History Trivia

March 7,161 the emperor Antoninus Pius died peacefully of fever after a peaceful and prosperous reign. A rare occurrence for an emperor of Rome. He was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. 238 Roman subjects in Africa revolted against Maximinus Thrax and elected Gordian I as emperor. 321 Emperor Constantine I decreed that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) was the day of rest in the Empire. 1111Bohemond I of Tarente died. Bohemond was a leader of the First Crusade and prince of Antioch. 1274 Thomas Aquinas died. 1277 Stephen Tempier, Bishop of Paris, condemned 219 philosophical and theological theses.

History Trivia

March 6,1454 Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledged allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agreed to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights. 1475 Michelangelo Buonarrotti was born. 1619 Cyrano de Bergerac was born. The real Cyrano was a soldier, duellist, dramatist and satirist, and inspired several romantic legends, the most famous of them Edmund Rostand's play. While the fictional and factual Cyrano share some traits, including a large nose, much of the legend is pure speculation.

History Trivia

March 5,363 Roman Emperor Julian moved from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. 493 AD the German barbarian leader Odovacar (Odocacer), who had ended the Western Roman Empire in A.D. 476, was executed at age 59 by the Ostrogoths. 1133 King Henry II of England was born. 1496 King Henry VII of England issued letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands. 1616 Church declared Copernicanism "false and erroneous."Galileo had stirred up a great deal of interest in theories that contradicted Aristotelian tradition, and conventional professors saw this as a threat to their own work. They united in an attempt to set Church authorities against him, since the Copernican theories he was developing included contradictions to Scripture. The Church's chief theologian, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, unable to appreciate the significance of Galileo's work, saw only the danger of anything that could undermine Catholicism in its fight against Protestantism. He issued the decree against Copernicanism, though he warned Galileo in advance.

History Trivia

March 4,51 Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, was given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth. 303 or 304 Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
932 Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs. 1152 Frederick I was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Also known as "Barbarossa" (red-beard), Frederick was frequently at odds with the papacy over issues of authority and was even excommunicated by Pope Alexander III. He was able to consolidate power in Germany but lost territory in northern Italy. Frederick drowned while crossing the Saleph River during the Third Crusade. 1193 Saladin died.
1215 King John of England made an oath to Pope Innocent III as a crusader to gain his support. 1461 Edward IV took over the English throne. In the long and convoluted English Wars of the Roses, Edward and his supporters (including Warwick the Kingmaker,after a victory at Mortimer's Cross,reached London before the rival Lancastrians and was proclaimed king. He then sealed his ascent to the throne with a victory at Towton from which his primary opponent,Henry VI's queen Margaret of Anjou, fled.

History Trivia

March 3, 1046 Sylvester III died. After a Roman faction drove Pope Benedict IX out of Rome, they elected Sylvester, but he was expelled a month later by Benedict's supporters. The faction then sold the papacy to Giovanni Graziano, who became Pope Gregory VI. Recognizing Gregory as the legitimate pope, Sylvester returned to his old bishopric of Sabina. He and Gregory are usually considered antipopes. 1284 The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England.

History Trivia

March 2, 462 Total Lunar Eclipse. This eclipse was observed by Bishop Hydatius in Portugal, who described the moon as having been "turned to blood." 672 Saint Caedda died. Also known as St. Chad, Caedda was educated at Lindisfarne and spent time in Ireland before succeeding his brother as Abbot of Laestingaeu in Yorkshire. After a minor administrative dispute he was named Bishop of York. His story was told in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Book IV. 986 Louis V became King of the Franks. 986Lothair died. As king of France Lothair had set his sights also on Lotharingia (Lorraine), but was prevented by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II. After Otto's death, however, he prepared another expedition into Lorraine, but died before it could be carried out. 1127 Charles the Good died. Count of Flanders and crusader, Charles deserved the epithet "Good" for his wisdom, generosity, and his promotion of the welfare of his people. He was murdered while at prayer in the church of St. Donat at Bruges, apparently by black marketeers. 1316 King Robert II of Scotland was born.
The first Stewart king, Robert had a fairly peaceful reign following his career as co-regent, then sole regent, while his predecessor King David was exiled.


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History Trivia

March 1, This day was the feast of Juno Lucina, the goddess of childbirth. 752 BC Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrated the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following The Rape of the Sabine Women. 86 BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, entered Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus. 286 AD Roman Emperor Diocletian raised Maximian to the rank of Caesar. 293 Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appointed Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesares, thus beginning the Tetrarchy. 317 Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares. 499 Symmachus held a Synod at Rome. This synod decided that any Roman cleric who engaged in electioneering for a pope's possible successor during the lifetime of the pope would be deposed. 707 John VII was elected Pope. Noted for his devotion to the Virgin Mary, John beautified and restored several churches during his short papacy.

