slug: ronald-reagan

label: Ronald Reagan

description: president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and actor (1911–2004)

section: Births

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Jane Wyman, American actress, philanthropist, and first wife of Ronald Reagan (d. 2007)

title: 1917

section: Births › January

date: July 16

text: July 16 – Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. president, at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit. Influenced by the Religious Right, the convention also drops its long-standing support for the Equal Rights Amendment, dismaying moderate Republicans.

title: 1980

section: Events › July

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: November 4

text: November 4 – 1980 United States presidential election: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and is elected the 40th President of the United States.

title: 1980

section: Events › November

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis.

title: 1981

section: Events › January

date: July 7

text: July 7 – United States President Ronald Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.

title: 1981

date: March 30

text: March 30 – Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan: U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.

title: 1981

section: Events › March

date: November 23

text: November 23 – Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

title: 1981

date: May 1

text: May 1 – A crowd of over 100,000 attends the first day of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is kicked off with an address by President Ronald Reagan. Over 11 million people attend during its six-month run.

title: 1982

section: Events › May

section: Health & Medicine

date: March 23

text: March 23 – Strategic Defense Initiative: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.

title: 1983

date: November 11

text: November 11 – Ronald Reagan becomes the first U.S. president to address the National Diet, Japan's national legislature.

title: 1983

date: November 6

text: November 6 – 1984 United States presidential election: Republican President Ronald Reagan defeats Democratic former Vice President Walter F. Mondale with 59% of the popular vote, the highest since Richard Nixon's 61% popular vote victory in 1972. Reagan carries 49 states in the electoral College; Mondale wins only his home state of Minnesota (by a mere 3,761 vote margin) and the District of Columbia.

title: 1984

date: May 5

text: May 5 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan joins West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for a controversial funeral service at a cemetery in Bitburg, West Germany, which includes the graves of 59 elite S.S. troops from World War II.

title: 1985

date: November 19

text: November 19 – Cold War: In Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time.

title: 1985

date: October 1

text: October 1 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the Goldwater–Nichols Act into law, making official the largest reorganization of the United States Department of Defense since the Air Force was made a separate branch of service in 1947.

title: 1986

section: Events › October

date: October 11

text: October 11–12 – Cold War: Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe, which end in failure.

title: 1986

date: December 8

text: December 8 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It expired in 2019.

title: 1987

section: Events › December

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes U.S. President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his National Security Council staff.

title: 1987

section: Events › February

date: June 12

text: June 12 – During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

title: 1987

section: Events › June

date: March 4

text: March 4 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran–Contra affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.

title: 1987

date: May 29

text: May 29–June 3 – The Moscow Summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev takes place, where the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was finalized.

title: 1988

date: November 5

text: November 5 – A letter by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, announcing that he has Alzheimer's disease, is released.

title: 1994


slug: rotterdam

label: Rotterdam

description: city in South Holland, the Netherlands

date: June 7

text: June 7 – Rotterdam is officially declared a city.

title: 1340

section: Events

section: Conflict & Security

date: November 18

text: November 18 – In the "Squire Francis War" (Jonker Fransenoorlog), a new phase of the Dutch civil war in the Burgundian Netherlands county of Holland, the rebel army of the Hook faction, led by Frans van Brederode, captures the city of Rotterdam, capital of Holland.

title: 1488

section: Events › October–December

section: Religion & Belief

date: March 5

text: March 5 – The Dutch priest Erasmus of Rotterdam sends the new Ninety-five Theses of Martin Luther to England, delivering the Protestant manifesto to Sir Thomas More.

title: 1518

section: Events › January–March

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: June 27

text: June 27 – The ill-fated Dutch expedition of Jacques Mahu begins as his ship Hoop, along with the ships Liefde, Geloof, Trouwe and Blijde Boodschap, departs from Rotterdam.

title: 1598

section: Events › April–June

section: Culture & Society

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Feyenoord, the first Dutch football club to win the UEFA Champions League, is founded at Rotterdam, Netherlands

title: 1908

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: October 9

text: October 9 – Canadian-owned ocean liner , carrying passengers (mostly immigrants) and a chemical cargo from Rotterdam to New York City, catches fire in a North Atlantic gale; 136 die, but 521 are saved by ships summoned by SOS messages to the scene.

title: 1913

date: May

text: Rotterdam is subjected to savage terror bombing by the Luftwaffe; 980 are killed, and 20,000 buildings destroyed. General Henri Winkelman announces the surrender of the Dutch army (outside Zeeland) to German forces.

title: 1940

date: March 19

text: March 19 – At age 48, Dutch boxer Bep van Klaveren contests his last match in Rotterdam.

title: 1956

date: May 26

text: May 26 – English club Aston Villa F.C. wins the European Cup, beating Bayern Munich 1–0 after a 69th-minute goal by Peter Withe in Rotterdam.

title: 1982

section: Crime & Justice

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Seven paintings worth $25 million are stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

title: 2012

date: May 18

text: May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".

title: 2021


slug: rouen

label: Rouen

description: commune in Seine-Maritime, France

date: June

text: June – Pope Zachary gives his approval by sending Abel, Grimo and Hartbert their palliums for the metropolitan sees of Reims, Rouen and Sens.

title: 744

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Summer – Vikings sail up the River Seine and devastate the city of Rouen in Normandy. They burn the Benedictine monastery of Jumièges Abbey; 68 captives are taken, and returned on payment of a ransom, by the monks of St. Denis.

title: 841

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Deaths

text: Rollo, duke of Normandy, dies at Rouen after an 11-year reign. He is the first leader of the Viking settlers to establish an independent dukedom (a vassal of the West Frankish Kingdom). His eldest son, William Longsword, becomes the second ruler of Normandy (approximate date).

title: 931

date: March 1

text: March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of Normandy.

title: 991

text: Jews from Rouen in Normandy settle in England at the invitation of King William I.

title: 1070

date: September 9

text: September 9 – William the Conqueror dies in Rouen after a fall from his horse. He is succeeded as king of England by his third son William II.

title: 1087

section: Events › By place › England

text: Summer – French forces under King Louis VII, supported by Henry the Young King and Philip of Alsace, encircle Rouen. The city holds out against the war engines long enough for Henry II to arrive in the middle of August to stage a rescue. The besiegers are fearful that Henry will invade France and the siege is lifted.

title: 1174

text: Spring – King Philip II of France invades Normandy and attacks a number of castles in the surrounding region. In April, John, King of England loses the support of his French vassals who desert him. Philip enters Rouen, leading to the eventual Treaty of Paris (1259) and unification of Normandy and France.

title: 1203

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Troops commanded by the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy liberate Rouen from rebel control, without resistance, and all but 12 of the rebels are spared from execution.

title: 1382

date: January 19

text: January 19 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, which brings Normandy under the control of England.

title: 1419

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Pretrial investigations for Joan of Arc begin at Rouen in France, which is under English occupation.

title: 1431

date: May 30

text: May 30 – 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen.

title: 1431

date: October 29

text: October 29 – The French recapture Rouen from the English.

title: 1449

date: November 9

text: November 9 – King Louis XI, having taken back the Duchy of Normandy from the control of his inept younger brother, Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry, pledges at Rouen that the Duchy will never be ceded again. In a ceremony before the Exchequer of Normandy, the Duchy's administrative court, King Louis places the ducal ring (symbolic of the office as a ring worn by the Duke) upon an anvil and the ring is smashed.

title: 1469

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 27

text: April 27 – King Charles VIII of France convenes a lit de justice, a special session of the Parlement de Paris at Rouen, confirms the Charter to the Normans, the French acknowledgment of the autonomy of the Duchy of Normandy within the Kingdom of France.

title: 1485

date: October 24

text: October 24 – King Louis XII convenes court at the Parlement de Normandie building in Rouen.

title: 1508

date: May 28

text: May 28 – The Siege of Rouen as Claude, Duke of Aumale, leads 3,000 French government troops against the Huguenot fortress at Rouen. The siege lasts for five months. He orders a retreat in June but returns on 29 July with a larger force and heavier artillery.

title: 1562

date: October 26

text: October 26 – Rouen is captured by Royalist forces under King Antoine of Navarre, who is mortally wounded.

title: 1562

date: July 15

text: July 15 – At Rouen, King Henry III of France gives in to the latest demands of the Catholic League and the Duke of Guise, and signs the Edict of Union, agreeing not to allow French Protestants to participate in government, in return for being able to return to Paris.

