1627     John Ray (born), English historian (died 1705) 1729     Natchez Indians massacre 138 Frenchmen, 35 French women, and 56 children at Fort Rosalie, near the site of modern-day Natchez, Mississippi. 1759     Nicolaus I Bernoulli (died), Swiss mathematician (born 1687) 1803     Christian Doppler (born), Austrian physicist (died 1853) 1832     Louisa May Alcott (born), American author (died… Continue reading →

1520     After navigating through a strait at the southern end of South America, three ships under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.  Subsequently, the strait is named the Strait of Magellan. 1582     In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and… Continue reading →

8 BC     Horace (died), Roman poet (born 65 BC) 176       Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of Imperator and makes him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions. 1811      Andrew Meikle (died), Scottish engineer, designed the Threshing machine (born 1719) 1839     In Boston, Massachusetts, the American Statistical Association is founded. 1843     Cornelius Vanderbilt… Continue reading →

1476     Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time. 1604     Johannes Bach (born), German composer and musician (died 1673) 1607     John Harvard (born), English-American minister (died 1638) 1609     Henry Dunster (born), English-American clergyman and academic,… Continue reading →

1783    The last British troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. 1835     Andrew Carnegie (born), Scottish-American businessman, founded the Carnegie Steel Company (died 1919) 1844     Karl Benz (born), German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (died 1929) 1864    A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army… Continue reading →