337 Constantine the Great (died), Roman emperor (born 272) 853 A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt 1176 The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo. 1666 Gaspar Schott (died), German physicist and mathematician (born 1608) 1667 Pope Alexander VII (died) (born 1599) 1724 Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (born), French explorer… Continue reading
120 BC Aurelia Cotta (born), Roman wife of Gaius Julius Caesar (died 54 BC) 293 Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. 878 Syracuse, Italy, is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 987 Louis V of France (died) (born 967)… Continue reading
325 The First Council of Nicea – the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held. 526 An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia. 1277 Pope John XXI (died) (born 1215) 1293 King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá. 1497 John Cabot sets sail from… Continue reading
Summer has arrived in Atlanta. If high temperature, sweltering humidity, the Peachtree Road Race, and mosquitos were not enough, bullfrogs and fireflies treat us to a visual and auditory display on a summer evening. We have all heard bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) and seen the blinking of fireflies (Photuris lucicrescens) on a summer evening. Besides being… Continue reading
1499 Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12. 1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage). 1536 Anne… Continue reading