Category: Today In History

52 BC – Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and Battle of Alesia. 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, was Prince of Wales from December 11 1282 until his execution on October 3 1283 by King Edward I of England. He was the last independent ruler of Wales. On 30 September, Dafydd ap Gruffudd,...

1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1791 – The first performance of The Magic Flute, the last opera by Mozart, took place at Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. 1882 – Thomas Edison’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. 1888 – Jack the Ripper...

1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades. 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture and making authorities consider moving the capital to a different city. 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes...

48 BC – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia. 1066 – William the Conqueror invades England beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1538 – Ottoman-Venetian...

1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the River Somme, beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1540 – The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III. 1590 – Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being elected the Pope, making his reign the shortest...

46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in accordance with a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus. 1087 – William II is crowned King of England, and reigns until 1100. 1493 – Pope Alexander VI issues the papal bull Dudum siquidem to the Catholic Monarchs, extending...