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

A Daily Dose of History (09 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami. The Virgin of Guadalupe first appears to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico City. American Revolutionary War: Br...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Louis the Stammerer (son of Charles the Bald) is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom at Compiègne. A woman (either Margaret Hughes or Anne Marshall) appears on an English public stage for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello. Conservative Santiago-based government troops defeat...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims him as Caesar. The Sajid emir of Adharbayjan, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj is defeated and captured by the Qarmatians near Kufa. Tumult of Thorn: Religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the may...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Pope Leo VIII is appointed to the office of Protonotary and begins his papacy as antipope of Rome. Béla I is crowned king of Hungary. Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv under Daniel of Galicia and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan. After exploring island of Cuba for gold, surmising it for Japan, Columbus lands on island...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Fourth Council of Toledo takes place. Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated. Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow. The first of the two 1456 Central Italy earthquakes measuring Mw  7.2 causes extreme destruction and kills as many as 70,000 people. Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes affectibus, a p...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frankish Kingdom. The Kingdom of Jerusalem captures Sidon. Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Norman...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor (probable date). American Revolutionary War: USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones. War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon. The University of Leipzig opens. St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated. Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Dec 2024) Today's historical events: A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France. Courtiers Christopher Hatton and Thomas Heneage are knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England. End of the Iberian Union: Portugal acclaims a...

A Daily Dose of History (30 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British Empire and their Creek allies to capture Pensacola, Spanish Florida. Great Northern War: King Charles XII of Sweden dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Following the death of King Chlothar I at Compiègne, his four sons, Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I, divide the Frankish Kingdom. The Abbasid army under Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Katib defeats the Qarmatians at the Battle of Hama. The papal conclave of 1549-50 begins. The Battle of Swally takes place, which loosens th...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Treaty of Andelot: King Guntram of Burgundy recognizes Childebert II as his heir. Shi Jingtang is enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt against Emperor Fei of Later Tang. Skanderbeg and his forces liberate Kruja in central Albania and raise the Albanian flag. Champa-Đại Việt Wa...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Luoyang is declared capital of the Eastern Han dynasty by Emperor Guangwu of Han. Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of "Imperator" and makes him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions. Rufinus, praetorian prefect of the East, is murdered by Gothic mercenaries under Gainas. Byzantine Emperor Maurice is forced to...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her king from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze river during the Jin-Song Wars. Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherits the throne. The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son and heir of Henry I of England. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Châtillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. A tsunam...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople. Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem. Gąsawa massacre: At an assembly of Piast dukes at Gąsawa, Polish Prince Leszek the White, Duke Henry the Bearded and others are attacked by assassins while bathing. An ove...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Conquest of Seville by Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile. Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England. The Second War of Kappel results in the dissolution of th...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore. The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon. Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae which instructe...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Pope Anterus succeeds Pontian as the nineteenth pope. During the persecutions of emperor Maximinus Thrax he is martyred. Lý Công Uẩn is enthroned as emperor of Đại Cồ Việt, founding the Lý dynasty. Timur of Samarkand captures and sacks the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, taking King Bagrat V of Georgia captive. The Danish astronomer Ole...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Diocletian is chosen as Roman emperor. During the An Shi Rebellion, the Tang dynasty, with the help of Huihe tribe, recaptures Luoyang from the rebels. Palermo is conquered by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, agree to a truce, but Burgundy would kill Orléans thre...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Libius Severus is declared emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The real power is in the hands of the magister militum Ricimer. The Rashidun Caliphate defeats the Sasanian Empire at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in Iraq. Christopher Columbus goes ashore on an island called Borinquen he first saw the day before. He names it San Juan Bau...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated by Pope Sylvester I. The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy. The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land. Maginulfo is elected the Antipope as Sylvester IV. Pope Innocent III excommunicates Holy...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November. Genpei War: The Battle of Mizushima takes place off the Japanese coast, where Minamoto no Yoshinaka's invasion force is intercepted an...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Emperor Li Jing sends a Southern Tang expeditionary force of 10,000 men under Bian Hao to conquer Chu. Li Jing removes the ruling family to his own capital in Nanjing, ending the Chu Kingdom. While travelling during the Ninth Crusade, Prince Edward becomes King of England upon Henry III of England's death, but he will not return to E...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Nov 2024) Today's historical events: Battle of the Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy: The Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft ambushes the army of Leopold I in the Battle of Morgarten. Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Commanded by Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistadors under Hernando de Soto meet Incan Empero...