109 Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north-west of Rome. 1314 First War of Scottish Independence: the Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce, though England did not recognize Scottish independence until 1328… Continue reading
47 BCCaesarion (born), Egyptian king (died 30 BC) 79 Vespasian (died), Roman emperor (born 9) 1611 The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson’s fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again. 1661 Marriage contract between Charles… Continue reading
As a card carrying atheist, I am a little fuzzy on the teachings of the Christian church, or for that matter, any church. Like most of us who grew up in the South I went to church as a kid. Like many of us, I quit. Somehow I got the message during my early forced indoctrination… Continue reading
1276 Pope Innocent V (died) (born 1225) 1633 The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy. 1767 Wilhelm von Humboldt (born), German philosopher and diplomat (died 1835) 1783 A… Continue reading
217 BC The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. 533 A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. 1002 Pope Leo IX (born) (died 1054) 1305 Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (died) (born 1271)… Continue reading