History Trivia

April 4,186 Caracalla, Emperor of Rome, (211-217) was born. 527 Justinian I was created co-emperor. Justinian was the nephew of the Emperor of the Eastern Roman empire, and with the help of his ambitious wife Theodora, he gained the trust of his uncle and was named co-emperor barely 4 months before the older man died. 1081 Alexius Comnenus crowned emperor. Alexius seized the throne from Nicephorus III. During his reign, he would succeed in reviving the Eastern Roman Empire after half a century of ineffective rule. 1081 Alexios I Komnenos was crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, beginning the Komnenian dynasty. 1581 Francis Drake was knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.

History Trivia

April 3, 1043 Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England. Elected by popular acclamation, Edward (known as "the Confessor" for his piety) had Norman sympathies and had supposedly named William the Conqueror his successor, before choosing Harold Godwinson on his death-bed.

History Trivia

April 2,68 the Emperor Galba was declared Imperator by his legion. He then made a quick retreat away from Nero's forces. 742 Charlemagne, King of the Franks from 768-814, first Holy Roman Emperor, from 800-814, was born. 999 Sylvester II was elected pope. He was the first French pope, and was said to have played a major role in popularizing Arabic numerals in the West. 1234 Edmund Rich became Archbishop of Canterbury. Raised to the Archbishopric by Pope Gregory IX, Edmund was an outspoken figure who clashed with King Henry III of England and preached for the Sixth Crusade. 1285 Honorius IV elected pope.Honorius was old and crippled when elected but in his brief two years as pope he worked toward reuniting the Western and Eastern churches and supported the mendicant orders.

History Trivia

April 1,527 Byzantine Emperor Justin I named his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. 1204 Eleanor of Aquitaine died 1293 Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.1318 Berwick-upon-Tweed was captured by the Scottish from the English.1340 Niels Ebbesen killed Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.

History Trivia

March 31, 307 After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine married Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian. 1084 Henry VI of Germany, after deposing Pope Gregory VII, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Gregory's successor, Pope Clement III. 1146 Bernard of Clairvaux preached his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII was present, and joined the Crusade. 1492 Queen Isabella of Castile issued the Alhambra decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. 1547 King Francis I died. 1596 René Descartes was born. French scientist, mathematician and philosopher, Descartes was one of the most influential thinkers in history, and is best known for his statement: "I think; therefore, I am." 1657 Parliament offered Oliver Cromwell the title of king in the 'Humble Petition and Advice'. He rejected it.

History Trivia

March 30,317 BC, Phocion, the great Athenian general and statesman, died at an approximate age of 85. 240 BC 1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.1135 AD Maimonides was born. He was a Jewish philosopher who tried to harmonize Judaism with the teachings of Aristotle in his principal work, The Guide of the Perplexed, in 1190. 1191 Celestine III elected Pope. Student and friend of Pierre Abélard, Giacinto Bobone was 85 years old and only a Deacon when he became Pope Celestine III. He confirmed the order of Teutonic Knights, and his pontificate was marked by problems with Emperor Henry VI. 1282 The people of Sicily rebelled against the Angevin king Charles I, in what became known as the Sicilian Vespers. 1296 Edward I sacked Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England. 1603 The Nine Years' War between England and Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill ended with the surrender of the Irish.

History Trivia

March 29, 1461 The Battle of Towton. Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England. The deadliest battle of the Wars of the Roses, Towton secured the throne of England for the recently-crowned King Edward IV. The Lancastrians, having failed to take London and prevent the coronation, retreated before the armies of Edward and Warwick. The Yorkists caught up with them on Palm Sunday. The battle raged for 10 hours in a snowstorm until John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, arrived with fresh troops and the Lancastrians fled. The fugitives were hunted down and slaughtered. 1561 Santorio Santorio was born. Santorio was the first physician to employ instruments of precision to medical practice. His philosophy of using sensory experience before consulting the classical authorities and his experimental procedures contributed greatly to the development of medical science.

History Trivia

March 28, 37 Roman Emperor Caligula accepted the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. 193 Roman Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sold the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus. 364 Roman Emperor Valentinian I appointed his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor. 845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. 1472 Fra Bartolomeo was born.Also known as Baccio della Porta, Fra Bartolomeo was a Tuscan artist whose works exemplified the High Renaissance style. 1515 St. Teresa of Ávila was born. Teresa was a mystic, a reformer of the Carmelite order, and author of spiritual literature. She was the first woman to be named a doctor of the Church.

