332     Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. 526     Pope John I (died) (born 470) 1048   Omar Khayyám (born), Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (died 1131) 1152    Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. 1302   Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members… Continue reading →

1536   George Boleyn (born 1504), Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason. 1536   Mark Smeaton (died), English lute player and dancer (born 1512) 1536   The annulment of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage. 1551    Martin Delrio (born), Belgian theologian and occultist (died 1601) 1673   Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the… Continue reading →

1527    The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic. 1532   Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. 1568   Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England. 1569   Dirk Willems (died), Dutch anabaptist 1718    Maria Gaetana Agnesi (born), Italian mathematician and philosopher (died 1799) 1763   Louis… Continue reading →

495 BC A newly constructed temple in honor of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. 1157    Yuri Dolgorukiy (died), Russian prince and founded Moscow (born 1099) 1252   Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture… Continue reading →

649     Pope Theodore I (died) 964     Pope John XII (died) (born 927) 1316    Charles IV (born), Holy Roman Emperor (died 1378) 1607   Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony. 1610   Henry IV (born 1553) of France is assassinated bringing Louis XIII to the throne. 1643   Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the… Continue reading →