slug: august

label: August

description: eighth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

year_label: 48 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

date: August

text: August – Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus, who flees to Egypt. Pompey's army by and large is pardoned.

title: 48 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 8 BCE

text: Sextilis, the eighth month of the early Julian calendar, is renamed Augustus (August) by a decree of the Roman Senate in honor of Augustus.

title: 0s BC

section: Events › 8 BC › Germania

date: March

text: March – August – Battle of Mount Qi: The Chinese state of Shu Han gains a tactical victory, and the state of Cao Wei a strategic victory.

title: 231

section: Events › By place › China

text: August: Domitius Domitianus launches a usurpation against Diocletian in Egypt. He is perhaps aided by popular discontent with Diocletian's taxation reform.

title: 297

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: August – Gratian continues down the Danube to the "Camp of Mars" (frontier fortress near modern Niš), where he loses several men in an ambush by a band of Alans.

title: 378

text: August – Marcellinus is murdered in Sicily, probably at the instigation of his political rival, Ricimer. Heraclius is left to fight alone against the Vandals; after a 2-year campaign in the desert he returns to Constantinople.

title: 468

text: August – Emperor Ming of Song grants Lưu Bột the title of Jiaozhou governor, along with an army to retake Jiaozhou from Lý Trường Nhân. After landing in Jiaozhou, Lưu Bột is quickly defeated by Lý Trường Nhân, and dies shortly afterward.

title: 468

section: Events › By place › Jiaozhou (Vietnam)

text: August – Basiliscus, Roman usurper, is deposed and Zeno is restored as emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. With the support of his adviser Illus, he besieges Constantinople, but the Senate opens the gates, allowing him to resume the throne. Basiliscus flees to sanctuary in a church, but surrenders himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus is sent to a fortress in Cappadocia, where he later dies from starvation.

title: 476

text: August – Battle of Sirmium in Pannonia: The Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great, moving to invade Northern Italy at the behest of Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, defeat the Gepids attempting to stop their advance.

title: 489

section: Climate & Environment

text: August – Volcanic winter of 536: Snow falls in China, which causes the harvest to be delayed.

title: 536

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: August – Upon the death of Khunays ibn Hudhafa, a companion of Muhammad, Khunays's widow Hafsa bint Umar becomes eligible to marry Muhammad.

title: 624

section: Events › By date › July–December

text: August – Battle of Dumat Al-Jandal: A Muslim army (10,000 men) under Khalid defeats the rebel Arab Christians at Dumat Al-Jandal (Saudi Arabia).

title: 633

section: Events › By place › Arabia

text: August or September – Battle of Kafartuta: Caliph Marwan II defeats and kills Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani, leader of the Kharijites, in Upper Mesopotamia. The rebels withdraw across the River Tigris, escaping destruction.

title: 746

section: Events › By place › Umayyad Caliphate

text: August – Byzantine troops invade the Papal States, in alliance with King Desiderius of the Lombards. King Pepin III ("the Short") intervenes, and begins negotiations between the Lombards and Pope Paul I. Desiderius promises to end the hostilities, but on condition that Pepin sends back Lombard hostages held by the Franks.

title: 763

text: August - This year, on the first day of Chingam month, Kerala’s Kollam Era ( Malayalam Era/Calendar, also known as Kollavarsham) commences.

title: 825

section: Events › By place › India

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: August – Treaty of Compiègne: King Charles the Bald cedes the Cotentin Peninsula to Salomon, duke ('king') of Brittany, after he had sent his son-in-law Pascweten to negotiate a peace. Charles orders the fortification of the cities of Tours, Le Mans and Compiègne.

title: 867

text: August – Siege of Syracuse: The Aghlabids begin raiding the Byzantine territories, in the east of the island of Sicily. They besiege Syracuse, and blockade the fortress city by sea and land.

title: 877

text: August – Stephen VI is removed from office, imprisoned and strangled in his cell. He is succeeded by Romanus as the 114th pope of the Catholic Church.

title: 897

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: August – Abdallah, son of the Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II, represses a revolt of his Muslim subjects, and then initiates a campaign against the last Byzantine strongholds in Sicily.

