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

A Daily Dose of History (14 May 2023) Today's historical events: Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks. Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England. Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Republic of Venice. English colonists establish "Jame...

A Daily Dose of History (13 May 2023) Today's historical events: Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love. Amerigo Vespucci, this time under Portuguese flag, set sail for western lands. Famous sword duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro on the shores of...

A Daily Dose of History (12 May 2023) Today's historical events: Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule. Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consor...

A Daily Dose of History (11 May 2023) Today's historical events: A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book. War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army. Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River. Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby...

A Daily Dose of History (10 May 2023) Today's historical events: Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king. Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there. Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland. King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetrach...

A Daily Dose of History (09 May 2023) Today's historical events: Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force. 'Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated. Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of Cal...

A Daily Dose of History (08 May 2023) Today's historical events: Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths. Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church. Treaty of Brétigny drafted between King E...

A Daily Dose of History (07 May 2023) Today's historical events: The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch. In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt. In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope. The Siege of M...

A Daily Dose of History (06 May 2023) Today's historical events: Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance. The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish. Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time. The Dutch city of Coevorden held by the Spanish, falls to a...

A Daily Dose of History (05 May 2023) Today's historical events: The Second Council of Constantinople begins. Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. On his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay and declares Jamaica the property of the Spanish crown....

A Daily Dose of History (04 May 2023) Today's historical events: The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae. Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance. Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson Wars of t...

A Daily Dose of History (03 May 2023) Today's historical events: Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne. The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I. Treaty of Loudun ends a French civ...

A Daily Dose of History (02 May 2023) Today's historical events: King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformati...

A Daily Dose of History (01 May 2023) Today's historical events: Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Tr...

A Daily Dose of History (30 Apr 2023) Today's historical events: The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends. Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration. He is named admiral of the ocean sea, viceroy and governor of any territory he discovers. Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Apr 2023) Today's historical events: Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.[citation needed] Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and becomes its vassal. Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans. Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Apr 2023) Today's historical events: The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire. Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius. Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the thron...