1430  Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne. 1524   Ismail I (died), Iran ruler (born 1487) 1533   The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void. 1617    Elias Ashmole (born), English astrologer and politician (died 1692) 1670   Ferdinando II de’ Medici… Continue reading →

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 →

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 →