A Daily Dose of History: Events on this Day in History

A Daily Dose of History (24 Jan 2026) Today's historical events: Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV. Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary. King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence. Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647. King C...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Jan 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons' War. In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Jan 2026) Today's historical events: Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing. The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya. The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar. The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last R...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor, the sixth emperor of the year. Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12. Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week. Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day. La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines, is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country. In the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans. Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins. on 28 July, the composer, organist and harpsichordist Johann Sebastian Bach dies. Constitution...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade. Georgian-Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum. Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England's Angevin Empire. According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, u...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I. Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded. Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera. Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V. The Emperor Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire. Francisco P...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in a three-day assault on the city walls. The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings. Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Prince Louis, later King Louis VII of France, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux. Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques who is proclaimed King of Portugal. The city of Constantinople is recaptured b...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle: King Edward I of England takes the stronghold using the War Wolf. Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, takes place. Behnam Hadloyo becomes Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Mardin. Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands, strike against a ban on foreign beer. French explorer Jacques Cartier plants a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula a...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum's treasury. A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios. Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France. Scanian War: Denmark-Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden. Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France. Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony. While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Massacre at Béziers: The first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade. Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk: King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk. St. Mary Magdalene's flood is the worst such event on record for central Europe. B...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler. The 365 Crete earthquake affected the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed. King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902). Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots. Kardam of Bulgaria defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae. Rollo lays siege to Chartres. Richard I of England officially invested as Duke of Normandy. Treaty of San Germano is signed at San Germano between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX. A Dominican named Guala is responsible for the negotiations. The Battle...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital. Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic. Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas. Arab-Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: F...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Roman-Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire. Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it. Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo-Tang War. Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo. King...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world. Damasus II is elected pope, and dies 23 days later. The Fourth Crusade assaults Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile. Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China. Hundred Years' War: Charles VII of France is crowned the King...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece. Three Roman legates break relations between Western and Eastern Christian Churches through the act of placing an Papal bull (of doubtful validity) of Excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Historians frequently describe the event as the start of the East-West Schism. Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: After Pope Innocent III calls European knights to a crusade...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: First Jewish-Roman War: Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar). An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor's family killed. First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege. The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: King Otto II and his Frankish army were defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy. Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II. Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. Anglo-Spanish War: English and Dutch troops sack the Spanish city of Cádiz before leaving the next day. An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in Ca...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines. Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after...