title: 1588

section: Events › July–September

date: June 2

text: June 2 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.

title: 1615

section: Economy & Finance

text: Mutuelle de L'assurance contre L'incendie ("L'Anciente Mutuelle"), predecessor of Axa, the global insurance and financial services company, is founded in Rouen, France.

title: 1816

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: roundhead

label: Roundhead

description: name given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War

section: Conflict & Security

date: October 23

text: October 23 – First English Civil War: Battle of Edgehill (Warwickshire) – Royalists and Parliamentarians battle to a draw in the first pitched battle of the War.

title: 1642

date: March 13

text: March 13 – First English Civil War: First Battle of Middlewich – Roundheads (Parliamentarians) rout the Cavaliers (Royalist supporters of King Charles I) at Middlewich in Cheshire.

title: 1643

date: January 26

text: January 26 – First English Civil War: Battle of Nantwich – The Parliamentarians defeat the Royalists, allowing them to end the 6-week siege of the Cheshire town.

title: 1644

date: July 2

text: July 2 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor – The Parliamentarians crush the Royalists in Yorkshire, ending Charles I's hold on the north of England.

title: 1644

date: April 23

text: April 23 (St George's Day) – English Civil War: One hundred and fifty Irish soldiers bound for service with King Charles I of England are captured at sea by Parliamentarians and killed at Pembroke in Wales.

title: 1645

date: February 16

text: February 16 – First English Civil War – Battle of Torrington: A decisive Parliamentary victory is gained over the Royalists.

title: 1646

text: Aberystwyth Castle in Wales, a former Royalist stronghold, is razed to the ground after "a battery of cannon erected on the top of Pendinas hill by Cromwell" and the Parliamentarian troops.

title: 1647

date: September 3

text: September 3 – Third English Civil War: Battle of Dunbar (1650) – Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell defeat a Scottish army, commanded by David Leslie.

title: 1650

date: July 20

text: July 20 – At the Battle of Inverkeithing in Scotland, the English Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Major-General John Lambert, defeats a Scottish Covenanter army acting on behalf of Charles II, led by Sir John Brown of Fordell.

title: 1651


slug: royal-air-force

label: Royal Air Force

description: aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: May 13

text: May 13 – In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) is established.

title: 1912

section: Events › May

date: July 1

text: July 1 – The Royal Naval Air Service, a forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.

title: 1914

section: Events › July

date: April 1

text: April 1 – The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in Britain are merged to form the Royal Air Force, the first autonomous Air Force in the world.

title: 1918

section: Events › April

date: February 1

text: February 1 – The South African Air Force (SAAF) is established, the second autonomous Air Force in the world, after the British Royal Air Force (RAF).

title: 1920

section: Events › February

date: March 9

text: March 9–May 1 – Pink's War: The British Royal Air Force bombards mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan.

title: 1925

section: Events › March

date: September

text: The first bombing of Wilhelmshaven in World War II is carried out, by the British Royal Air Force (RAF).

title: 1939

section: Events › September

date: August 25

text: August 25 – WWII: The first Bombing of Berlin is carried out, by the British Royal Air Force.

title: 1940

section: Events › August

section: Science & Discovery

date: March

text: British Royal Air Force Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade's bomber is hit over Germany, and he has to bail out without a parachute from a height of over 4,000 m 0. Tree branches interrupt his fall and he lands safely on deep snow.

title: 1944

text: The "Great Escape": 76 Royal Air Force prisoners of war escape by tunnel "Harry" from Stalag Luft III in Silesia this night. Only 3 men (2 Norwegians and a Dutchman) return to the UK; of those recaptured, 50 are summarily executed soon afterwards, in the Stalag Luft III murders.

title: 1944

date: February

text: Bombing of Dresden (Germany) by the British Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces; 25,000-35,000 are estimated to have died.

title: 1945

date: May

text: The prison ships Cap Arcona (5,000 dead), Thielbek (2,750 dead) and Deutschland (all survive) are sunk by the British Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay.

title: 1945

date: May 17

text: May 17 – Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a British Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew have been issued maps that do not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish state at the time they were issued.

title: 1950

date: October 15

text: October 15 – The British Royal Air Force retires its last Avro Lancaster bomber.

title: 1956

section: Events › October

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a British Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.

title: 1959

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Torrey Canyon oil spill: British Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force aircraft bomb and sink the grounded supertanker .

title: 1967

text: November 9 – A Royal Air Force C-130 crashes into the Ligurian Sea near Leghorn, Italy, killing all 51 people on board.

title: 1971

section: Events › November

date: October 14

text: October 14 – A British Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber explodes and crashes over Żabbar, Malta after an aborted landing, killing five crew members and one person on the ground.

title: 1975


slug: royal-assent

label: Royal assent

description: formal approval of a proposed law in monarchies

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Royal assent is given by King Henry IV to many of the acts passed by the English Parliament, including the Riot Act 1411, which provides that "The justices of peace and the sheriffs shall arrest those which commit any riot... and inquire of them, and record their offences.

title: 1411

section: Events › October–December

date: July 17

text: July 17 – The English Parliament closes its session at Westminster. Royal assent is given in the King's name to the Electors of Knights of the Shire Act 1432 ("Certain things required in him who shall be a chooser of the knights of the parliament"), the Appearance of Plaintiffs Act (setting "the penalty of him that maketh a false entry, that the plaintiff doth offer himself in person, where his doth not") and the Exportation Act ("All wools and woolfells that shall be carried to any other place than to Calais, shall be forfeited to the King and the finder.")

title: 1432

text: March 29 – Royal assent is given by King Henry VIII to laws passed by the English Parliament, including the Third Succession Act, the amended Treason Act and the King's Style Act.

title: 1544

section: Events › January–March

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

title: 1708

section: Events › January–June

section: Culture & Society

date: May 27

text: May 27 (May 13 Old Style) – Adoption of the Gregorian calendar: Royal assent is given to An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use (the "Calendar Act") passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, introducing the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the eleven-day difference between Old Style and New Style dates and making 1 January legally New Year's Day from 1752 in the British Empire. It is largely promoted by George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.

title: 1751

section: Events › April–June

date: April 25

text: April 25 – The Customs and Excise Act 1787 receives Royal assent. It replaced all customs duties, which included poundage, by a system where individual tariffs would be applied to importations.

title: 1787

date: August 13

text: August 13 – Irish War of Independence: The Restoration of Order in Ireland Act (passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom) receives Royal Assent, providing for Irish Republican Army activists to be tried by court-martial, rather than by jury in criminal courts.

title: 1920

date: December 23

text: December 23 – The Government of Ireland Act 1920, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, receives Royal Assent from George V, providing for the partition of Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, with separate parliaments, granting a measure of home rule.

title: 1920

section: Events › December

date: December 11

text: December 11 – Edward VIII abdication crisis: The British Parliament passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 on behalf of the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The King performs his last act as sovereign by giving Royal Assent to the Act, and his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, becomes King, reigning as King George VI. The former King, now HRH Prince Edward, makes a broadcast to the nation explaining his decision to abdicate, and leaves the country for Austria.

title: 1936

section: Events › November–December

text: March 29 – Royal Assent is given to the Canada Act 1982, setting the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution on April 17.

title: 1982


slug: royal-charter

label: Royal charter

description: document issued by a monarch, granting a right or power to an individual or organisation

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Henry II grants the city of Bristol ('Brycgstow') a Royal charter, and is divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset (until 1373).

title: 1155

section: Events › By place › England

text: The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and Curriers are granted rights to regulate the leather trade in the City of London. The Fishmongers Company receive its first Royal Charter.

title: 1272

date: April 8

text: April 8 – King Robert II of Scotland issues a Royal Charter granting royal burgh status to the town of Irvine, North Ayrshire, a status that lasts for 603 years until royal burghs are abolished in 1975.

title: 1372

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: December 31

text: December 31 – The East India Company is granted a Royal charter in the Kingdom of England for trade with Asia.

title: 1600

text: Five royal schools in Ulster are given a Royal Charter by King James I.

title: 1608

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Economy & Finance

date: January 10

text: January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England.

title: 1663

date: February 8

text: February 8 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a Royal charter.

