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

A Daily Dose of History (26 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe. Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux. The Pazzi family attack on Lorenzo de' Medici kills his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. Playwright William Shakespear...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over the South Caucasus is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire. After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens o...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League. Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris. The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published. French revolutiona...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city. Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle. Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England. St. George's Night U...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne. Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. Treat...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics. Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII. The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lod...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople. Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage to what is today the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland and Lab...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The freedman Milichus betrays Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested. Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria). Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded....

A Daily Dose of History (18 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. Peace of Ferrara between Republic of Venice, Duchy of Milan, Republic of Florence and House of Gonzaga: ending of the second campaign of the Wars in Lombardy fought...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II. Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege. Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Otho commits suicide. Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish-Roman War. Stefan Dušan, "the Mighty", is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans. The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The Lateran Council condemns the Council of Hieria and anathematizes its iconoclastic rulings. Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne. Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Y...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome. After his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state. Co-Emperor Otto II, a son of Otto...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island. Samuel Argall, having captured Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her fat...

A Daily Dose of History (12 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York. Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír, who flees to Poland. The Crusaders of the Four...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrarese forces led by Gaston de Foix and Alfonso I d'Este win the Battle of Ravenna against the Papal-Spanish forces. Italian War of 1542-46: A French army def...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. Three years later, he would be deposed due to alleged heresy. Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded the...

A Daily Dose of History (09 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. The distinguished soldier Septimus Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum. Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position. Siege of Rome:...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated by Innocent II for supporting Anacletus II as pope for seven years, even though Roger had already publicly recognized In...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning most of the town. First Corpus Juris Civilis, a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. Empress Matilda becomes the first female ruler of England, adopting the title 'Lady of the English'. Holy Roman Emperor...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople. The city falls on May 29, and is renamed Istanbul. One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place. At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Rie...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army. During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knigh...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico. King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months. A five-year Byzantine-Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Death of the Venetian Doge Tommaso Mocenigo,...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' assumes the crown of Calakmul. Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. The Patriarchate of Friûl, the first Friulian state, is created. The second of two the treaties making up the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis is signed, ending the Italian Wars. Robert Walpole becomes, in effect, the first Prim...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Apr 2026) Today's historical events: Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on the west coast of India. The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, establishing the United States Mint. Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna. French Revolutionary Wars: In the Battle of Copenhagen a British Royal Navy squadron defe...