History Trivia

March 27,196 BC Ptolemy V ascended to the throne of Egypt. 47 BC Ptolemy XII, King of Egypt and brother of Cleopatra, drowned in the Nile, probably with an assist by Julius Caesar,who thereby made Cleopatra queen. 30 AD, Jesus was condemned to be crucified by Pontius Pilate. The date, which is highly uncertain, is said to have been set down on a copper plate discovered in 1810 in the ancient city of Aquileia. 1351 The Battle of the Thirty -this battle in the struggle for succession to the duchy of Brittany was so called because each side chose thirty knights to engage in combat. Though the battle settled nothing, it became the basis of troubadour legends and was retold in the chronicles of Froissart. 1489 Treaty of Medina del Campo. Although the treaty was never fully accepted by either side, this agreement between Spain and England established important conventions in relations between the two countries. It also settled the details of the marriage of Catherine of Aragon, youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and Arthur, eldest son of King Henry VII. Upon Arthur's death Catherine would marry his brother,who would become King Henry VIII.

History Trivia

March 26, 752 Pope Stephen II (or III) elected Stephen III was the first sovereign of the Papal States. After his predecessor's untimely death, he was consecrated on the very day he was elected. 1026 Pope John XIX crowned Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. 1484 William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop's Fables.

History Trivia

March 25,421 Venice, Italy was born at twelve o'clock noon, according to legend.708 Constantine I was elected pope. 1199 Richard I was wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leading to his death on April 6. 1409 The Council of Pisa opened.1584 Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a patent to colonize Virginia.

History Trivia

March 23,752 Stephen's two-day pontificate began. Unanimously elected to succeed Zachary, Stephen II died before he could be consecrated, so his pontificate was never really considered official. He was not entered into the official Liber Pontificalis and his successor, also named Stephen, was considered the second and not the third pope to bear the name. This has led to some inconsistency in the numbering of popes named Stephen.

History Trivia

March 22, 238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II were proclaimed Roman Emperors. 1312Order of the Knights Templar suppressed. The Templars had grown rich and powerful, and amidst unsubstantiated rumors of irreligious practices during their secret rites, King Philip the Fair of France saw an opportunity to fill his own coffers at their expense. He had all the Templars in France arrested and pressured Pope Clement V to suppress the order. This Clement did with the Papal bull Vox in excelso. 1429 Joan of Arc dictated a warning to the English. In her attempt to convince the Dauphin of the sincerity of her mission, Joan submitted to examinations by eminent ecclesiastical advisers to Charles. She told them that she would give proof of her mission at Orléans and dictated a letter of warning to the English king and his troops. The theologians suggested the Dauphin should make use of her, and he provided her several men and sent her on to Orléans.

History Trivia

March 21,47 BC, Julius Caesar defeated Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's brother and rival, at Alexandria, Egypt, thus restoring Cleopatra to the throne. 1152 Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was always a little too strong-willed for the gentle King Louis VII of France, and since she had only given him daughters, Louis agreed to seek an annulment on the grounds of consanguinity. Eleanor retained control of Aquitaine and shortly thereafter wed Henry Plantaganet, who would become the next king of England. 1413 Henry V crowned King of England. 1474 Saint Angela Merici was born. Angela was a pious young woman who had visions that revealed her purpose in life: to found a group of virgins who would devote their lives to the religious education of young girls (the Ursulines).
1556 The first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was burned at the stake for heresy.

History Trivia

March 20, 43 BC, Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), the most versatile of the Roman poets, was born. He is noted for such works as "Metamorphoses" and "Art of Love." 235 Maximinus Thrax was proclaimed emperor. He was the first foreigner to hold the Roman throne. 687: Saint Cuthbert died.Cuthbert was a shepherd and hermit who achieved fame as a holy man, healer, and bishop. 851 Ebbo of Reims died. Bishop in the Carolingian empire and evangelist to Denmark, Ebbo is also known for sponsoring and promoting art and learning. 1413 King Henry IV of England died. 1549 Thomas Seymour was executed. Seymour was an opportunist who used his position as Edward VI's uncle and, more significantly, as the Lord Protector's brother to rise to the rank of Lord Admiral, a position which he abused by dealing with pirates. Seymour married Henry VIII's widow Katherine Parr and pursued the young princess Elizabeth somewhat blatantly, though he never succeeded. When his piratical activities were discovered he was arrested, tried, and executed.