title: 1693

date: July 27

text: July 27 – The Bank of England is founded through Royal charter by the Whig-dominated Parliament of England, following a proposal by Scottish merchant William Paterson to raise capital, by offering safe and steady returns of interest guaranteed by future taxes. A total of £1.2 million is raised for the war effort against Louis XIV of France by the end of the year, to establish the first-ever government debt.

title: 1694

section: Events › July–September

date: September 8

text: September 8 – The South Sea Company receives a Royal Charter in Britain.

title: 1711

date: May 31

text: May 31 – The Royal Bank of Scotland is founded by Royal Charter in Edinburgh.

title: 1727

date: August 14

text: August 14 – King's College London is founded by Royal Charter, under the patronage of King George IV and the Prime Minister, The Duke of Wellington.

title: 1829

date: November 28

text: November 28 – The University of London is established by Royal Charter, with University College London and King's College London named as the first affiliated colleges.

title: 1836

date: October 16

text: October 16 – Queen's University is founded in Kingston, Ontario, by Rev. Thomas Liddell, who carries a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, and becomes the school's first principal.

title: 1841

text: The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China is incorporated in London by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

title: 1853


slug: royal-colony-of-north-carolina

label: Royal Colony of North Carolina

text: Royal Colony of North Carolina Governor George Burrington asks the North Carolina General Assembly to pass an act establishing a town on the Cape Fear River, in what is seen as a political move to shift the power away from the powerful Cape Fear plantation class. The town is laid out in 1733, and incorporated as Wilmington in 1740.

title: 1731

date: April 6

text: April 6 – Royal Colony of North Carolina Commissioners John Watson, Joshua Grainger, Michael Higgins and James Wimble begin selling lots for the town of New Carthage (which is later renamed and is now Wilmington, North Carolina), on the east side of the Cape Fear River.

title: 1733

date: February 20

text: February 20 – The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Newton as Wilmington, North Carolina, named for Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington and patron of Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston.

title: 1740

section: Conflict & Security

text: War of the Austrian Succession: Spanish troops invade and occupy the coastal towns of Beaufort and Brunswick in the Royal Colony of North Carolina, during what becomes known as the Spanish Alarm. They are later driven out by the local militia.

title: 1747

text: Surveyor William Churton lays out what will become the seat of Orange County, North Carolina. The town is named Corbin Town for Francis Corbin, a member of the North Carolina governor's council. Corbin Town is renamed Childsburgh in 1759, and finally Hillsborough in 1766.

title: 1754

date: December

text: December – Seven Years' War – French and Indian War: Militias of the Royal Colony of North Carolina build a fort on the province's western frontier to protect it against natives allied with the French. The fort is named Fort Dobbs in honor of North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs, who persuaded the North Carolina legislature to fund the construction a year earlier.

title: 1756

section: Crime & Justice

text: Churton Town, the Orange County, North Carolina county seat laid out in 1754, is renamed Childsburgh, in honor of North Carolina attorney general Thomas Child. It is later renamed Hillsborough in 1766.

title: 1759

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Seven Years' War: French and Indian War & Anglo-Cherokee War – Cherokee natives attack a North Carolina militia stationed at Fort Dobbs, in the western part of the province. The attack is repelled by the militia, under the command of General Hugh Waddell.

title: 1760

text: The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates Kingston, named for King George III, as the county seat of Dobbs County, North Carolina. The name is later shortened to Kinston in 1784.

title: 1762

text: The Royal Colony of North Carolina establishes a new county from the eastern portion of Granville County and names it Bute County for John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who had recently resigned his post as Prime Minister of Great Britain. In 1779 the State of North Carolina abolishes the county, when it forms Warren County from the northern portion and Franklin County from the southern portion.

title: 1764

section: Health & Medicine

date: October 17

text: October 17 – The Pennsylvania Gazette reports that a Mr. McCullough, the Distributor of Stamps for the Royal Colony of North Carolina, has resigned his post in protest at the Stamp Act. A Dr. Huston is appointed to the position.

title: 1765

section: Events › July–December

date: February 5

text: February 5 – An observer in Wilmington, North Carolina reports to the Edinburgh newspaper Caledonian Mercury that three ships have been seized by British men-of-war, on the charge of carrying official documents without stamps. The strict enforcement causes seven other ships to leave Wilmington for other ports.

title: 1766

date: January 9

text: January 9 – William Tryon, governor of the Royal Colony of North Carolina, signs a contract with architect John Hawks to build Tryon Palace, a lavish Georgian style governor's mansion on the New Bern waterfront.

title: 1767

date: March

text: March – War of the Regulation: North Carolina Governor William Tryon raises a militia to put down the long-running uprising of backcountry militias against North Carolina's colonial government.

title: 1771

section: Events › January– March

section: Climate & Environment

text: To avoid severe flooding, Martinsborough, North Carolina is moved to higher ground 3 mi km west. The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates Martinsborough as the new seat of Pitt County, 3 years after its founding.

title: 1774


slug: royal-navy

label: Royal Navy

description: maritime service branch of the British Armed Forces

date: March 4

text: March 4 – The first ever set of rules and regulations for England's Parliamentary Navy, Robert Blake's The Laws of War and Ordinances of the Sea, is adopted by the House of Commons, and Blake is promoted to the position of General at Sea of the English fleet.

title: 1649

section: Events › January–March

section: Science & Discovery

date: October 19

text: October 19 – An English Buccaneer force led by Royal Navy commodore Christopher Myngs launches an attack on Santiago de Cuba.

title: 1662

section: Events › October–December

date: March 31

text: March 31 – England's Royal Navy launches its first warship to have a frame reinforced by iron bars rather than an all wooden ship, an innovation by naval architect Anthony Deane. The state of the art, 102-gun ship is commissioned on January 18, 1672, as the flagship for Admiral Edward Montagu but is sunk less than five months later in the Battle of Solebay. Iron-framed ships are not attempted again for almost 50 years.

title: 1671

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Third Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Ronas Voe – The English Royal Navy captures the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam in Shetland.

title: 1674

text: The Battle of Bantry Bay begins during the Williamite War in Ireland as the French fleet under the Marquis de Châteaurenault is able to protect its transports, unloading supplies for James II, from the English Royal Navy under the Earl of Torrington, and withdraws unpursued.

title: 1689

date: September 24

text: September 24 – All but eight of the remaining 305 crew of the Royal Navy ship are killed when the ship founders in the Florida Keys. According to the ship's logbook, an epidemic of yellow fever began on August 1 and had killed 45 people before the hurricane struck, and left all but seven crew members too ill to walk.

title: 1695

date: November 6

text: November 6 – A British attempt to conquer the Canary Islands fails when a fleet of 12 Royal Navy warships, commanded by Admiral John Jennings is forced to retreat after being met by a heavy artillery attack while sailing into Santa Cruz Bay

title: 1706

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Scilly naval disaster: Four British Royal Navy ships run aground in the Isles of Scilly, because of faulty navigation. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and at least 1,450 sailors all drown.

title: 1707

section: Events › October– December

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: February 26

text: February 26 – HMS Falmouth, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built at Woolwich Dockyard for the British Royal Navy, is launched.

title: 1708

section: Events › January–June

date: August 23

text: August 23 – The British Royal Navy 60-gun ship HMS Rippon is launched at Deptford Dockyard.

title: 1712

date: July 8

text: July 8 – The British Royal Navy 50-gun ship HMS Advice is launched at Deptford Dockyard.

title: 1712

date: March 15

text: March 15 – HMS Dragon, a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the British Royal Navy, is wrecked on Les Casquets rocks to the west of Alderney.

title: 1712

date: August 11

text: August 11 – Battle of Cape Passaro: a Spanish fleet is defeated by the British Royal Navy under Admiral George Byng, off Capo Passero, Sicily, a prelude to the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

title: 1718

date: November 22

text: November 22 – Citing violations of the amnesty agreement with Blackbeard, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood sends a Royal Navy contingent to North Carolina, where they battle Blackbeard and his crew in Ocracoke Inlet. Blackbeard is killed in action, after receiving five musketball wounds and twenty sword lacerations.

title: 1718

section: Events › October –December

date: February 10

text: February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as the Royal Navy brings an end to the piracy of Bartholomew Roberts, nicknamed "Black Bart". Captained by Chaloner Ogle of the Royal Navy, HMS Swallow fires its cannons as Roberts sails his ship Royal Fortune toward the oncoming Swallow in order to gain time by forcing Swallow to turn around. Standing on the deck, Roberts and two of his crew are killed by the second wave of cannon fire. The remaining 272 pirate crew are captured.

