1412       Joan of Arc (born) (died1431) 1537       Alessandro de’ Medici (died), Duke of Florence (born 1510) 1540       King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves. 1714       Percivall Pott (born), English physician (died 1788) 1838      Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes (the forerunner of Morse code). 1852       Louis Braille (died), French… Continue reading →

1066       Edward the Confessor (died), English king (born 1004) 1527       Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zurich, Switzerland, is executed by drowning. 1554       A great fire occurs in Eindhoven, Netherlands. 1589       Catherine de’ Medici (died), Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (born 1519) 1713       Jean Chardin (died), French explorer (born 1643)… Continue reading →

1581       James Ussher (born), Irish archbishop (died 1656) 1809      Louis Braille (born), French educator, invented Braille (died 1852) 1838      General Tom Thumb (born), American circus performer (died 1883) 1839       Carl Humann (born), German archaeologist (died 1896) 1847       Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. 1865       The New York Stock Exchange… Continue reading →

106 BC  Cicero (born), Roman politician and philosopher (died 43 BC) 1431       Joan of Arc is handed over to Bishop Pierre Cauchon. 1496      Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine. 1521       Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. 1777      American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis… Continue reading →

366      The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire. 533      Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to thepapacy. 1492     Reconquista: the Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders. 1777     American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command… Continue reading →