1576 – Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán. 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. 1655 – John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in England’s North American colonies. 1702 – Anne Stuart, sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant… Continue reading →

308        Saint Eubulus (died), Israeli martyr 321         Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire. 413         Heraclianus (died), Roman usurper 1274       Saint Thomas Aquinas (died), Italian priest and philosopher (born 1225) 1481       Baldassare Peruzzi (born), Italian architect and painter (death 1537) 1578       Margaret Douglas (died),… Continue reading →

12 BC     The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the Emperor 1475       Michelangelo (born), Italian painter and sculptor (died 1564) 1483       Francesco Guicciardini (born), Italian historian and politician (died 1540) 1490       Ivan the Young (died), Russian son of Ivan III of Russia (born 1458) 1521       Ferdinand Magellan arrives… Continue reading →

363         Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. 1046       Naser Khosrow begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama. 1133       Henry II of England (born) (died 1189) 1496       King… Continue reading →

51            Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth). 1188       Blanche of Castile (born) (died 1252) 1193       Saladin, Iraqi-Egyptian sultan (born 1137) 1238       Joan of England, Queen of Scotland (born 1210) 1303       Daniel of Moscow, Russian saint (born 1261) 1394       Henry the Navigator (born), Portuguese son of… Continue reading →