title: 1722

date: February 22

text: February 22 (February 11, 1726 O.S.) – Spain besieges the British-held territory of Gibraltar, in order to recapture it. Britain's Royal Navy begins a blockade of Spanish ports and the unsuccessful siege ends with the signing of a truce on June 24.

title: 1727

date: April 8

text: April 8 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Royal Navy captures the Spanish ship of the line Princesa off Cape Finisterre and takes her into British service.

title: 1740

date: March 13

text: March 13 – The British Royal Navy takes 180 warships, frigates and transport vessels, led by Admiral Edward Vernon, to threaten Cartagena, Colombia, with more than 27,000 crew against the 3,600 defenders.

title: 1741

date: October 4

text: October 4 – In one of the greatest disasters for the Royal Navy, HMS Victory sinks in a storm in the English Channel, killing 1,100 sailors and officers it had been bringing back from Gibraltar to England, including Admiral John Balchen. The wreck will be located 264 years later, in January, 2009.

title: 1744

date: April 4

text: April 4 (March 24, old style) – Under the command of British Army General William Pepperrell, the first 4,300 American colonists in the New England Army depart Boston to liberate the French North American colony of Nova Scotia. The flotilla of 80 military transports and 18 armed escorts is scattered by a storm, but the first troops disembark at Canso, Nova Scotia, on April 15 and begin training while waiting for the arrival of the Royal Navy squadron commanded by Admiral Peter Warren.

title: 1745

date: November 17

text: November 17–19 – The Knowles Riot breaks out in Boston, Massachusetts, protesting impressment into the British Royal Navy.

title: 1747

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Royal Navy Admiral Edward Boscawen arrives at the coast of southeastern India with 28 ships, to defend Fort St. David from attacks by armies of French India. Historian Francis Grose later writes that Boscawen had brought the largest fleet "ever seen together in the East Indies", with nine ships of the line, two frigates, a sloop, and two tenders" and 14 ships of the British East India Company. Altogether, Boscawen has 3,580 sailors under his command. He then launches an offensive to destroy the French fort at Pondicherry and drive France from the subcontinent.

title: 1748

date: June 5

text: June 5 – At the entrance of the Saint Lawrence River, a squadron of Royal Navy ships, under the command of British Admiral Edward Boscawen, intercepts the nine French ships dispatched to save Canada; seven of the nine ships are concealed by fog and are able to reach their destination; another of the transports escapes.

title: 1755

date: September 23

text: September 23 – The "Raid on Rochefort" is carried out as a pre-emptive strike by Great Britain to neutralize France's Arsenal de Rochefort before the French Navy can carry out plans to invade England. Led by Royal Navy Admiral Edward Hawke, HMS Neptune and six other vessels sail in and capture the Île-d'Aix and its battery of cannons, effectively blocking the departure of any ships from the mouth of the Charante river.

title: 1757

date: February 17

text: February 17 – "The greatest fleet that had ever put out for America" departs from Portsmouth with 250 ships

title: 1759

date: February 15

text: February 15 – The British Royal Navy ship HMS Royal Katherine runs aground off Bolt Head in England, with the loss of 699 lives.

title: 1760

date: March 5

text: March 5 – A Royal Navy fleet with 16,000 men departs Britain from Spithead and sets sail toward Cuba in order to seize strategic Spanish Empire possessions in the Americas.

title: 1762

section: Births

date: September 16

text: September 16 – Harry Burrard-Neale, British Royal Navy officer and politician (d. 1840)

title: 1765

date: June 17

text: June 17 – British Royal Navy Captain Samuel Wallis becomes the first European to visit the island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean, during HMS Dolphins second circumnavigation; he also sights Mehetia.

title: 1767

date: January 1

text: January 1 – American Revolutionary War: Burning of Norfolk – The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces.

title: 1776

section: Events › January–February

date: June 29

text: June 29 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet – The American Continental Navy successfully challenges the British Royal Navy blockade off New Jersey.

title: 1776

section: Events › May–June

date: March 11

text: March 11 – The First League of Armed Neutrality is formed by Russia with Denmark and Sweden to try to prevent the British Royal Navy from searching neutral vessels for contraband (February 28 O.S.).

title: 1780

date: December 12

text: December 12 – American Revolutionary War – Second Battle of Ushant: The British Royal Navy, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in , decisively defeats the French fleet in the Bay of Biscay.

title: 1781

text: April 28 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Fletcher Christian leads the mutiny on the British Royal Navy ship against Captain William Bligh, in the Pacific Ocean.

title: 1789

text: August 27 – Third Anglo-Mysore War: Battle of Tellicherry – Off the south-west coast of India, a British Royal Navy patrol forces a French convoy bound for Mysore to surrender.

title: 1791

text: October 5 – War of the First Coalition: Raid on Genoa – The British Royal Navy boards and captures French warships, sheltering in the neutral port of Genoa.

title: 1793

text: June 17 – Battle of Mykonos: The British Royal Navy captures .

title: 1794

text: The British Royal Navy makes the use of lemon juice mandatory, to prevent scurvy.

title: 1795

text: June 16–17 – War of the First Coalition: Cornwallis's Retreat – A British Royal Navy battle squadron commanded by William Cornwallis fends off a numerically superior French Navy fleet, off the coast of Brittany.

title: 1795

text: February 14 – French Revolutionary Wars – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: The British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats a larger Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal.

title: 1797

text: January 13 – Action of 13 January 1797, part of the War of the First Coalition: Two British Royal Navy frigates, HMS Indefatigable and HMS Amazon, drive the French 74-gun ship of the line Droits de l'Homme aground on the coast of Brittany, resulting in over 900 deaths.

title: 1797

text: November 16 – (or November 23?) – British Royal Navy frigate is wrecked on the approaches to Halifax, Nova Scotia; of the 240 on board, all but 12 are lost.

title: 1797

text: April 14 – Henry Mowat, Scottish-born British Royal Navy officer (b. 1734)

title: 1798

text: October 12 – Battle of Tory Island: A British Royal Navy squadron, under Sir John Borlase Warren, prevents French Republican ships, commanded by Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart, from landing reinforcements for the Society of United Irishmen on the County Donegal coast; Irish leader Wolfe Tone is captured and later dies of his wounds. This ends the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

title: 1798

text: January 27 – French Revolutionary Wars: Macau Incident – French and Spanish warships encounter a British Royal Navy escort squadron in the Wanshan Archipelago of China inconclusively.

title: 1799

text: October 16 – War of the Second Coalition: Action of 16 October 1799 – A Spanish treasure convoy worth more than £54,000,000 is captured by the British Royal Navy off Vigo.

title: 1799

text: March 17 – The British Royal Navy ship of the line, , catches fire off the coast of Capraia, with the loss of 673 lives.

title: 1800

text: March 26 – British Royal Navy officer Henry Waterhouse first charts the Antipodes Islands.

title: 1800

text: April 2 – War of the Second Coalition: First Battle of Copenhagen – The British Royal Navy, under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, forces the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy to accept an armistice. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson leads the main attack, deliberately disregarding his commander's signal to withdraw. He is created a Viscount on May 19; Denmark-Norway is forced to withdraw from the Second League of Armed Neutrality.

title: 1801

text: September 29 – Admiral Nelson of the British Royal Navy takes command of the fleet off the coast of Cádiz, in order to counteract the navies of France and Spain.

title: 1805

text: February 6 – Battle of San Domingo: The British Royal Navy gains a victory over the French off Santo Domingo.

title: 1806

text: June 22 – Chesapeake–Leopard affair: British Royal Navy fourth rate attacks and boards United States Navy frigate USS Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia, seeking deserters. This act of British aggression plays a role in the run-up to the War of 1812.

title: 1807

text: September 2–7 – Battle of Copenhagen: The British Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets, to prevent the Dano-Norwegian navy from surrendering to Napoleon; 30% of the city is destroyed, and 2,000 citizens are killed.

title: 1807

text: March 1 – The slave trade is abolished by the United Kingdom in all of its colonies as the Slave Trade Act 1807 takes effect. This year, the British Royal Navy establishes the West Africa Squadron on the coast of West Africa to enforce the abolitionist Blockade of Africa.

