A Daily Dose of History: Events on this Day in History

A Daily Dose of History (22 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14-20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand. Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. The Prussian Confederation is formed. Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia. A force of 1,400...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. Edward...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire. Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of th...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy. The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov. Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaign...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia. Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt. On his way to be burned a...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil. Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the first English Civil War. First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia. Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and cro...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome. The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles. Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 Fre...

A Daily Dose of History (12 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen-Geist Spital in Vienna. English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings. Isabella I issues an e...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England. A naval expedition led by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived Spanish settlements in the Strait of Magellan. Sir...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparking the revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and p...

A Daily Dose of History (09 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake. Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation. The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish W...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah. The Byzantine civil war of 1341-47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos. Leiden University is...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. Edward of Caernarvon (later king Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales. King Thihathu founds the Pinya Kingdom as the de jure...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop. James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of his brother Charles II. The warrior queen Dandara, leader of the runaway slaves in Quilombo dos Palmares, Brazil, is captured and commits suicide rath...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy. An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty, declares himself emperor and establishes the state of Yan. Idris I reaches Volubilis and founds the Idrisid dynasty, marking the secession of Morocco from the Abbasid caliphate and founding the first Moroccan state. Henry of Navarre abjures Catholic...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling sons, Caracalla and Geta, whom he had instructed to make peace. The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, in...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire. Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south. The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Su...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III of France is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony. Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy. The Battle of Lincoln, at which Steph...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Feb 2025) Today's historical events: The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia). The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege. The Kalabalik...

A Daily Dose of History (31 Jan 2025) Today's historical events: Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden. The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain rece...

A Daily Dose of History (30 Jan 2025) Today's historical events: Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen. King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom. An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,0...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Jan 2025) Today's historical events: Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate. War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and P...