History Trivia

July 31, 30 BC Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieved a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserted, leading to his suicide. 432 Saint Sixtus III was elected Roman Catholic pope. 781 The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781). 1009 Pope Sergius IV became the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII. 1201 Byzantine noble John Komnenos, nicknamed "the Fat" attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople. He was captured and executed when the coup was suppressed. 1423 Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant – the French army was defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. 1588 The Spanish Armada was spotted off the coast of England.

History Trivia

July 30, 579 Benedict I ended his reign as Catholic Pope. 657 St Vitalian began his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I. 1178 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, was crowned King of Burgundy. 1419 First Defenestration of Prague: Anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, stormed the town hall in Prague and threw Catholic councilors out the windows. 1629 An earthquake in Naples, Italy, killed about 10,000 people.

History Trivia

July 29 238 The Praetorian Guard stormed the palace and captured Pupienus and Balbinus. They were dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day Gordian III, age 13, was proclaimed emperor. 904 Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sacked Thessalonica, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, after a short siege, and plundered it for a week. 1030 Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad – King Olaf II , the patron saint of Norway, fought and died trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes. 1565 The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. 1567 James VI was crowned King of Scotland at Stirling. 1588 Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.

History Trivia

July 28, 1364 Troops of the Republic of Pisa and of the Republic of Florence clashed in the Battle of Cascina.Florence's victory followed a recent defeat to Pisan forces that had enabled mercenary John Hawkwood, who was in command of the Pisan army, to travel the Valdinievole, Prato en route to looting Florence. 1540 Thomas Cromwell was executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.

History Trivia

July 27, 1054 Siward, Earl of Northumbria invaded Scotland to support Malcolm Canmore against Macbeth of Scotland, who usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father, King Duncan. Macbeth was defeated at Dunsinane. 1170: Thomas Becket and King Henry II temporarily reconciled. Becket's six-year self-imposed exile from England was resolved when he met with Henry and King Louis VII of France at a conference in Freteval and settled on an uneasy truce. Becket made preparations to return to his See in Canterbury. 1214 King John lost Normandy and his other French possessions after being defeated by Philip II of France in the Battle of Bouvines.

History Trivia

July 26,811 Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I was killed and his heir Stauracius was seriously wounded. 920 Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at Pamplona. 1309 Henry VII was recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V. 1469 Wars of the Roses: the Battle of Edgecote Moor pitted the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England took place.

History Trivia

July 25, 44 Saint James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, and one of the 12 apostles, became the first of the apostles to be martyred when he was killed on orders of Herod Agrippa I. 285 Diocletian appointed Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler. 306Constantine I was proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. 864 The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald ordered defensive measures against the Vikings. 1215 Frederick II, called Stupor Munci (The Amazement of the World), was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Aix-la-Chapelle. 1261 The city of Constantinople was recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire. 1547 Henry II of France was crowned. 1593 Henry IV of France publicly converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. 1603 James VI of Scotland was crowned as king of England (James I of England), uniting the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.