title: 1808

text: April 11–15 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of the Basque Roads: The British Royal Navy defeats the French fleet in the mouth of the Charente, although officers on both sides face subsequent courts-martial.

title: 1809

text: August 20–27 – Battle of Grand Port: The French defeat a Royal Navy frigate squadron attempting to blockade a harbour on Isle de France (Mauritius).

title: 1810

text: June 1 – War of 1812: Capture of USS Chesapeake in Boston Harbor by British Royal Navy frigate .

title: 1813

text: June 6 – Beginning of the Allied sovereigns' visit to England: Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia sail from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to Dover on board the Royal Navy ship HMS Impregnable as guests of George, Prince of Wales, the regent during the incapacity of King George III.

title: 1814

text: July 15 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon boards off Rochefort, and surrenders to Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland of the Royal Navy.

title: 1815

text: October 17 – The frigate is launched in Bombay for the British Royal Navy. She will still be afloat two centuries later.

title: 1817

text: January 30 – British Royal Navy captain Edward Bransfield, an Irishman, becomes the first person to positively identify Antarctica as a land mass.

title: 1820

text: August 9 – The Aberdeen Act is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, empowering the British Royal Navy to search Brazilian ships, as part of the abolition of the slave trade from Africa.

title: 1845

text: December 20 – British Royal Navy steam frigate is wrecked on the Sorelle Rocks in the Mediterranean Sea with the loss of 246 lives and only eight survivors.

title: 1847

text: April 25 – Captain Francis Crozier and Commander James Fitzjames of the Royal Navy deposit the final formal record ever recovered from the Franklin Expedition in a cairn on King William Island, after deserting their ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with their surviving 105 crew members on April 22 to attempt to march to the mainland of North America.

title: 1848

text: December 26–27 – A British Royal Navy warship bombards Lagos Island; Oba Kosoko is wounded, and flees to Epe.

title: 1851

text: June 21 – Battle of Bomarsund in Åland off the coast of Finland: British Royal Navy seaman's mate Charles Davis Lucas throws a live Russian artillery shell overboard by hand before it explodes, for which he is awarded the first Victoria Cross in 1857.

title: 1854

text: March 11 – A Royal Navy fleet sails from Britain, under Vice Admiral Sir Charles Napier.

title: 1854

text: August 15–17 – Bombardment of Kagoshima: The British Royal Navy bombards the town of Kagoshima in Japan in retribution, after the Namamugi Incident of 1862.

title: 1863

text: March 24 – The British Royal Navy frigate capsizes in the English Channel; all but 2 of the 319 crew members are killed.

title: 1878

text: November 16 – The British Royal Navy's destroys Abari village in Niger.

title: 1882

text: May 31 – The Naval Defence Act dictates that the fleet strength of the British Royal Navy must be equal to that of at least any two other countries.

title: 1889

text: January 19 – A British Royal Navy squadron is ordered to Chile.

title: 1891

text: October 13 – , a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, is launched at Portsmouth, England; she will be deployed widely in World War I.

title: 1897

text: October 2 – The British Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1, is launched at Barrow-in-Furness.

title: 1901

text: October 16 – The British Royal Navy's is launched at Portsmouth Dockyard as the first oil-fired battleship.

title: 1913

text: December 8 – World War I: Battle of the Falkland Islands: A superior British Royal Navy squadron under Doveton Sturdee defeats ships of the Imperial German Navy under Maximilian von Spee (who goes down with his ship).

title: 1914

text: British Royal Navy scout cruiser HMS Pathfinder is sunk by German submarine U-21 in the Firth of Forth (Scotland), the first ship ever to be sunk by a locomotive torpedo fired from a submarine.

title: 1914

text: Action of 22 September 1914: German submarine U-9 torpedoes three British Royal Navy armoured cruisers, , and , with the death of more than 1,400 men, in the North Sea.

title: 1914

text: January 1 – WWI: British Royal Navy battleship HMS Formidable is sunk off Lyme Regis, England, by an Imperial German Navy U-boat, with the loss of 547 crew.

title: 1915

text: Battle of Más a Tierra: Off the coast of Chile, the British Royal Navy forces the Imperial German Navy light cruiser SMS Dresden (last survivor of the German East Asia Squadron) to scuttle.

title: 1915

text: May 31–June 1 – WWI: Battle of Jutland, between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet in the North Sea, the war's only large-scale clash of battleships. The result is tactically inconclusive, but British dominance of the North Sea is maintained

title: 1916

text: November 20 – U-boats start to rendezvous off Harwich, to begin the surrender of the High Seas Fleet to the British Royal Navy; in the following week the German warships are escorted to internment in Scapa Flow.

title: 1918

text: May 15 – Greek landing at Smyrna: The Hellenic Army lands at Smyrna assisted by ships of the British Royal Navy.

title: 1919

text: March 24 – Nanking Incident: After six foreigners have been killed in Nanking, and it appears that Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party forces will overrun the foreign consulates, warships of the U.S. Navy and the British Royal Navy fire shells and shoot to disperse the crowds.

title: 1927

text: September 25 – British Royal Navy is ordered to sea.

title: 1938

text: September 29 – Colonel Graham Christie, former British military attaché in Berlin, is told by Carl Friedrich Goerdeler that the mobilization of the Royal Navy has badly damaged the popularity of the Nazi regime, as the German public realizes that Fall Grün is likely to cause a world war.

title: 1938

text: January 27 – Adolf Hitler orders Plan Z, a 5-year naval expansion programme intended to provide for a huge German fleet capable of crushing the British Royal Navy by 1944. The Kriegsmarine is given the first priority on the allotment of German economic resources.

title: 1939

text: April 10 – WWII: First naval Battle of Narvik – The British Royal Navy attacks the German fleet in the Ofotfjord. At Bergen, German cruiser Königsberg is sunk by British Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua dive bombers, flying from RNAS Hatston in Orkney.

title: 1940

text: April 13 – WWII: Second naval Battle of Narvik – The British Royal Navy sinks all 8 defending German destroyers in the Ofotfjord.

title: 1940

text: April 9 – WWII: Germany invades the neutral countries of Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung, opening the Norwegian campaign. The British Royal Navy attempts to attack elements of the German fleet off Norway. Vidkun Quisling proclaims a new collaborationist regime in Norway. The German invasion of Denmark lasts for about six hours, before that country capitulates.

title: 1940

text: November 27 – WWII: Battle of Cape Spartivento: The British Royal Navy and Italian Regia Marina battle to a draw.

title: 1940

text: Raid on Alexandria: Italian Regia Marina divers on human torpedoes place limpet mines on ships of the British Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet in port at Alexandria, Egypt, disabling battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant.

title: 1941

text: January 11 – WWII: The British Royal Navy light cruiser is bombed, catches fire and has to be sunk off Malta, with the loss of 81 crew.

title: 1941

text: In the North Atlantic, sinks British battlecruiser , killing all but 3 crewmen, from a total of 1,418 aboard the pride of the Royal Navy.

title: 1941

text: May 9 – WWII: is captured by the British Royal Navy in the North Atlantic. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine, which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.

title: 1941

text: April 5 – WWII: Easter Sunday Raid – Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attack Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy cruisers and are sunk southwest of the island.

title: 1942

text: March 27 – WWII: British Royal Navy escort carrier is destroyed by an accidental explosion in the Firth of Clyde, killing 379 of the crew of 528.

title: 1943

text: October 24 – WWII: British Royal Navy destroyer is sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea, with the loss of 119 of the ship's company and 134 troops.

title: 1943

text: April 18 – The British Royal Navy detonates 6,800 tons of explosives, in an attempt to demolish the fortified island of Heligoland, Germany, in another of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history.

title: 1947

text: April 20 – Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst goes up the Yangtze River, to evacuate British Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of Mao's Communist forces. Under heavy fire, she grounds off Rose Island. After an abortive rescue attempt on April 26, she anchors 10 mi km upstream. Negotiations with the Communists to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time the ship's cat Simon raises the crew's morale.

title: 1949

text: June 30 – The Simonstown Agreement provides for control of the naval base at Simon's Town in the Union of South Africa to transfer from the British Royal Navy to the South African Navy.

title: 1955

text: July 31 – Black Tot Day, the last daily distribution of one-eighth of an imperial pint of rum to sailors of the British Royal Navy, an amount that had been dispensed since 1866.

