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

A Daily Dose of History (05 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama. The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands. Nicolaus Copernicus's book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth). Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources. Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs. Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany. The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi. The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza. American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau. American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Br...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off. Louis V becomes the last Carolingian king of West Francia after the death of his father, Lothaire. Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë. George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia. Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Vetranio proclaims himself Caesar after being encouraged to do so by Constantina, sister of Constantius II. Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro. Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion. Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Feb 2026) 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 Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America. February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians. Christiansborg Cross-Roads shoo...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia. The Treaty of Berwick is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland, establishing the terms under which English armed forces were to be permitted in Scotland in order to expel occupying French troops. Henry IV is crowned King of France. Sweden and the Tsardom of Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea. Yuan Chonghuan...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor. Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples. The Janszoon voyage of 1605-06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea. Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Feb 2026) 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 States patent for his revolver firearm. Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet Affair (1843). Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Feb 2026) 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. Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague. Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia. With the pa...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: 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 Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty. Traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type. Berbice slave uprising in Guyana: The first major slave revolt in South America. American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to help to train the Continental Army. Cato St...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Feb 2026) 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 dynasty. King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne. Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the dedicatee, receives the first printed copy of Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Feb 2026) 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 French soldiers invaded Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen. They were defeated by 500 British reservists. The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales. Without a previous declaration...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Feb 2026) 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 VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. The Po...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Feb 2026) 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 the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592. The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. The Second Battle...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Feb 2026) 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 campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces. George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London. Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau. 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 at the stake for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Feb 2026) 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 the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges as Roman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania. Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia. 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. During the Anglo-French War (1213-1214), an English invasion force led by John, King of England, lands at La Rochelle...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor. 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 an...