History Trivia

October 20, 480 BC The Greeks defeated the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. It marked the high-point of the second Persian invasion of Greece which had begun in 480 BC. 1097 First Crusaders arrived in Antioch. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. 1524 Thomas Linacre, physician and classical scholar, who founded the Royal College of Physicians in London died. 1548 The city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) was founded by Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

History Trivia

October 19, 202 BC, the Romans under Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal's army of Carthaginians and Numidians in the Battle of Sama in the Second Punic War. 439 Gaiseric, King of the Vandals, seized the Roman city of Carthage, and made it his capital. 1216 King John of England died at Newark-on-Trent and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry. 1453 The French recapture of Bordeaux brought the Hundred Years' War to a close, with the English retaining only Calais on French soil. 1469 Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile creating the alliance that unified Spain. 1512 – Martin Luther became a doctor of theology (Doctor in Biblia). 1649 New Ross town, Co. Wexford, Ireland, surrendered to Oliver Cromwell.

History Trivia

October 18, 768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman were crowned co-rulers of the Franks, after the death of their father, Pepin the Short. 1009 The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a Christian church in Jerusalem, was completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacked the Church's foundations down to bedrock. 1016 Canute of Denmark became the heir of Edmund Ironside, King of England, with victory at Ashingdon, and Edmund agreed to divide England between himself and Canute. At the end of November, however, Edmund died, and Canute became king of all England. 1081 The Normans defeated the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium. 1210 Pope Innocent III excommunicated German leader Otto IV. 1529 Henry VIII ordered Cardinal Wolsey to hand over the great seal. 1541 Princess Margaret Tudor died. 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, effectively banning Protestantism in France.

History Trivia

October 17, 539 BC King Cyrus The Great of Persia marched into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile and making the first Human Rights Declaration. 532 Pope Boniface II died. 733 Battle at Poitiers: Charles Martel (grandfather of Charlemagne) defeated Abd al-Rachmans Omajjaden, and halted a northward Islamic expansion into western Europe. 1091 A tornado struck the heart of London which destroyed the rebuilt Norman London Bridge. 1346 Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland was captured by Edward III of England near Durham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years. 1404 Innocent VII became Pope. During his pontificate, Innocent summoned a council in an attempt to heal the Western Schism but it never assembled.

History Trivia

On October 16, 456 Magister militum (Master of the Soldiers) Flavius Ricimer defeated Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and became master of the Western Roman Empire. Ricimer was the first German who became a virtual king of Italy. 1551 Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England during the minority reign of Edward VI was re-arrested. He was executed in January 1552 after scheming to overthrow John Dudley's (Earl of Warwick) regime. 1555 The Protestant martyrs Bishop Hugh Latimer and Bishop Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake for heresy in England. 1793 Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded during the French Revolution.

History Trivia

October 15, 70 BC, Virgil was born. He is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Roman Empire. 533 Byzantine general Belisarius made his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals. 1389 Pope Urban VI died. The election of Urban sparked the Western Schism, which lasted nearly 40 years. 1501English crown prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon. 1520 King Henry VIII of England ordered bowling lanes at Whitehall. 1537 Prince Edward Tudor was baptized. 1582 Pope Gregory XIII implemented the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.

History Trivia

October 14, 222 Pope Callixtus I was killed by a mob in Rome's Trastevere (west bank of the Tiber River) after a 5-year reign in which he had stabilized the Saturday fast three times per year, with no food, oil, or wine to be consumed on those days. Callixtus was succeeded by Cardinal Urban I. 530 Boniface became sole pope. The brief schism that had resulted from both Boniface II and Dioscorus being consecrated as pope ended with Dioscorus' death. 996 Hugh Capet, the French king and founder of the Capetian line, died in Paris at age 56. 1066 Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings – In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeated the English army and killed King Harold II of England. 1322 Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence. 1586 Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England.