Big Ben

May 31, 1859 Big Ben located at the top of the 320-foot-high St. Stephen's Tower, rang out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time.

History Trivia

May 31,1279 BC – Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) became pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. 526 A devastating earthquake struck Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000. 1223 Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River – Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeated Kievan Rus and Cumans. 1076 The execution of Waltheof of Northumbria ended the 'Revolt of the Earls' against William the Conqueror.

History Trivia

May 30, 70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breached the Second Wall of Jerusalem. The Jewish defenders retreated to the First Wall. The Romans built a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres. 1416 The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burned Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy. 1431 Hundred Years' War in Rouen, France, 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. Because of this the Catholic Church remember this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc. 1434 Hussite Wars (Bohemian Wars): Battle of Lipany – effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeated and almost annihilated Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
1536 King Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives. 1593 Leading Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a pub brawl in Deptford

History Trivia

May 29, 363 Roman Emperor Julian defeated the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sassanid capital, but was unable to take the city.
1167 Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III was defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel. 1176 Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeated Emperor Frederick I. 1414 Council of Constance. 1453 Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih captured Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire. Although the date of May 29, 1453 is that of the Julian Calendar, the event is commemorated in Istanbul on this day of the present Gregorian calendar. 1660 English Restoration: Charles II arrived in London from exile in the Netherlands to reclaim his throne. This date is also his birthday.

History Trivia

May 28, 585 BC A solar eclipse occurred, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes was battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This was one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. 1291 Acre, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to the Moslems, ending the Crusades. 1503 James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor were married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England signed on that occasion resulted in a peace that lasted ten years. 1533 The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid. 1588 The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It would take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).

History Trivia

May 27, 893 Simeon I of Bulgaria was crowned Emperor of the first Bulgarian empire.927 Battle of the Bosnian Highlands: the Croatian army, led by King Tomislav, defeated the Bulgarian Army. 1120 Richard III of Capua was anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. 1153 Malcolm IV became King of Scotland.1199 King John I of England crowned. 1328 King Philip VI of France crowned.

History Trivia

May 26, 17 Germanicus returned to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrated a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
451 Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire took place. The Empire defeated the Armenians militarily but guaranteed them freedom to openly practice Christianity.

History Trivia

May 25, 735 The Venerable Bede died. 1085 Alfonso VI of Castile took Toledo, Spain back from the Moors. 1420 Henry the Navigator was appointed governor of the Order of Christ. 1521 The Diet of Worms ended when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Edict of Worms, which declared Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther an outlaw.
1659 Oliver Cromwell's son Richard resigned as Lord Protector of England.

History Trivia

May 24, 1218 The Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt. 1276 Magnus Ladulås was crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral. 1337 The Hundred Years War between England and France began when France confiscated Gascony from Edward III. 1487 The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.

History Trivia

May 23, 1430 Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne. 1498 Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy, on the orders of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia).
1533 The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

History Trivia

May 22,334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. 1176 The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempted to murder Saladin near Aleppo. 1377 Pope Gregory XI issued five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe. 1455 Wars of the Roses: at the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeated and captured King Henry VI of England.

The Briton and the Dane (The Special Edition)

The Briton and the Dane (The Special Edition) is now available in all electronic formats at:

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History Trivia

May 21, On this day The Agonalia was held. It was held on January 9th, March 17th, May 21st, and December 11th. On each day a ram was sacrificed, probably as an offering to Janus. 685 English settlement was halted at the Firth of Forth when Picts defeated Northumbrians at Nachtansmere. 878 Syracuse, Italy was captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 879 Pope John VIII gave blessings to Duke Branimir and to Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state. 996 Sixteen-year-old Otto III was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1420 Charles VI ceded France to Henry V of England in the Treaty of Troyes, after Henry's victory at Agincourt.

History Trivia

May 20, 325 Roman emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical Christian council. 526 An earthquake killed about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia. 685 The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere was fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who were decisively defeated. 1217 The Second Battle of Lincoln was fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

History Trivia

May 19, 715 Gregory II (Saint Gregory) was elected Roman Catholic pope. 1499 Catherine of Aragon, was married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales. Catherine was 13 and Arthur was 12. 1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage). 1536 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, was beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
1568 Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.

History Trivia

May 18, 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, fell to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch. 1291 the Crusaders abandoned Tyre to the Moslems, the prelude to the end of the final Crusade. 1152 Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine.

History Trivia

May 17, 352 Liberius became pope of the Roman Catholic church. 1220 King Henry III of England Crowned -- again. Henry, who had been crowned at age nine four years earlier, underwent a second coronation at Westminster. 1521 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason. 1536 George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and four other men were executed for treason. 1590 Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland.

History Trivia

May 16, 218 Julia Maesa, aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, was banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus and declared her 14-year old grandson Elagabalus, emperor of Rome.1152 Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Anjou, handing the future king of England most of France. 1204 Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders was crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. 1527 The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-established itself as a republic.1532 Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor of England. 1568 Mary, Queen of Scots, fled to England.

History Trivia

May 15, 1252 Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorized, but also limited, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
1265 Dante (Alighieri) was born. He was Italy's greatest poet, whose epic work, the Divine Comedy, ranks among the greatest works of world literature. 1525 The battle of Frankenhausen ended the German Peasants' War. 1536 Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stood trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. She was condemned to death by a specially-selected jury. 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband. 1649 The 'Rump Parliament' under Oliver Cromwell declared England a 'commonwealth' or free state.

History Trivia

May 14,964 Pope John XII died. John was the son of the ruler of Rome, Duke Alberic, and was made Pope when he was about 18. He crowned Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, then broke with him after Otto issued orders that the pope take an oath of obedience to him. The emperor replaced John with Leo VIII, who was in turn deposed by John.
Shortly thereafter, Pope John died in the arms of his mistress. He was not yet 30. 1264: Henry III captured at Battle of Lewes.In a revolt prompted by Henry's refusal to implement the Provisions of Oxford, Henry was captured by Simon de Montfort in this battle in Sussex and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.1572: Gregory XIII elected pope. Gregory is best known for his calendar reform, but he also promoted Church reform and the Counter Reformation.

History Trivia

May 13, 1373 – Julian of Norwich had visions which were later transcribed in her Revelations of Divine Love. 1497 – Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) excommunicated Girolamo Savonarola (Italian Dominican friar and an influential contributor to the politics of Florence. He vehemently preached against the moral corruption of much of the clergy at the time,and his main opponent was Rodrigo Borgia). 1515 Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk are officially married at Greenwich. 1568 Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.

History Trivia

May 12, 254 Pope Stephen I succeeded Pope Lucius I as the 23rd pope. 1191 Richard I (The Lionheart) of England married Berengaria of Navarre who was crowned Queen consort of England on the same day. 1264 The Battle of Lewes, between King Henry III of England and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, began.

History Trivia

May 11, 330 Constantinople was dedicated as the new capital of the Roman Empire during the reign of Constantine the Great. 482 Justinian I (the Great) was born. He was Byzantine (East Roman) emperor AD 527-565 who collected Roman laws under one code known as the Justinian Code. 1310 In France fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics. 1559 Religious reformer John Knox ignited the Scottish Reformation with a sermon at Perth, Scotland.

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