title: 900

text: August – In what is now South Korea, at Seorabeo (now Gyeongju in South Korea), Gyeongae becomes the new monarch of the Kingdom of Silla upon the death of his older brother, King Gyeongmyeong.

title: 924

section: Events › July—September

text: August — In Spain, Fruela II, King of León and King of Galicia, dies and is temporarily succeeded by his son, Alfonso Fróilaz.

title: 925

section: Events › By date › July – December

text: August – Otto II appoints his cousin Charles, illegitimate son of the late King Louis IV (d'Outremer), as duke of Lorraine. King Lothair III – who claims the duchy as his own territory – declares war to the Holy Roman Empire. He leads an expedition into Lorraine accompanied by Hugh Capet. Lothair crosses the Meuse River and takes Aachen, sacking the imperial palace.

title: 977

text: August – A battle occurs near the town of Alfuente, Andalucia, between the Taifa of Granada and the Taifa of Almeria, as described by the Jewish poet Samuel ibn Naghrela.

title: 1038

text: August – Battle of Melitene: Bohemond I of Antioch is captured by the Danishmends, leaving Tancred as regent of the Principality of Antioch for two years.

title: 1100

section: Events › By place › Levant

text: August – Stephen assemble troops to renew the siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take the stronghold. Henry of Anjou marches south to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army of mercenaries. He places Stephen's besieging troops under siege themselves. Stephen agrees to make a truce and accepts Henry as heir to the English throne.

title: 1153

section: Events › By place › Britain

section: Births

text: August – Baldwin V, King of Jerusalem (d. 1186)

title: 1177

text: August – Andronikos Komnenos, a cousin of Maria's late husband, Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos), raises an army and enters the city, representing himself as the 'protector' of Alexios. He is proclaimed as co-emperor under the name Andronikos I, and has Maria imprisoned and later condemned to be strangled – forcing a signature from Alexios to put his mother to death.

title: 1182

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: July

text: July – August – Battle of Belvoir Castle: Saladin crosses into Palestine round the south of the Sea of Galilee. King Baldwin IV (the Leper) of Jerusalem marches with his army back from Oultrejordain and attacks Saladin's forces near Belvoir Castle (modern Israel). In a fierce battle, the Crusaders successfully repel Saladin's invasion. At the end of the day, each side retires, claiming the victory.

title: 1182

text: August – King William II of Sicily ("the Good") lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Norman expeditionary force of 200 ships and 80,000 men (including 5,000 knights) and marches as far as the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki, which he takes and pillages, massacring some 7,000 Greek citizens.

title: 1185

text: August – Baldwin V of Jerusalem (b. 1177)

title: 1186

text: August – After the death of John I of Sweden on March 10, 6-year-old Erik Eriksson is elected new King of Sweden (sometime between this time and July 1223).

title: 1222

text: August – At Xingqing in what is now China's Yinchuan province, Emperor Xianzong of the Western Xia Empire dies after a three-year reign, and is succeeded by his nephew, Li Xian. The Mongols under Genghis Khan force the surrender of Western Xia the following year, bringing an end to the Yinchuan province as a separate nation.

title: 1226

section: Events › July – September

text: August – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, signs an alliance with Llywelyn the Great, to join forces to revolt against King Henry III. Richard is faced by demands from royal bailiffs in September – where the garrison of Usk Castle is forced to surrender.

title: 1233

text: August – Siege of Faenza: Frederick II lays siege to the town of Faenza during the war of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Meanwhile, Frederick makes an alliance with Pisa to support his campaign against the Papal States.

title: 1240

text: Before August – King Louis IX of France launches the Eighth Crusade, in an attempt to recapture the Crusader States from the Mamluk sultan Baibars; the opening engagement is a siege of Tunis.

title: 1270

text: August – Mongol forces surround the castle of Al-Bira. Baibars skirts around the enemy with camels and wagons. He launches a devastating attack and routes the Mongols.

title: 1273

text: August – Italian Crusaders massacre Muslim merchants and peasants, and some local Christians in Acre. Some claim it began at a drunken party – others that a European husband found his wife making love to a Muslim. The barons and local knights try to rescue a few Muslims and take them to the safety of the castle, while some ringleaders are arrested.