History Trivia

March 19,235 Maximinus Thrax was proclaimed Emperor of Rome.1179 The Third Lateran Council of the Catholic church called a crusade against Cathar heretics in Toulouse.
1227 Ugo di Segni became Pope Gregory IX.Deeply religious and stoutly behind the Crusading movement, Gregory's education and experience in diplomacy barely prepared him for the long struggle with Emperor Frederick II that marked his papacy. 1307 The Douglas Larder raid - Sir James Douglas was a Scot who returned home from school in Paris to find his estates had been claimed and occupied by an Englishman, Robert de Clifford. Joining with Robert the Bruce for a time, he returned in an attempt to take back his land, attacking his own castle three times. After his final assault, known as the Douglas Larder, he razed the castle to the ground. 1330 Edmund Plantaganet, Earl of Kent died.Edmund was the younger brother of King Edward II of England. He was a staunch supporter of his brother, and after his murder in September, 1327, Edmund was led to believe Edward was s still alive and threw in his lot with a conspiracy to return him to the throne. For this he was arrested and beheaded, though his eldest son was allowed to inherit his title.

History Trivia

March 18, 37 – The Roman Senate annulled Tiberius's will and proclaimed Caligula emperor. 235 Emperor Alexander Severus and his mother Julia Mamaea are murdered by legionaries near Moguntiacum (modern Mainz). The Severan dynasty ends. 1227 Pope Honorius III Died. Honorius developed the policies of his predecessor, Pope Innocent III, concentrating on church reform and crusades.1229 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declared himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade. When he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Honorius III, Frederick took a vow to go on Crusade, but he put off the expedition to settle matters in Italy. When he was at last ready to depart in 1227, an epidemic set him back further. The new pope, Gregory IX, disregarded the emperor's justification for delay and excommunicated him for failing to go on Crusade. Frederick ignored the excommunication and set sail for the Holy Land, where he entered into complex negotiations with the Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt that confirmed his control of Jerusalem. He crowned himself in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 1241 Kraków was ravaged by Mongols. 1314 Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. 1438 Albert II of Habsburg became Holy Roman Emperor.

History Trivia

March 17, On this day The Agonalia was held. It was held on January 9th, March 17, May 21st, and December 11th. On each day a ram was sacrificed, probably as an offering to Janus. 45 BC In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeated the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. 44 BC the conspirators in Julius Caesar's murder were granted amnesty in a short-lived reprieve before Mark Antony stirred the people to take revenge on them. 180 AD Marcus Aurelius died in his camp-bed during a campaign along the Danube frontier. Commodus became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. 461 St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, died in Ireland at an approximate age of 72. 1337 Edward, the Black Prince was made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England.

History Trivia

March 16,597 BC – Babylonians captured Jerusalem, replaced Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king. 37 AD the emperor Tiberius died at the age of 78 and Caligula became emperor. 1072 Adalbert died. Ambitious and zealous, Adalbert served as the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen and was guardian and tutor to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. 1190 Massacre of the Jews at York.In one of the most shameful events in English history, an angry mob besieged Jewish residents of York in Clifford's Tower. Rather than be killed by their attackers, many of the Jews took their own lives, and some perished in the fire that followed. Those that survived the disaster were massacred.

History Trivia

March 15, 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March. He had appointed his great-nephew, Octavian, as his heir. Civil war broke out between Caesar's assassins and his successors (Mark Antony and Octavian).351 Constantius II elevated his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and put him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. 933 After a ten-year truce, German King Henry I defeated a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.In 924, Henry had agreed to pay tribute to the Magyars and return a hostage chief in exchange for a nine-year halt to raids on German lands. During this truce he built fortified towns and trained cavalry, which he used to combat various other encroaching tribes. When the agreed-upon time had passed, Henry refused to pay another tribute and the Magyars resumed their raids; but the king and his seasoned army destroyed the Magyars at Riade

History Trivia

March 14, On this day the Equirria took place, which consisted of horse-racing in Campus Martius ("Field of Mars", Italian Campo Marzio; which was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 490 acres) In 221 BC, the Circus Flaminius was built on the southern side of the Campus Martius, near the Tiber. This large track for chariot racing was named after Gaius Flaminius Nepos, who also constructed the Via Flaminia. 840 Einhard died. Historian and court scholar, Einhard was a contemporary and friend of Charlemagne as well as his biographer. 1471 Sir Thomas Malory died.
It is believed that Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire, is the "Syr Thomas Maleore knyght" mentioned in the colophon to Le Morte Darthur, although there is no certain proof. 1489 The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sold her kingdom to Venice. 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeated the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne during the French Wars of Religion. 1647 Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden signed the Truce of Ulm.

History Trivia

March 13, 483: Felix III became pope. 1138 Cardinal Gregorio Conti was elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. 1639 Harvard College is named for clergyman John Harvard.

