1449 CE
Constantine XI Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mistra; he will be the last in a line of rulers that can be traced to the founding of Rome. The Ambrosian Republic of Milan defeats the armies of the Swiss canton of Uri at the Battle of Castione in what is now Switzerland. Battle of Tumu Fortress: The Oirat Mongols defeat the Ming dynasty army, and capture the Emperor Xingzong of China on September 3. The Emperor is officially deposed, while his brother Zhu Qiyu ascends as the Jingtai Emperor the next year.
In the 1440s, the 15th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- January 2 – King Henry VI of England summons the members of parliament, directing them to assemble on February 12 at Westminster.source
- February 12 –The English Parliament is opened by King Henry VI at Westminster for a five month session.source
- July 16 – The English Parliament closes and King Henry VI gives royal assent to numerous acts passed during its five-month session. Becoming law are the Importation Act, a 7-year ban on the import of Netherlands merchandise from Holland, Zeeland and Brabant, and the Distress Act, making it a felony "for any Welsh or Lancashire man to take other men, their goods or chattels, under colour of distress, where they have no cause."source
- August 3 – The Emperor Yingzong designates his younger brother, Zhu Qiyu, to administer the Chinese Empire.source
Conflict & Security
- March 24 – Hundred Years' War: English forces capture Fougères in Brittany.source
- May 14 – Second Siege of Sfetigrad (1449): The Albanian garrison surrenders and the Ottomans seize the fortress.source
- May 20 – Battle of Alfarrobeira: King Afonso V of Portugal defeats the forces of Peter, Duke of Coimbra.source
- June 4 – Erik of Pomerania, formerly the King of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, hands over possession of the island of Gotland to the Swedish invaders.source
- July 6 – The Ambrosian Republic of Milan defeats the armies of the Swiss canton of Uri at the Battle of Castione in what is now Switzerland.source
- July 20 – News arrives at the imperial court of the Emperor Yingzong of China of a Mongol invasion from the north, led by the Khagan Esen Taishi. Yingzong orders the dispatch of 45,000 soldiers from the Beijing garrison, led by four generals, to advance to Datong and Xuanfu to guard the border.source
- July – Hundred Years' War: The French invade Normandy.source
- July – Hundred Years' War: The French invade Normandy in the Normandy campaign of 1449-1450Francesource
- August 1 – After getting word that the Mongols had launched a large-scale invasion at Datong, China's Emperor Yingzong decides to personally lead the Beijing garrison into war, despite the protests of his War Minister Kuang Ye.source
- August 13 – First Margrave War: Margrave Albrecht takes Lichtenau Fortress from Nuremberg.source
- August 25 – The French recapture Verneuil after the Siege of Verneuil from July 19 – August 25, 1449.Francesource
- September 1 – Battle of Tumu Fortress: The Oirat Mongols defeat the Ming dynasty army, and capture the Emperor Xingzong of China on September 3. The Emperor is officially deposed, while his brother Zhu Qiyu ascends as the Jingtai Emperor the next year.source
- September – Gaston IV, Count of Foix, favouring the King of France, initiates the reconquest of Guyenne by taking Château de Mauléon.Francesource
- October 29 – The French recapture Rouen from the English.source
- October 29 – The French recapture Rouen from the English which the English captured in the 1418/1419 siege of Rouen.Francesource
- October – Bogdan II of Moldavia enters the country with troops from John Hunyadi, and takes the throne after Alexăndrel flees.source
- The French recapture Saint-MégrinFrancesource
- Richard Duke of York arrives in Ireland as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, leading to the submission of many Irish chiefs and English rebels.Irelandsource
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
- January 6 – Constantine XI Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mistra; he will be the last in a line of rulers that can be traced to the founding of Rome.source
- April 7 – The last Antipope, Felix V, abdicates.source
- April 19 – Pope Nicholas V is elected by the Council of Basel.source
- April 25 – The Council of Basel dissolves itself.source
- July 3 – King James II of Scotland marries Mary of Guelders at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.source
- November 20 – Karl Knutsson, reigning as King Karl VIII of Sweden, is crowned as King Karl I of Norway in a ceremony at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.source
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
- February – Alexăndrel seizes the throne of Moldavia, with the support of the boyars.source
- June 8 – The Pas de la Bergère tournament, later the subject of a poem by Louis de Beauvau, finishes after six days at Tarascon on the island of Jarnègues at the estate of the Duke René of Anjou.source
- October 12 – Prince Alexăndrel is replaced as Prince of Moldavia by Bogdan II.source
- December 15 – The Ottoman Empire Sultan Mehmed II marries Sittişah Hatun, daughter of Suleiman of Dulkadir, in an elaborate ceremony at Edirne, followed by three months of celebrations.source
Births
- January 1 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian statesman (died 1492)source
- January 17 – Osanna of Mantua, Italian Dominican tertiary (died 1505)source
- February 7 – Adriana of Nassau-Siegen, consort of Count Philip I of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1477)source
- April 27 – Asakura Ujikage, 8th head of the Asakura clan of Japan (died 1486)source
- August 10 – Bona of Savoy, Duchess of Savoy (died 1503)source
- September 20 – Philipp I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg, German noble (died 1500)source
- October 21 – George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III of England (died 1478)source
- 21 October – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (died 1478)Irelandsource
- October 29 – Peter of Foix the Younger (Fr.: Pierre de Foix, le jeune), French Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal (died 1490)Francesource
- November 11 – Catherine of Poděbrady, Hungarian Queen (died 1464)source
- November 14 – Sidonie of Poděbrady, Bohemian princess, duchess consort of Saxony (died 1510)source
- December 6 – Dorotea Gonzaga, Italian noble (died 1467)source
- Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan (died 1481)source
- Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (died 1513)source
- Srimanta Sankardeva, Assamese scholar and religious figure (died c. 1568)source
- Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian artist (died 1494)source
Deaths
- January 4 – Cecilia of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (born c.1405)source
- January 21 – Giovanni Berardi, Archbishop of Taranto (born 1380)source
- February 2 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Islamic scholar (born 1372)source
- March – Dolce dell'Anguillara, Italian condottiero (born 1401)source
- May 20 – Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches — at the Battle of Alfarrobeirasource
- May 20 – Peter, Duke of Coimbra (born 1392) — at the Battle of Alfarrobeirasource
- May – Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, Lord of the Islessource
- June 1 – Polissena Sforza, Lady of Rimini (born 1428)source
- August 13 – Louis IV, Elector Palatine (born 1424)source
- October 27 – Ulugh Beg, Timurid ruler and astronomer (born 1394)source
- October 31 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brzeg-Legnica and Cieszyn, German princess (born 1403)source
- November 19 – Kunigunde of Sternberg, first spouse of the King George of Podebrady (born 1425)source
- December 24 – Walter Bower, Scottish chronicler (born 1385)source
- Tanneguy du Châtel, Grand Master of France and murderer of Duke John the FearlessFrancesource
- Jean de la Trémoille, seigneur of Jonvelle, Grand Master and Grand Chamberlain to the dukes of Burgundy John the Fearless and Philip the Good.Francesource
- Barthélémy Texier, Master of the Order of Preachers from 1426Francesource