title: 1290

text: August – The 17-year-old King Ferdinand the Summoned, supervised by his mother, Queen-Regent María de Molina, signs a peace treaty at Córdoba with Granada for three years. In return, Muhammad III renews his vassalage with Castile and pays the same tribute given as to his father, the late King Sancho the Brave. The strategic port city of Tarifa remains in Castilian hands.

title: 1303

text: August – Magnus Eriksson, grandson of the recently deceased king Haakon V and already proclaimed King of Sweden, is recognized by the Norwegian assembly as King Magnus VII of Norway, thus establishing a personal union with Sweden and Norway.

title: 1319

text: August – Second War of Scottish Independence: English forces relieve Stirling Castle, ending Edward III of England's last campaign in Scotland.

title: 1337

text: August – Haakon VI, king of Norway 1355–1380 and of Sweden 1362–1364 (d. 1380)

title: 1340

text: August – Gascon campaign of 1345 - Battle of Bergerac, Gascony: English troops are victorious over the French.

title: 1345

text: August – Muhammad Aytimur, leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar (alternative date is September)

title: 1346

text: August – Battle of Nesbit Moor: The Scottish army decisively defeats the English.

title: 1355

text: August – Qulpa becomes Khan of the Blue Horde after the death of Berdi Beg.

title: 1359

text: August – Peace is concluded between Sweden and Denmark with the arbitration in Helsingborg. Magnus IV Eriksson cedes the Scanian lands except northern Halland to Denmark. In return, Valdemar IV Atterdag must help Magnus against his domestic enemies.

title: 1360

text: August – The Revolt of Saint Titus, against the rule of the Republic of Venice in the Kingdom of Candia (island of Crete), begins.

title: 1363

text: August – The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China scraps the Office of Reports Inspection (established in 1370) for a new Office of Transmission, in his efforts to create a more efficient communicatory system in the empire. A month before this he noted that anyone could send memorials to the throne; commoners often did, although the only times their petitions were read aloud to the emperor were when they called for the impeachment of local officials who were not up to par with their official duties.Wilkinson, 534–535.

title: 1377

text: August – Kęstutis overthrows his nephew, Jogaila, as Grand Duke of Lithuania. Jogaila is allowed to remain as governor of eastern Lithuania. This marks the beginning of the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84).

title: 1381

text: August – China's Emperor Cheng Zu launches his fourth campaign against the Northern Yuan.

title: 1423

text: August – Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Greek scholar (d. 1511)

title: 1423

title: 1424

text: August – (Tawthalin 787 ME); King Thihathu of Ava, the Burmese monarch in what is now Myanmar, is ambushed at Amarapura after being guided into a trap by one of his wives, Queen Shin Bo-Me. His 8-year-old nephew, Min Hla, becomes the new King while Shin Bo-Me seeks a way to take the throne for herself.

title: 1425

text: August – Portuguese explorer Gil Eanes and his crew sail around the dangerous Cape Bojador of North Africa (off of Western Sahara) and survive, becoming the first Europeans to make the voyage and ending the legends about what lies on the other side of the "Dark Sea". The achievement is a breakthrough in trade between Europe and Asia.

title: 1434

text: August – After making peace with the Karamanids, Ottoman Sultan Murad II abdicates in favor of his son Mehmed II.

title: 1444

text: August – Christopher of Bavaria undertakes a fruitless military campaign against Gotland to end Erik of Pomerania's piracy.

title: 1446

text: August – Sophronius I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, dies after a reign of 11 years and is succeeded by the former Partriarch, Gennadius II.

title: 1464

text: August – Hacı I Giray, first ruler of the Crimean Khanate (b. 1397)

title: 1466

text: August – Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Spanish historian (d. 1557)

title: 1478

text: August (day unknown) – Marco Barbarigo, the 73rd Doge of Venice, was said to have died in a dispute caused by his brother and successor, Agostino Barbarigo.

title: 1486

text: August – Bartolomeu Dias leaves Lisbon, on his voyage to the Cape of Good Hope.

