day in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states.…

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03

Oct

On This Day…

2333 BC - State of Gojoseon (Modern-day Korea) founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Yao 52 BC - Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans…

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02

Oct

OnThisDay…

1187 - Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders 1492 - King Henry VII of England invades France 1789 - George Washington transmits the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification…

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01

Oct

On This Day…

331 BC -Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela 1553 - With her coronation, Mary I became the first queen to rule England in her own right; she was later…

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30

Sep

On This Day…

1520 - Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566) 1846 - Anesthetic ether used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a…

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29

Sep

On This Day…

522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills Magian usurper Gaumâta, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire 480 BC - Battle of Salamis: The Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats…

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28

Sep

On This Day…

935 - Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia 1066 - William the Conqueror invades England landing at Pevensey Bay, Sussex 1542 - Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, known as the…

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27

Sep

On This Day…

1066 William the Conqueror's troops set sail for England. 1290 Earthquake in the Gulf of Chihli (Bohai Sea) near China, reportedly kills 100,000 people. 1540 Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded by Ignatius Loyola…

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26

Sep

On This Day…

1580 Frances Drake completes circumnavigation of the world, sailing into Plymouth aboard the Golden Hind. 1687 Acropolis in Athens attacked by Venetian army trying to eject Turks, damaging the Parthenon. 1687 City council of…

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25

Sep

On This Day…

1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge: English army under King Harold II defeat invading Norwegians led by King Harald Hardrada and Harold's brother Tostig, who were both killed. 1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa…

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24

Sep

On This Day…

1180 Manuel I Komnenos, last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration dies. The Byzantine Empire slips into terminal decline. 1789 US Federal Judiciary Act passes, creating a six-person Supreme Court. 1869 Black Friday; Wall…

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23

Sep

On This Day…

1122 Concordat of Worms agreed between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. 1821 Fall of Tripolitsa, Greek forces massacre 30,000 Turks during Greek War of Independence. 1846 Astronomer Johann Gottfried…

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22

Sep

On This Day…

1692 Last people hanged for witchcraft (8) in the US, 19 hanged overall, with six other deaths during Salem Witch Trials. 1792 French First Republic formed by the National Convention,…

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21

Sep

On This Day…

1621 King James I of England gives Sir William Alexander a royal charter for colonisation of Nova Scotia. 1792 French Revolution: The National Convention passes a proclamation announcing the formal…

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20

Sep

On This Day…

451 - Roman General Flavius Aetius defeats Attila the Hun at The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (Chalons-sur-Marne), halting Hun invasion of Roman Gaul. 622 - Islamic Prophet Muhammed/Abu Bakr arrives in Jathrib (Medina).  1519 - Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand…

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19

Sep

On This Day…

1356 - English forces under Edward the Black Prince defeat French at Battle of Poitiers and capture the French King during the Hundred Years' War. 1870 - Siege of Paris by Prussian Forces begins (lasts until…

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18

Sep

On This Day…

1811 - British East India Company force led by Baron Minto conquers Java, part of the Dutch East Indies, Stamford Raffles appointed lieutenant governor. 1812 - Great Fire of Moscow burns out after 5 days, 75% of…

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17

Sep

On This Day…

642 - Arab forces under Amr ibn al-'As conquer Alexandria  1683 - Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria  1862 - Battle of Antietam [Battle of Sharpsburg], bloodiest day in the…

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16

Sep

On This Day…

1620 - English colonists aboard the Mayflower set sail for America, where they founded Plymouth, Massachusetts, after 41 men, including William Bradford and Myles Standish, signed the Mayflower Compact.  1795 - British capture Capetown, South Africa, from the Dutch  1800 - Pope Pius…

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15

Sep

On This Day…

1616 - First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy  1821 - Act of Independence of Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua declare their independence…

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14

Sep

On This Day…

1752 - Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian calendar (no Sept 3 - Sept 13)  1936 - 1st prefrontal lobotomy in America performed by Walter Freeman and James W. Watts…

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12

Sep

On This Day…

1758 - French astronomer Charles Messier mistakenly identifies the Crab Nebula so begins his Messier Catalogue  1909 - World's first patent for synthetic rubber granted to German chemist Fritz Hofmann  1933 - Leó Szilárd, waiting for a…

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