21 August

1165    Philip II of France (born) (died 1223) 1597    Roger Twysden (born), English historian and politician (died 1672) 1627    Jacques Mauduit (died), French composer (born 1557) 1660   Hubert Gautier (born), French engineer (died 1737) 1665    Giacomo F. Maraldi (born), French-Italian astronomer and mathematician (died 1729) 1680   Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the… Continue reading

20 August

636     Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia. 984     Pope John XIV (died) 1153    Bernard of Clairvaux (died), French theologian and saint (born 1090) 1308  … Continue reading

19 August

295 BC  The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War. 43 BCGaius Julius Cadaesar Octavianus, later known as Augustus, compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. 14        Augustus (died), Roman emperor (born 63 BC) 1342    Catherine of… Continue reading

18 August

849     Walafrid Strabo (died), German monk and theologian (born 808) 1276    Pope Adrian V (died) (born 1220) 1318    Clare of Montefalco (died), Italian nun and saint (born 1268) 1503    Pope Alexander VI (died) (born 1431) 1559    Pope Paul IV (died) (born 1476) 1572    Marriage in Paris, France of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre… Continue reading

17 August

1473    Richard of Shrewsbury (born), 1st Duke of York (died 1483) 1498   Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, becomes the first person in history to resign the cardinalate. On the same day, the French King Louis XII names him Duke of Valentinois. 1560    The Roman Catholic Church is overthrown and Protestantism is established as… Continue reading