title: 1487

text: August – Polydore Vergil completes De inventoribus rerum, the first modern history of inventions.

title: 1499

text: August – Martin Luther publishes To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation.

title: 1520

text: August – Vannoccio Biringuccio, Italian metallurgist (b. 1480)

title: 1539

text: August – Jacques Buus, Flemish composer and organist (b. 1500)

title: 1565

text: August – King Mayadunne of Sitawaka (b. 1501)

title: 1581

text: August – 1592–1593 London plague breaks out in England.

title: 1592

text: August – David Fabricius discovers the variable nature of the star Mira.

title: 1596

text: August (approx.) – Possible first performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth in London.

title: 1606

text: August – Antoni Clarassó i Terès, Spanish priest

title: 1611

text: August – Portuguese Jesuit priest António de Andrade becomes the first European to enter Tibet, arriving at Tsaparang.

title: 1624

text: August – Thirty Years' War: Running out of supplies, Tilly is forced to send his army into the Electorate of Saxony in order to secure supplies, as well as to force a reaction from John George, Elector of Saxony and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

title: 1631

text: August (prob.) – Jean Nicolet becomes the first European to set foot in what becomes the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He is in search of a water-route to the Pacific, when he lands at Green Bay of Lake Michigan.

title: 1634

text: August (bur.) – Richard Whitbourne, English colonist of Newfoundland (b. 1561)

title: 1635

text: August – The Cambridge Platform, a new, localized system of Christian church governance, is agreed upon and written down in New England.

title: 1648

text: August – John Parkinson, English herbalist and botanist (b. 1567)

title: 1650

text: August – The governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, attacks the New Sweden (Delaware) colony.

title: 1655

text: mid-August – Three Spanish frigates from Spanish Florida, sailing from St. Augustine and under the command of Juan Menendez Marques, arrive at Charleston harbor, preparing to attack the English settlement in South Carolina. The English settlers have been warned in advance by Indians who had found out about the invasion. Because of a storm, and the English preparations for a siege, Captain Menendez abandons the colony without attempting an attack.

title: 1670

text: August – The French guild of the Maitresses bouquetieres is founded in Paris.

title: 1677

text: August – Edmond Halley goes to Cambridge to discuss the problem of planetary motion with Isaac Newton.

title: 1684

text: August – The future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor weds Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

title: 1708

text: August – William Cochrane, Scottish MP in the Parliament of Great Britain

title: 1717

text: August – Henry Constantine Jennings, English gambler and collector (d. 1819)

title: 1731

text: August – The Camberwell beauty butterfly is named after specimens found at Camberwell in London.

title: 1748

text: August – Fire in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, destroys 2,600 houses.

title: 1763

text: August – Francesca Anna Canfield, American linguist, poet and translator (d. 1833)

title: 1803

text: August – H. Fox Talbot exposes the world's first known photographic negatives, at Lacock Abbey in England.

title: 1835

text: August – Sequoyah, Native American silversmith, creator of the Cherokee syllabary (b. c. 1767)

title: 1843

text: August – Yale Corporation establishes the first graduate school in the United States, as Department of Philosophy and the Arts (renamed Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1892).

title: 1847

text: August – Táhirih, Iranian Baha'i theologian, poet and feminist (b. 1814)

title: 1852

text: August – Pre-human remains are found in the Neanderthal Valley in Prussia.

title: 1856

text: August – The first aerial photography is carried out by Nadar, from a moored balloon in France.

title: 1858

text: August – King William's College is opened on the Isle of Man.

title: 1883

text: August – Aga Khan II, Iranian religious leader (b. 1830)

title: 1885

text: August – The earliest constituent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health is established at the Marine Hospital, Staten Island, as the Laboratory of Hygiene.

title: 1887

text: August – Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Alexander III meet at Narva.

title: 1890

text: August – The 1896 Eastern North America heat wave kills 1,500 people from Chicago, Illinois to Boston, Massachusetts.

title: 1896

text: March 29 – Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive on Easter Island, to make the first true study of it (they depart in August 1915).

title: 1914

text: August – Robert Baden-Powell publishes The Wolf Cub's Handbook in the U.K., establishing the basis of the junior section of the Scouting movement, the Wolf Cubs (modern-day Cub Scouts).

