History Trivia - Constantine I victorious at Milvian Bridge.

October 28

312 Constantine I defeated Maxentius and became the sole ruler of the Roman empire in the west with victory at the Milvian Bridge.

 1017 Emperor Henry III was born. Holy Roman Emperor and German King, Henry was the last emperor to effectively dominate the papacy. 

1216 Henry III of England was crowned. Henry was the first English monarch to be crowned while still a minor.

History Trivia - Cicero executed on the orders of Mark Antony

December 7,

43 BC Roman orator and advocate Cicero was executed on the orders of Mark Antony.

983 German King Otto III took the throne after his father's death in Italy. He was the fourth ruler of the Saxon (Ottonian) dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 997.

1254 Pope Innocent IV died. The pontificate of Innocent was marked by a long struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, characteristic of the conflict between empire and papacy.

History Trivia - Thespis of Icaria appears as an actor on stage

November 23,

534 BC Thespis of Icaria became the first actor to portray a character onstage, instead of speaking as him or herself.  He is said to have introduced the first principal actor in addition to the chorus

 800 Charlemagne arrived at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III.

 912 Otto I (The Great) was born. He was King of Germany from 936-983 and was the first king to become Holy Roman Emperor in 961.

955 King Eadred died. King of Wessex and acknowledged as overlord of Mercia, and the Danelaw, Eadred brought Northumbria permanently under English rule.

1499 Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck was hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

History Trivia - Roman Emperor Theodosius prohibits all pagan worship in the empire

November 8

392 Roman Emperor Theodosius passed legislation prohibiting all pagan worship in the empire.

911 Duke Koenraad I was chosen German king.

1097 Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, went into exile after a breach with William II over papal supremacy.

1308 John Duns Scotus died. He was an influential Franciscan philosopher and theologian who pioneered the theory of the Immaculate Conception.

1520 Stockholm Bloodbath began: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces resulted in the execution of around 100 people.

History Trivia - Swedish Vikings attack Constantinople

June 18

 860 Swedish Vikings attacked Constantinople.

1053 Pope Leo IX was taken prisoner by the Normans.

1155 German King Frederick Barbarossa was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

1178 Proposed time of origin of the lunar crater Giordano Bruno - five Canterbury monks reported an explosion on  the moon (only known observation).

1264 The Parliament of Ireland met at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.

History Trivia -

April 26

121 Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor 161-180) was born. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers.

757 Paolo Orsini replaced his brother Pope Stephen II, as Paul I.

1220 German king Frederick II granted bishops sovereign rights.

1467 The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appeared in Genazzano, Italy.

1478 Pazzi conspirators attacked Lorenzo and killed Giuliano de'Medici.

1514 Copernicus made his first observations of Saturn.

1564 William Shakespeare was baptized.

History Trivia -

April 14

43 BC Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieged Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in Mutina and defeated the forces of the consul Pansa, who was wounded.

69 Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeated Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seized the throne.

70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, surrounded the Jewish capital, with four Roman legions.

 73 after two years of defending the fortress of Masada, the Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Roman Tenth Legion.

979  Challenge to throne of King Aethelred II of England.

1028 Henry III, son of Conrad, was elected king of the Germans.

1205 Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.

1434 The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France was laid.

1471 In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl was killed and Edward IV resumed the throne.

History Trivia - The year of Rome's Four Emperors ends

December 21

 69 the end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian became the fourth Emperor of Rome within a year.

882 Hincmar of Reims died. As archbishop of Reims, Hincmar was one of the most influential political and ecclesiastical figures of Carolingian Europe. 

1118 Thomas A. Becket was born.

1140 Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg.

1163 A hurricane hit villages in Holland/Friesland, causing massive flooding.

History Trivia - Roman orator Cicero assassinated

December 7

43 BC Roman orator and advocate Cicero was assassinated on the orders of Marc Antony.

983 German King Otto III took the throne after his father's death in Italy. He was the fourth ruler of the Saxon (Ottonian) dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 997.

 1254 Pope Innocent IV died. The pontificate of Innocent was marked by a long struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, characteristic of the conflict between empire and papacy.