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February 28,590 AD Gregory I (The Great) became Roman Catholic pope. 870 The Fourth Council of Constantinople closed. 1638 The Scottish National Covenant was signed in Edinburgh.

History Trivia

February 27, 280 Constantine I (The Great) was born. He was Roman emperor from AD 306-337 and made Christianity the religion of the empire. 380 Roman emperor Theodosius declared the orthodoxy of the Nicene Creed. 1560, The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, was signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland. 1594 Henry IV was crowned King of France.

History Trivia

February 26,364 Valentinian I was proclaimed Roman Emperor.1266, Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeated a combined German and Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred was killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invested Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.

History Trivia

February 25, 38 The Emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor. 1570 Elizabeth I was declared a heretic by Pope Pius V and was excommunicated.

History Trivia

February 24,30 AD, tradition has it that Matthias was elected as the apostle to fill the place of Judas after his suicide. 303, the first Roman edict for persecution of the Christians was published on the order of the Emperor Diocletian. 616 King Aethelbehrt of Kent died. Aethelbehrt was the first Christian king of England and was converted by St. Augustine of Canterbury. 1303 The Scots defeated the English at the Battle of Roslin,the First War for Scottish Independence. 1582 Pope Gregory XIII published his plans for calendar reform - the Gregorian Calendar - in a papal bull.

History Trivia

February 23,303, Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a general persecution of the Christians. 532 work began on the third Cathedral of Santa Sophia in Constantinople.1447 Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester died. Humphrey was the fourth son of King Henry IV and a strong supporter of humanism,patronizing English and Italian artists, writers and philosophers, for which he was known as "Good Duke Humphrey." Unfortunately, his political acumen was not as good. Although he served his brother, Henry V, in a series of campaigns in the Hundred Year's War, after Henry died and he was named temporary regent for the infant Henry VI, he soon began a feud with Chancellor Henry Beaufort that lasted for more than twenty years. The feud ended with the arrest of Gloucester and his subsequent death from, most likely, natural causes five days later, but the poor timing of his demise led to a rumor that he had been murdered, which was used as a rallying point in later uprisings.

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February 22, 1276 AD Innocent V was crowned Roman Catholic pope. 1495 King Charles VIII of France entered Naples to claim the city's throne.

History Trivia

February 21, 362 Athanasius returned to Alexandria. 1245 Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted resignation after having confessed to torture and forgery. 1173 Thomas Á Becket was canonized. The Archbishop of Canterbury, one-time friend and opponent to King Henry II of England, had been murdered less than three years earlier, and the swift canonization by Pope Alexander III was a clear message of rebuke to the king. 1431 Public trial of Joan of Arc began. The trial that had begun in secret in January was at last brought before the public. Joan's request to attend mass beforehand was refused, but she swore to tell the truth and she did so. However, she managed to evade revealing anything she had said to her king. Ultimately, Joan was sentenced to death and burned at the stake. 1437: King James I of Scotland was murdered in the Dominican Friary at Perth by a group led by Sir Robert Graham. James' son, Sir Robert Stewart, was the King's Chamberlain, and it was he who found a willing assassin in Sir Robert Graham, a man with his own grudge and a scarred memory of the imprisonment and banishment. Graham and his eight confederates broke into the room, dragged out the fighting King, and butchered him with twenty-eight dagger-strokes. The Queen was wounded in her efforts to save her husband, and Walter of Atholl, Robert Stewart, Robert Graham and his hired cutthroats were soon taken, and suffered long and appalling torture until the Queen's grief was satisfied andthey were sent to the merciful headsman.

History Trivia

February 20,1472 Orkney and Shetland were pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. 1547 Edward VI of England was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

History Trivia

February 19,197 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeated usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. 356 The Christian Roman emperor Constantius II issued a decree closing all pagan temples.607 Boniface III was elected Pope. Before his election as pope Boniface served as an ambassador to Constantinople,and as pontiff he worked to assure that the Bishop of Rome had supremacy over all the church in the face of attempts by the Bishop of Constantinople to use the title "Universal Bishop." 1601 Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, was tried for treason; he was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and a patron of many writers, including Barnabe Barnes, Thomas Nashe, Gervase Markham, and William Shakespeare (who dedicated Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece to the earl). A good friend of Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, Henry accompanied him on his journeys until Elizabeth called him home. In February of 1601 he became involved in the Devereaux's rebellion, attempting to stir up the populace by reviving Richard II, which told the story of the deposition of a monarch. He was arrested, tried, and convicted; his titles were forfeited and he was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to the intercession of Robert Cecil. When Elizabeth's successor James I ascended the throne, Southampton returned to court and was restored to the Peerage by an act of Parliament. He then pursued an illustrious career, becoming a Knight of the Garter, an active member of the Virginia and East India Companies,and a privy councillor.