title: 1970

text: May 18 – Second Cod War: Joseph Godber, British Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announces that Royal Navy frigates will protect British trawlers fishing in the disputed 80 km mi limit around Iceland.

title: 1973

text: March 31 – The last British soldier (belonging to the Royal Navy) leaves the Maltese Islands, after 179 years of presence. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).

title: 1979

text: May 2 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, killing 323 sailors. Operation Algeciras, an attempt to destroy a Royal Navy warship in Gibraltar, fails.

title: 1982


slug: royal-society

label: Royal Society

description: English learned society for science

section: Culture & Society

date: November 28

text: November 28 – At Gresham College in London, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray meet after a lecture by Wren, and decide to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning" (later known as the Royal Society).

title: 1660

date: July 15

text: July 15 – The Royal Society, founded by King Charles II of England and Scotland receives an official charter in London.

title: 1662

section: Events › July–September

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: May 3

text: May 3 – John Winthrop the Younger, the son of the first governor of Massachusetts, is honored by being made a fellow of the Royal Society, England's new scientific society. Winthrop uses his election to the Society to gain access to the king, who grants him a new charter, uniting the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven.

title: 1662

section: Events › April–June

text: November 28 – The English Royal Society holds its first meeting.

title: 1662

date: March 6

text: March 6 – The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London begins publication in England, the first scientific journal in English and the oldest to be continuously published.

title: 1665

date: January 11

text: January 11 – The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, national science academy for England, elects Isaac Newton to its membership, and then demonstrates Newton's reflecting telescope to King Charles II.

title: 1672

date: September 30

text: September 30 – Robert Boyle, having rediscovered the process of manufacturing phosphorus from bone ash, deposits his summary of the directions with The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. Boyle's assistant, Ambrose Godfrey, later develops Boyle's discovery to produce phosphorus commercially.

title: 1680

date: December 10

text: December 10 – Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley.

title: 1684

date: July 11

text: July 11 – Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, known as the Principia, is published by the Royal Society of London. In it, Newton describes his law of universal gravitation, explains the laws of mechanics, and gives a formula for the speed of sound. The writing of Principia Mathematica ushers in a tidal wave of changes in thought, significantly accelerating the Scientific Revolution by providing new and practical intellectual tools, and becomes the foundation of modern physics.

title: 1687

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Thomas Savery demonstrates his first steam pump to the Royal Society of London.

title: 1699

date: November 30

text: November 30 – Isaac Newton is elected president of the Royal Society of London, a position he will hold until his death in 1727.

title: 1703

date: February 13

text: February 13 – John Mills is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, with Benjamin Franklin as one of his sponsors.

title: 1766

date: May 29

text: May 29 – In a paper read to the Royal Society, British theoretical chemist Henry Cavendish first describes his process of producing what he refers to as "inflammable air" by dissolving base metals such as iron, zinc and tin in a flask of sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, drawing the conclusion that the vapor that was released is different from air. Seven years later, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier bestows the name "hydrogen" on the gas.

title: 1766

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Henry Cavendish's paper to the Royal Society of London, Experiments on Air, reveals the molecular composition of water.

title: 1784

date: March 20

text: March 20 – Alessandro Volta describes his new invention, the voltaic pile, the first chemical battery, in a letter to the Royal Society of London.

title: 1800

date: June 30

text: June 30 – English chemist Humphry Davy informs the Royal Society of London of his isolation and discovery of two elements by electrolysis. From lime, he has produced calcium and established that lime is calcium oxide; by heating boric acid and potassium in a copper tube, he creates a substance he calls boracium, which is eventually called boron. This year he also isolates magnesium and strontium.

title: 1808

date: January 8

text: January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of the Royal Society in London, with only one vote against him.

title: 1824

date: August 29

text: August 29 - Michael Faraday demonstrates electromagnetic induction at the Royal Society of London. Joseph Henry recognises it at about the same time.

title: 1831

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: May 26

text: May 26, June 2 – Geologist Joseph Prestwich and amateur archaeologist John Evans report (to the Royal Society and Society of Antiquaries of London, respectively) the results of their investigations of gravel-pits in the Somme valley and elsewhere, extending human history back to what will become known as the Paleolithic Era.

title: 1859

date: December 8

text: December 8 – James Clerk Maxwell presents his paper, A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, to the Royal Society in London, treating light as an electromagnetic wave.

title: 1864

section: Events › December

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Nearly 600 members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers view a live demonstration of television at the Bell Telephone Building in New York City, just over a year after John Logie Baird of Scotland had first demonstrated an electromechanical system to members of the Royal Society in London.

title: 1927

section: Events › May


slug: rudolf-i-of-germany

label: Rudolf I of Germany

description: count of Habsburg, king of Germany (1218–1291)

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Rudolf I, king of Germany (d. 1291)

title: 1218

section: Religion & Belief

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Rudolf I is elected King of Germany over the rival candidate Ottokar II, king of Bohemia, ending the Great Interregnum. He is the first of many Habsburgs to hold the throne and is crowned in Aachen Cathedral, on October 24. Ottokar refuses to acknowledge Rudolf as the new ruler and is placed under the imperial ban, leading to the outbreak of war in 1276.

title: 1273

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Conflict & Security

date: August

text: August – Gregory X persuades King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") to give up his claim to the title of "King of the Romans". Gregory gains support in northern Italy through Rudolf I, king of Germany.

title: 1275

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: June

text: June – King Rudolf I of Germany declares war on his rival Ottokar II of Bohemia. After 6 months of campaigning, Ottokar surrenders all his lands (including Austria and Styria) except Bohemia and Moravia. Rudolf makes Vienna his capital, marking the beginning of the House of Habsburg, which will last until 1918.

title: 1276

date: August 26

text: August 26 – Battle on the Marchfeld: German-Hungarian forces (some 9,000 men) led by Kings Rudolf I of Germany in alliance with Ladislaus IV of Hungary ("the Cuman"), defeat and kill Ottokar II, ruler of Bohemia. The battle ends the power struggle between Rudolf and Ottokar over the fate of Central Europe. Rudolf's House of Habsburg will continue to rule Austria and other captured territories until the end of World War I in 1918.

title: 1278

section: Climate & Environment

text: King Rudolf I imposes a trade embargo on Norway, due to the latter pillaging a German ship. The embargo cuts off vital supplies of grain, flour, vegetables and beer, causing a general famine in Norway.

title: 1284

date: March 16

text: March 16 – Synod of Würzburg: A church council is held by Cardinal Giovanni Boccamazza and King Rudolf I at Würzburg. During the assembly, Giovanni announces the taxation of the clergy to finance the expedition of Rudolf (known as the Italienzug) to Rome and the imperial coronation.

title: 1287

section: Deaths

date: May 5

text: May 5 – The College of Electors select Adolf, count of Nassau, as the new King of the Romans and successor of Habsburg Rudolf I who had died the previous year. Adolf is forced to make wide-ranging concessions to the Electors to get elected. He is crowned king on June 24 in Aachen by the Archbishop of Cologne.

title: 1292


slug: rudolf-ii-holy-roman-emperor

label: Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor

description: Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria (1552-1612)

date: September 25

text: September 25 – The coronation of Rudolf as King of Hungary takes place at St. Martin's Cathedral in Pozsony (now Bratislava, Slovakia).

title: 1572

text: September 25 – At St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Rudolf of Habsburg, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, is crowned King of Bohemia by the Archbishop Antonín Brus of Mohelnice.

title: 1575

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Coronation of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.

title: 1576

section: Events › October–December

date: November 29

text: November 29 – A truce is signed between representatives of the Holy Roman Empire (ruled by Emperor Rudolf II) and the Ottoman Empire (ruled by Sultan Murad III).

title: 1590

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Matthias of Habsburg is appointed by his brother Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, to become the Archduke of die Vorlande, the possessions of the Austrian Habsburgs in Southern Germany outside of Austria, also called Further Austria (Vorderösterreich). The appointment follows the death of their uncle, Ferdinand II. Matthias will later become Archduke of Austria (in 1608) and the Emperor in 1612.

title: 1595

section: Events › January–March

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Prince Sigismund Báthory signs an agreement with Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor to abdicate the throne of Transylvania in return for the Silesian duchies of Racibórz and Opole and an annual subsidy of 50,000 thalers.