History Trivia

March 12,538 – Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ended his siege of Rome and retreated to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius. 604 Pope Gregory I died. Saint Gregory was the foremost influence in shaping the medieval papacy, drawing on Augustine's City of God for his theological foundation. Strongly involved with monasticism, Gregory also reformed the mass, which enabled the development of Gregorian Chant. 1088 Pope Urban II elected.
Urban continued the ecclesiastical reforms begun by his predecessor Gregory VII and strengthened the papacy as a political entity. He is perhaps best known for beginning the Crusade movement.

History Trivia

March 11 222 – Emperor Elagabalus was assassinated, along with his mother, Julia Soaemias, by the Praetorian Guard during a revolt. Their mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets of Rome before thrown into the Tiber. 1387 Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona. 1513 Giovanni de'Medici elected to the papacy
Upon the death of Julius II in February, the Sacred College of Cardinals wanted a peace-loving successor to the warlike pope. They chose Cardinal Giovanni de'Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who became Pope Leo X. Leo had led a distinguished career as a cardinal; as pope he made Rome a center of European culture (depleting the treasury in the process), raised the papacy to significant political power, and excommunicated Martin Luther. 1544 Torquado Tasso was born. One of the greatest Italian poets of the Renaissance, Tasso is best known for his Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem liberated), an epic poem about the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. 1669 Mount Etna erupted. The volcano in Sicily has been active for 2.5 million years, but this was the most violent eruption ever recorded in history. During the next four months about 990,000,000 cubic yards of lava were thrown out, destroying a dozen villages. Ashes formed a double cone more than 150 ft high, now called Monti Rossi. Workers dug a trench above the village of Catania in what may be the first attempt ever to divert a lava stream.

History Trivia

March 10, 241 BC A crushing Roman naval victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Aegusa ended the First Punic War. 1173 Richard of St. Victor died.A theologian, philosopher and monk at the Abbey of St. Victor, Richard profoundly influenced
medieval and modern mysticism with his writings and teachings, which made the school of St. Victor renowned through Europe in the 12th century. 1302 Dante Alighieri was condemned to death.1452 Ferdinand II of Aragon was born. The marriage of Ferdinand to Isabella of Castile eventually resulted in a united Spain. During their reign the monarchs completed the reconquest of Muslim Spain by taking back Granada, sponsored the expeditions of Columbus, expelled the Jews from the kingdom and established the Spanish Inquisition to enforce religious uniformity. 1586 Saint Margaret Clitherow was arrested.Raised in Protestant England, Margaret converted to Roman Catholicism and was repeatedly fined for refusing to attend the Anglican Church. She allowed secret masses to be held in her home and hid Roman Catholic missionary priests. She was imprisoned and released on several occasions, until during a raid on her home she was seized and, according to a recent law, sentenced to death for aiding Jesuits. She was executed on March 25, 1586. 1629 Charles I began 11 years of personal rule - the 'Eleven Years Tyranny' - by dissolving parliament.

History Trivia

March 9 1074 Reforming Pope Gregory VII excommunicated all married Roman Catholic priests. 1440 Saint Frances of Rome died.Although she early felt the call to a spiritual life, Frances obeyed her family and married Lorenzo de' Ponziani. When the Ponzianis lost their fortune due to the Great Schism of the Western church, she founded the Oblates of Mary.1444 Leonardo Bruni died.Humanist scholar and secretary to the papal chancery, Bruni wrote the first history of Florence based on a critical examination of source materials, translated Greek classics into Latin, and wrote Italian-language biographies of Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch. 1566 David Riccio was murdered.Riccio (or Rizzio) was secretary and advisor to Mary, Queen of Scots, and arranged her marriage to Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. After Mary became pregnant with her only son (who would be the future James I of England), Darnley grew increasingly unstable and, manipulated by Scottish lords who sought the eventual deposition of Mary, became jealous of Riccio's relationship with his wife.
While Darnley was present and did nothing to stop them, armed men dragged Riccio from Mary in her supper room in Holyroodhouse and stabbed him to death.

History Trivia

March 8,1126 Alfonso VII was proclaimed king of Castile and León, after the death of his mother Urraca. 1144 Pope Celestine III died.Celestine studied under Abelard but was unable to accomplish very much in his six-month pontificate.1495: Saint John of God was born. A shepherd and a soldier, John was so moved by the sermons of John of Avila that he decided to devote himself to the care of the poor and the sick. He was named by Pope Leo XIII as patron of hospitals and the dying. 1702 Anne Stuart, sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland.