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

A Daily Dose of History (16 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: 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 England for nearly two years to assume the throne. Francisco Pizarro and his men capture Inca Emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca. French Revolution: Ninety dissident Roman Catholic pr...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre. Battle of Alnwick: in an English victory over the Scots, Malcolm III of Scotland, and his son Edward, are killed. Louis VII of France marries Adela of Champagne. First English Civil War: Battle of Turnham Green: The Royal...

A Daily Dose of History (12 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Future Byzantine empress Zoe takes the throne as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros. Battle of Posada ends: Wallachian Voievode Basarab I defeats the Hungarian army by ambush. Construction is completed on the Wilberforce Monument in Kingston Upon Hull. Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Fourth Crusade: Despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding it and threatening excommunication, Catholic crusaders begin a siege of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia). Raden Wijaya is crowned as the first...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with a great celebration. Stockholm Bloodbath begins: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces results in the execution of around 100 people mostly noblemen. Eighty Years' War: Pacification of Ghent: The States General of the Netherlands meet and unite t...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Treaty of Bonn: The Frankish kings Charles the Simple and Henry the Fowler sign a peace treaty or 'pact of friendship' (amicitia) to recognize their borders along the Rhine. Christopher Columbus returns from his fourth and last voyage. Elizabeth Stuart is crowned Queen of Bohemia. The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers. Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is deposed on charges of an armed rebellion against Otto. The Charter of the Forest is sealed at St Paul's Cathedral, London by King Henry III,...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Second Battle of Panipat: Fighting begins between the forces of Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the Hindu king at Delhi and the forces of the Muslim emperor Akbar. Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is arrested. William III of England lands with a Dutch fleet at Brixham. Seven Years' War: Frederick the Great defeats the allied armies of France and...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier. Christopher Columbus reaches Leeward Island and Puerto Rico. Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) meets Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother - they would later marry. Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captures Antwerp (which is nearly...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Nov 2023) Today's historical events: A qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals after the approval of Tang emperor Gaozu. Plymouth Colony governor Josiah Winslow leads a colonial militia against the Narragansett during King Philip's War. The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created. Time...

A Daily Dose of History (31 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Conspirators place Nikephoros, the minister of finance, on the Byzantine throne. Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Congress of the Mexican Empire. The New Zealan...

A Daily Dose of History (30 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Arab-Byzantine wars: Antioch surrenders to the Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of the Iron Bridge. Ranulf of Apulia defeats Roger II of Sicily at the Battle of Rignano, securing his position as duke until his death two years later. The Eighth Crusade ends by an agreement between Charles I of Anjou (replacing his deceased brother...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand adventus in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber and beheaded. Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Maxentius is proclaimed Roman emperor. Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the sole Roman emperor in the West. Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming dynasty when the Forbidden City is completed. Christian I is crowned king of Denmark. Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba on his first voyage to the New World, su...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Constantine is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Æthelstan, the first king of all England, dies and is succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I. French troops lay siege to Pavia. Condemned as a heretic, Michael Servetus is burned at the stake just outside Geneva. Second Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War. P...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: The Uprising of Asen and Peter begins on the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki and ends with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The Byzantine civil war of 1341-1347 formally begins with the proclamation of John VI Kantakouzenos as Byzantine Emperor. Tvrtko I is crowned the first king of Bosnia. Charles V is crowned...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II as Caesar of the East Roman Empire. Seljuk Turks defeat German crusaders under Conrad III at the Battle of Dorylaeum. Reconquista: After a siege of four months, crusader knights reconquer Lisbon. Hundred Years' War: Henry V of England, with his lightly armoured infantry and archers, defeats...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius. Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War. John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Valentinian III is elevated as Roman emperor at the age of six. Spanish Reconquista: At the Battle of Sagrajas, the Almoravids defeats the Castilians, but are unable to take advantage of their victory. The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the Danish Civil War. The first treaty forming the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France against...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council. Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto). The male line of the Portuguese House of Burgundy becomes extinct with the death of King Fernando, leaving only his daughter Beat...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade. First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu. Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as t...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent. Eighty Years' War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the relief of Goes. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and the War of the Austrian Succession begins. Am...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in North Africa. King John of England dies at Newark-on-Trent and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry. The Universität Heidelberg holds its first lecture, making it the oldest German university. Hundred Years' War: Three months after the Battle of Castillon, England loses its l...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: Dagobert I is crowned King of the Franks. The Danes defeat the English in the Battle of Assandun. The Normans defeat the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium. Basel earthquake, the most significant historic seismological event north of the Alps, destroys the town of Basel, Switzerland. Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto's...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Oct 2023) Today's historical events: London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross and imprison him for eleven years. An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo. The University of Greifswald is established as the second oldest un...