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

A Daily Dose of History (28 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés. The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh. Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called foreword to the Old Kalevala. The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over E...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights. Samuel Colt is granted a United S...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda. A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia. Coronatio...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. Khosrow II, last Sasanian shah of Iran, is overthrown. Empress Wu Z...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Feb 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) Today's historical events: 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 crowned King of Italy. Pope Paschal II issues Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, recognizing the Order of Hospitallers....

A Daily Dose of History (14 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg. Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico. Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palat...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Feb 2024) 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 2024) Today's historical events: Vasco da Gama with 15 ships and 800 men sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India. Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju. The Convention Pa...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: 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 Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de I...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Feb 2024) 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 2024) Today's historical events: Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake. Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation. American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion. Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. Haiti attacks the newly established Dominican...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: 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 founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis. Mary, Queen...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Feb 2024) Today's historical events: Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. Edward of Caernarvon (later king Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales. Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila (Swedish: Ulvsby). In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfir...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Feb 2024) 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 2024) 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. A group of early Japanese Christi...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Feb 2024) 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 2024) 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 2024) Today's historical events: Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda. Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established. Spaniard Pedro d...