title: 1597

date: June 9

text: June 9 – The Principality of Wallachia becomes a vassal state of the Austrian Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire, after Michael the Brave (Mihai Pătrașcu, with a regnal name of Michael II) signs an agreement at Prague with Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor to receive protection from the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1598

date: November 7

text: November 7 – Emperor Rudolf II grants an audience in Prague to Persian diplomats Husayn 'Ali Beg and Anthony Shirley, and present the offer of Persia's King Abbas the Great to supply weapons to the Empire in their fight against the Ottomans.

title: 1600

date: October 20

text: October 20 – Persian diplomats, led by Husayn 'Ali Beg of Persia, and Englishman Anthony Shirley (who serves as translator) arrive in Prague to meet with Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.

title: 1600

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, arrives in Prague to enlist the assistance of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in driving Ottoman troops out of Transylvania. Michael leaves on March 5, having received a pledge of Austrian troops to the fight.

title: 1601

date: December 11

text: December 11 – King Sigismund III of Poland marries his former sister-in-law, Constance, daughter of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, after Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor refuses to permit the King to marry Anna of Tyrol. King Sigismund, a widow, had previously been married to Constance's older sister, Anne.

title: 1605

date: June 23

text: June 23 – A treaty is signed in Vienna between the Archduchy of Austria and the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania. Archduke Rudolf agrees to recognize Stephen Bocskai as Prince of Transylvania in return for Bocksay's guarantee of constitutional and religious rights to the ethnic Hungarians within Transylvania's borders.

title: 1606

date: August 3

text: August 3 – After Catholics and Protestants clash in Donauwörth, emperor Rudolph II declares an imperial ban over the city and orders Bavarian duke Maximilian I to execute the ban leading to the occupation of the city by a force of 15,000 in December. This in turn leads to the creation of the Protestant Union in 1608.

title: 1607

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 18

text: February 18 – Don Julius Caesar d'Austria, the illegitimate son of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, brutally murders his girlfriend, Markéta Pichlerová, then dismembers her body. Emperor Rudolf imprisons Julius for the rest of his life.

title: 1608

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Matthias I, already King of Bohemia becomes the King of Hungary and the King of Croatia upon the abdication of both jobs by his older brother, Rudolf II, who continues as Holy Roman Emperor.

title: 1608

section: Science & Discovery

text: Jesuit astronomer Christoph Scheiner becomes the advisor to Archduke Maximilian, brother of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna. A lifelong enemy of Galileo, following a dispute over the nature of sunspots, Scheiner is credited with reopening the 1616 accusations against Galileo in 1633.

title: 1616

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: rudolph-ii-of-burgundy

label: Rudolph II of Burgundy

description: King of Burgundy from 912 to 937

section: Births

text: Rudolph II, Burgundian king and Holy Roman Emperor (d. 937)

title: 880

text: Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, leads a rebellion with the support of the Italian nobles against King Berengar I. He crosses the Alps into Burgundy and invites Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy to invade Italy. Berengar flees again to Verona and Rudolph is crowned King of Italy at Pavia.

title: 922

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Battle of Fiorenzuola: Lombard forces led by King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the deposed Emperor Berengar I at Firenzuola (Tuscany). A pact is reached between Rudolph and Berengar, who abdicates the imperial throne and cedes sovereignty over the rest of Italy.

title: 923

date: April 7

text: April 7 – After having made a new alliance with the Hungarians, the Holy Roman Emperor Berengar I, King of Italy, is assassinated in Verona by one of his guards. Rudolph II, King of Burgundy and a claimant to the throne, takes full control of the Kingdom of Italy, while the office of the Holy Roman Emperor will not be re-created until 38 years later.

title: 924

section: Events › April—June

text: King Rudolph II of Burgundy (who also rules Italy) and his father-in-law, Burchard II of Swabia, lead a Burgundian expeditionary force over the Great St. Bernard Pass to confront Hugh of Provence. They head to the city of Ivrea where Rudolph's forces begin a civil war against Lombard partisans.

title: 925

text: Spring – The Italian nobles turn against King Rudolph II of Burgundy and request that Hugh of Provence, the effective ruler of Lower Burgundy, be elected as king of Italy. Rudolph's father-in-law Duke Burchard II of Swabia is ambushed and killed near Novara, by the henchmen of Archbishop Lambert of Milan. Rudolph, disillusioned by the news, returns to Burgundy to protect himself. Hugh has himself crowned King of Italy. and appoints Giselbert I as count palatine of Bergamo (Northern Italy).

title: 926

text: Spring – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, cedes Lower Burgundy to Rudolph II, in return for Rudolf's renunciation of all claims to the Italian crown. He receives the imperial crown, and induces the Italian nobility to recognize his son Lothair II as the co-ruler of Lombardia (Regnum Italiae).

title: 931

date: July 11

text: July 11 – King Rudolph II of Burgundy dies after a 25-year reign, and is succeeded by his 12-year-old son Conrad I ("the Peaceful"). His wife, Queen Bertha, takes effective control of unified Burgundy, transferring its capital to Arles (that Burgundian kingdom was later known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles).

title: 937

text: July 11 – Rudolph II, king of Burgundy

title: 937


slug: russia

label: Russia

description: country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, the largest in the world by area

text: c. 2500 BC: N1c Y-DNA first found from Europe from Serteya II (located in modern day Smolensk Oblast in Russia).

title: 25th century BC

section: Events

text: c. 1200 BC: The Cimmerians are conjectured to have started settling the steppes of southern Russia.

title: 1200s BC (decade)

section: Events and trends

text: Arrianus, Roman governor of Cappadocia, repulses an attack of the Alani, a nomadic tribe from southeastern Russia.

title: AD 134

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: 743 Caspian Gates earthquake. It took place in the Caspian Gates (Gates of Alexander). The location is identified with either Derbent, Russia or Talis, Iran.

title: 743

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: The town of Staraja Ladoga (Northern Russia) is founded by Scandinavians. The settlement becomes a prosperous trading outpost for jewelry, casual items, craft tools and dress adornments (approximate date).

title: 753

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Rus' Khaganate is created by people who are called Rus', after the 182-year dominance of the Khazars. This is the starting period of the rise of the Kievan Rus', and the later states of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (approximate date).

title: 800

section: Events › Europe

text: The Varangians (called Rus'), under the leadership of Rurik, a Viking chieftain, arrive (with his brothers, Sineus and Truvor) at Staraya Ladoga. He builds a trade settlement near Novgorod (modern Russia), and founds the Rurik Dynasty.

title: 862

section: Events › By place › Eastern Europe

text: The first mention is made of Kursk, Russia, in the hagiography of Theodosius, who becomes a monk at the Kiev Caves Monastery (approximate date).

title: 1032

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The city of Bryansk (modern Russia) is first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex.

title: 1146

date: April 22

text: April 22 – Battle of Lipitsa: The Kievan princes Mstislav Mstislavich and Konstantin of Rostov defeat Konstantin's younger brothers Yuri II and Yaroslav II for the rule of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal (modern Russia).

title: 1216

section: Events › By continent › Europe

date: April

text: April – The Russian princes lead their separate armies from different parts of Russia, to assemble 60 kilometres downriver from Kiev. There are three main groups of princes taking part in the campaign; the Kievan army is represented by Grand Prince Mstislav Romanovich (the Old). The second group are the Chernigov and Smolensk armies under Prince Mstislav II. The third group is the Galician-Volhynian army under Mstislav Mstislavich with his son-in-law Daniel of Galicia, leaving from northern Ukraine.

title: 1223

section: Events › Other events, by place › Mongol Empire

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Battle of the Sit River: The Mongols defeat a Kievan Rus' army (some 4,000 men) under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in an engagement at the Sit River (located in the Sonkovsky District). With Yuri's death, so too dies the hope of any united Rus' resistance against the Mongols. Batu Khan splits his forces up into several contingents – ordering each to wreak havoc across the Rus' territories (modern-day Russia and Ukraine).

title: 1238

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: Dmitri Konstantinovich is installed as ruler of Vladimir (in modern-day western Russia) by the Khan of the White Horde.

title: 1360

text: The Russian town of Kostroma is destroyed by the ushkuynik pirates from Novgorod.

title: 1375

date: March 31

text: March 31 – In the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal (now part of Russia), the Grand Prince Dmitry of Suzdal oversees the massacre of the Tatar prisoners of war who had been captured during the Blue Horde's unsuccessful attempt by Sary-Aka to incite a rebellion against the principality's domination by Moscow.