History Trivia

February 18, 1229 The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor signed a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth,and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy. 1478 George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, was executed in private at the Tower of London. Clarence plotted against the king several times throughout Edward's rise and was given repeated chances by his family to return to the fold. In January, 1478, Edward finally had enough of his brother's faithlessness and threw him into prison, bringing charges of slander and rebellion against him. Both houses of Parliament passed a bill of attainder against the duke, and although his brother Richard protested, Clarence was executed in secret in the tower. Shortly after his death, rumors that he'd been drowned in a butt of malmsey wine began to circulate, but there is no proof of this rather odd claim. 1516 Mary Tudor was born. Eldest daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Queen Mary I of England was stubborn,courageous, and devoutly Catholic. Upon inheriting the throne from her fiercely Protestant brother Edward VI, she sought to turn England back to the Catholic Church, and in the process developed a reputation as a "bloody" fanatic. Her marriage to the Catholic prince Philip of Spain (whom she adored but who could not abide her)further exacerbated matters in England. She desperately wanted a child, and suffered several false pregnancies. Distrusted, disliked, and miserable, Mary died in 1558 at the age of 42. 1546 Martin Luther died.1564 Michelangelo Buonarrotti died.

History Trivia

February 17, 1370 – The Battle of Rudau - Teutonic knights defeated the Lithuanians in their attempt to Christianize the country.1461 Second Battle of Saint Albans -In the long-running Wars of the Roses, a previous battle had taken place at Saint Albans nearly six years earlier, a very brief incident that gave Richard, Duke of York, the upper hand in the conflict. But soon the opposition rose once more and war broke out again in 1459. The Duke had been dead some time when Henry's indomitable Queen Margaret and York's son Edward both sought to capture London. It was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (also known as the Kingmaker), who met the queen at Saint Albans, but he lost the battle, leaving his prisoner, King Henry VI, to Margaret's forces. Margaret made a grave error when she allowed her forces to pillage the town and Abbey of Saint Albans. The people of London, hearing of this behavior, sent her a message saying she would not be welcome unless she could guarantee that her troops would not so mistreat Londoners. While Margaret thought this over, Edward York and Richard Neville entered London, where York soon was crowned King Edward IV.

History Trivia

February 16, 116 Emperor Trajan sent laureatae to the Roman Senate at Rome on account of his victories and being conqueror of Parthia. 1249 Andrew of Longjumeau was dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with Mongol Khagan of the Mongol Empire. 1646 – Battle of Great Torrington, Devon – was the last major battle of the first English Civil War.

History Trivia

February 15, 44 BC, Mark Antony offered Julius Caesar the diadem of royalty which he refused. 360 AD, the first Cathedral of Santa Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated. 1113 Knights Hospitaller was formally named and recognized. The Hospitallers were founded in the eleventh century to care for sick pilgrims in Jerusalem. Begun as the monastic Order of St. John, it became under the guidance of Blessed Gerard a collection of hostels and was recognized in a bull issued by Pope Paschal II. The order evolved throughout the Crusades and still exists today. 1564 Galileo Galilei was born. An extraordinary man of superb genius, Galileo not only made great strides in scientific discovery, he caused wild controversy with those advances. Convicted of heresy for supporting the Copernican view of the solar system, his life sentence was commuted to house arrest after he formally repudiated his support. He died in his villa in Arcetri. 1637 Ferdinand III became Holy Roman Emperor.

History Trivia

February 14,44 BC, Julius Caesar was made dictator of Rome for life, which turned out to be one month and a day. 842 Charles the Bald and Louis the German swore the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. 1014 Henry II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1076 Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. 1349 Approximately 2,000 Jews were burned to death by mobs or forcibly removed from the city of Strasbourg. 1556 Thomas Cranmer was declared a heretic.

History Trivia

February 13, 1542, Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, was executed for adultery. Catherine had been a bridesmaid in Henry's politically-motivated wedding to Anne of Cleves, at which time the young woman caught the king's eye. Henry had his loveless marriage to Anne annulled and less than three weeks later married Catherine in a private ceremony. A year or so later Catherine's past relationships came to light, and there was even some gossip that she had committed adultery with her secretary Francis Dereham after her marriage. Henry was incensed and had Parliament pass a bill of attainder that declared it treason for an "unchaste" woman to marry the king. He then had Catherine beheaded in the Tower of London. 1575 Henry III of France was crowned at Rheims and married Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont on the same day. 1633 Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. 1554 Lady Jane Grey, England's Nine Day Queen, was executed for treason.