title: 1916

text: June–August – The "Spanish flu" becomes pandemic. Over 30 million people die in the following 6 months.

title: 1918

text: August – Margaret Mead's influential cultural anthropology text, Coming of Age in Samoa, is published in the U.S.

title: 1928

text: August – The volcanic island of Anak Krakatau begins to form permanently in the Sunda Strait.

title: 1930

text: August – A farmers' revolt begins in the Midwestern United States.

title: 1932

text: August – In the face of overwhelming Japanese military pressure, Chiang Kai-shek withdraws his government to Chungking.

title: 1938

text: January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany, in the first phase of mass killings under the Aktion T4 program here.

title: 1941

text: August – The United States founds the Alliance for Progress.

title: 1961

text: November 5 – A coal mining disaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people; the Norwegian government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident, in August 1963.

title: 1962


slug: augusta-honorific

label: Augusta (honorific)

section: Deaths

date: August 29

text: August 29 – Salonia Matidia receives the title of Augusta upon the death of Marciana.

title: AD 112

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Faustina the Younger is given the title Augusta, and becomes Roman Empress.

title: AD 146

section: Culture & Society

text: Bruttia Crispina marries Commodus, and receives the title of Augusta.

title: AD 178

text: Julia Maesa arranges, for her grandson Elagabalus, a marriage with Julia Paula. The wedding is a lavish ceremony and Paula is given the honorific title of Augusta.

title: 219

text: Near the end of the year, Galerius gives his wife (Diocletian's daughter) Galeria Valeria the title of Augusta.

title: 307

section: Economy & Finance

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Emperor Arcadius gives his wife Aelia Eudoxia the official title of Augusta. She is able to wear the purple paludamentum and is depicted in Roman currency.

title: 400

date: July 4

text: July 4 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigns as regent and proclaims herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.

title: 414

text: Licinia Eudoxia, wife of emperor Valentinian III, is granted the title of Augusta following the birth of their daughter Eudocia.

title: 439

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Emperor Heraclius marries his niece Martina; she becomes empress (Augusta) of the Byzantine Empire. This second marriage is considered to fall within the prohibited degree of kinship, and is approved by the Catholic Church in Constantinople.

title: 613


slug: augustine-of-canterbury

label: Augustine of Canterbury

description: 6th-century missionary, archbishop, and saint

section: Religion & Belief

date: June

text: June – Pope Gregory I the Great sends a group of Benedictine monks under Augustine of Canterbury on a mission to Britain, to Christianize King Æthelberht, and convert the Kingdom of Kent from native Anglo-Saxon paganism. He carries letters of commendation to bishops, and is accompanied by Frankish interpreters.

title: 595

text: Gregorian Mission: Augustine of Canterbury lands with a group of missionaries on the Isle of Thanet (South East England). He is welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, who accepts baptism along with the rest of his court at the behest of his Christian Frankish wife, Bertha. Æthelbert assigns Augustine and his 40 monks a residence at Canterbury (Kent), where they found a Benedictine monastery that will make the town a centre of Christianity (or 597).

title: 596

text: Gregorian Mission: Augustine of Canterbury lands with a group of missionaries on the Isle of Thanet (South East England). He is welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, who accepts baptism (along with the rest of his court) at the behest of his Christian Frankish wife, Bertha. Æthelbert assigns Augustine and his 40 monks a residence at Canterbury, where they found a Benedictine monastery that will make the town a centre of Christianity (or 596).

title: 597

text: Augustine of Canterbury converts Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity (approximate date).

title: 600

text: The future Archbishops of Canterbury (Mellitus, Justus, and Honorius), and the future Archbishop of York Paulinus, are sent to England by Pope Gregory I to aid Augustine in his missionary work. Gregory writes the decretal Libellus responsionum to Augustine.

title: 601

text: Augustine of Canterbury meets with the Welsh bishops at Aust near Chepstow. He accuses them of not adopting the Roman Christian way of dating Easter, and persuades them to accept the teaching of baptism (according to the Roman Rite).

title: 602

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, is succeeded by Laurence. He is a member of the Gregorian mission (see 596).