title: 1375

date: February 28

text: February 28 – In what is now part of Kazakhstan and Russia, Tulak Khan of Borjigin is confirmed by the Beylerbey Mamai of the Golden Horde, with the approval of the ruler Tokhtamysh, after Mamai arranges the assassination of Tulak's cousin, the former khan.

title: 1379

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Dmitry Konstantinovich, Russian prince (b. 1324)

title: 1383

text: The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is founded in northwestern Russia.

title: 1397

text: Ferapontov Monastery is founded in modern-day northwest Russia by Therapont of Belozersk.

title: 1398

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Russia cedes its conquered areas in Livonia (Northern Latvia and Southern Estonia), to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

title: 1582

date: March 28

text: March 28 (O.S. March 18) – Ivan the Terrible, ruler of Russia since 1533, dies; he is succeeded as Tsar by his son, Feodor.

title: 1584

date: September 23

text: September 23 – The siege of the Troitsky monastery by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth begins in Russia north of Moscow, but fails after 16 months.

title: 1608

section: Events › July–September

date: March 3

text: March 3 (February 21 O.S.) – An assembly of the Russian Empire elects Mikhail Romanov Tsar of Russia, ending the Time of Troubles. The House of Romanov will remain a ruling dynasty until 1917.

title: 1613

date: May 27

text: May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.

title: 1660

section: Events › April–June

text: Nerchinsky Zavod is founded in the Nerchinsko-Zavodsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia by Greek mining engineers.

title: 1704

text: July 11 – Russia's Baltic Sea fleet is first spotted from the Swedish coast, starting the Russian Pillage of 1719–21 as part of the Great Northern War.

title: 1719

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Russian Emperor Peter the Great authorizes an incentive for men of Serbia to join a new Russian Imperial Army unit, the Serbian Hussar Regiment. The Emperor sends Jovan Albanez to recruit new officers and troops with a grant of farmable land in Russia, and 1,070 take advantage of the offer over the next two years.

title: 1723

section: Culture & Society

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Saint Petersburg State University is established in Russia.

title: 1724

date: June 30

text: June 30 – War of the Polish Succession: Russian troops take Gdańsk (German: Danzig), which had been besieged since February 1734, after the failure of a French expedition to relieve the city.

title: 1734

date: January 9

text: January 9 – The Empires of Austria and Russia enter into a secret military alliance that leads to Austria's disastrous entry into the Russo-Turkish War.

title: 1737

date: October 16

text: October 16 – An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 9.3 occurs off the shore of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Tsunamis up to 60 m ft high follow in the Pacific ocean.

title: 1737

section: Economy & Finance

date: May 11

text: May 11 – Russia's treasury begins an effort to reduce the number of copper five-kopeck pieces (20 of which equal a Russian ruble) by declaring that it will buy them back at a ruble for every 20 until August 1, after which kopecks would be redeemed at a ruble for every 25; then at the rate of 33 for a ruble on October 1, and 50 for a ruble on and after August 28, 1746.

title: 1744

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Prussia and Russia break off diplomatic relations after the Russians refuse to stop assisting the Electorate of Saxony. Five years later, the two Empires fight the Seven Years' War.

title: 1750

date: January 22

text: January 22 – Russian troops under the command of William Fermor invade East Prussia and capture Königsberg with 34,000 soldiers; although the city is later abandoned by Russia after the Seven Years' War ends, the city again comes under Russian control in 1945 during World War II and is now named Kaliningrad.

title: 1758

date: September 22

text: September 22 – Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska.

title: 1784

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Austria, Britain and Russia ally against France.

title: 1794

text: October 20 – The Congress of Verona opens in the Austrian-ruled province of Lombardy-Venetia. The event is the largest diplomatic gathering since the Congress of Vienna seven years earlier. The Congress lasts until December 14, and Russia, Austria and Prussia approve French intervention in Spain.

title: 1822

date: September 8

text: September 8– Battle of Warsaw: The Army of Russia takes the Polish capital after a two-day battle to crush the Polish uprising.

title: 1831

text: August 27 – CSKA Moscow, a professional multi-sports club in Russia, is officially founded.

title: 1911

text: January 29 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia dismisses his 4th Prime Minister, Vladimir Kokovtsov due to his "lack of control over the press", he is succeeded by Ivan Goremykin for his second term

title: 1914

text: April 12 (N.S.) (March 30 O.S.) – The Autonomous Governorate of Estonia is formed within Russia, from the Governorate of Estonia and the northern part of the Governorate of Livonia.

title: 1917

text: April 8 (N.S.) (March 26, O.S.) – In Petrograd, 40,000 ethnic Estonians demand national autonomy within Russia.

title: 1917

text: June 1 – The first issue of the magazine Krestyanka is published in Russia.

title: 1922

text: July 31 – Luzhniki Stadium, well known sports venue of Russia and the Soviet Union, officially opens in Moscow.

title: 1956

text: April 26 – Chernobyl disaster: A mishandled safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union "killed at least 4,056 people and damaged almost $7 billion of property". Radioactive fallout from the accident is concentrated near Belarus, Ukraine and Russia and at least 350,000 people are forcibly resettled away from these areas. After the accident, "traces of radioactive deposits unique to Chernobyl were in nearly every country in the northern hemisphere".

title: 1986

text: August – Gazprom, an energy production and sales organization in Russia, becomes state-run enterprise, changing from the Soviet Ministry of Gas Industry.

title: 1989

text: October 17 – A major financial service of Russia, VTB Bank is founded in Russia SSR, former part of Soviet Union, as predecessor name was Vneshtorg Bank.

title: 1990

text: March 26 – The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan to Russia for economic reform.

title: 1996

text: May 7 – Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a second term as Russia's president.

title: 2004

text: August 7 – Georgia intervenes against Russian-backed separatists in its South-Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, causing Russia to invade Georgia and spark the Russo-Georgian war, the first major European land war of the 21st century.

title: 2008

text: December 5 – Fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia kills 156 people. The nightclub owner was sentenced to nearly ten years in prison.

title: 2009

text: May 12–16 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 takes place in Moscow, Russia, and is won by Norwegian entrant Alexander Rybak with the song "Fairytale".

title: 2009

text: April 10 – The president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, is among 96 killed when their airplane crashes near Smolensk, Russia.

title: 2010

text: November 24 – Turkey shoots down a Russian fighter jet on the Turkish–Syrian border in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.

title: 2015

text: June 14–July 15 – The 2018 FIFA World Cup is held in Russia and is won by France.

title: 2018

text: June 8–9 – The 44th G7 summit is held in Canada. President Trump pushes for the reinstatement of the G8 (to include Russia). He also proposes the elimination of tariffs.

title: 2018

text: December 9 – The World Anti-Doping Agency votes unanimously to ban Russia from international sport for four years for doping offences, meaning it will be excluded from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

title: 2019

text: October 14 – A New York Times investigation reveals that Russian planes had bombed at least 50 hospitals and clinics in opposition-held Idlib, Syria.

title: 2019

text: September 16 – A gas explosion in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia sets off a fire in a bioweapons plant that houses viruses including smallpox, ebola and anthrax.

title: 2019

text: September 7 – Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.

title: 2019

text: December 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: Russia begins mass vaccination against COVID-19 with the Sputnik V candidate.

title: 2020

text: December 2 – The G7 and Australia join the EU in imposing a cap of $60 a barrel on Russian crude oil, designed to "prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine."

title: 2022

text: November 11 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Ukrainian forces recapture Kherson, the only regional capital to be taken by Russia since the start of the war.

title: 2022

text: February 16 – Lawmakers in the Russian State Duma vote to withdraw Russia from 21 conventions of the Council of Europe.

title: 2023

text: February 17 – The South African Navy hosts a 10-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean with Russia and China.

title: 2023

text: August 1 – 2024 American–Russian prisoner exchange: 26 individuals are released from Ankara Esenboğa Airport in the largest prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia since the Cold War.

title: 2024

text: February 18 – Vladimir Putin announces that Russia and the United States have officially agreed to restore diplomatic relations. A four-hour summit between the US and Russia is held in Saudi Arabia.

title: 2025

text: September 19 – Estonian airspace near Vaindloo island is violated by three Russian MiG-31 jets. In response, Estonia invokes Article 4 of NATO.

title: 2025