title: 604

text: May 26 – Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date)

title: 604

section: Crime & Justice

text: May 26 – King Edmund I is murdered at age 25 by an outlawed robber while attending St. Augustine's Day mass in Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire). He is succeeded by his brother Eadred (or Edred) as king of England.

title: 946

section: Events › By place › England


slug: augustine-of-hippo

label: Augustine of Hippo

description: Christian theologian, philosopher, and saint (354–430)

text: Saint Monica, Christian saint and mother of Augustine of Hippo (d. 387)

title: 332

text: Saint Monica, Christian saint and mother of Augustine of Hippo (approximate date)

title: 333

date: November 13

text: November 13 – Augustine of Hippo, North African bishop (d. 430)

title: 354

text: Augustine of Hippo, age 17, travels to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric.

title: 371

text: Augustine converts to Christianity. He ends his marriage plans after hearing a sermon on the life of Saint Anthony.

title: 386

text: Augustine is baptized on Easter Vigil by Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.

title: 387

text: Saint Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo

title: 387

text: Augustine, age 40, becomes bishop of Hippo Regius (modern Algeria). His assignment is the reunification of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa, primarily focusing on the Donatist movement led by Primianus of Carthage.

title: 395

text: Augustine of Hippo begins his Confessions, an autobiography that recounts his intellectual and spiritual development.

title: 397

text: Augustine of Hippo completes his Confessions, an autobiography that recounts his intellectual and spiritual development.

title: 398

text: In the Roman province of Africa, Augustine of Hippo opposes Donatism as a heresy.

title: 405

text: Augustine of Hippo, age 59, begins to write his spiritual book De Civitate Dei (City of God), as a reply to the charge that Christianity was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire.

title: 413

text: Augustine of Hippo publishes the De Civitate Dei, City of God.

title: 426

section: Events › By place › Religion

text: Spring – The Vandals under King Genseric extend their power in North Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, and lay siege to Hippo Regius (where Augustine has recently been bishop).

title: 430

section: Conflict & Security

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Augustine dies during the siege of Hippo Regius at age 75, leaving behind his monumental work The City of God and other works that will have influence on Christianity.

title: 430

text: August 28 – Augustine of Hippo, bishop and theologian (b. 354)

title: 430

text: Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and Pope Gregory I are named the first Doctors of the Church. They are known collectively as the Great Doctors of the Western Church.

title: 1298

date: September 8

text: September 8 – St. Augustine, Florida (named after Augustine of Hippo), is established by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, becoming the oldest surviving European settlement in the modern-day United States, and a mass of Thanksgiving is said.

title: 1565

section: Events › July–September


slug: augustinians

label: Augustinians

description: general name for orders and congregations that follow the Rule of St. Augustine

text: The Canons of the Council of Orange are established, approving the Augustinian doctrine of sin and grace over Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism, but without Augustine's absolute predestination.

title: 529

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Hugh of Saint Victor, French theologian and writer, joins the Victorines (at the Augustinian Abbey of St. Victor) in Paris.

title: 1115

text: The Augustinian Runcorn Priory is transferred to Norton Priory.

title: 1134

text: Undated – The Augustiner-Bräu is first recorded as the brewery of an Augustinian monastery at Munich.

title: 1328

section: Events

date: March 31

text: March 31 – Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, Italian Augustinian friar

title: 1342

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Luther enters the monastic life, at an Augustinian cloister in Erfurt called St. Augustine's Monastery.

title: 1505

date: April 26

text: April 26 – Martin Luther makes the first public defense of his views at a gathering of the Roman Catholic order of Augustinians, at what becomes known as the Heidelberg Disputation at a lecture hall at Heidelberg in the Electoral Palatinate in Germany. While there, he is challenged to a theological debate by Johann Eck, the German leader of the anti-Reformation movement.

title: 1518

section: Events › April–June

text: Villanova University (in Villanova, Pennsylvania by the Augustinian order).

title: 1842

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: augusto-pinochet

label: Augusto Pinochet

description: dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990

date: September 11

text: September 11 – Chile's democratically elected government is overthrown in a violent military coup after serious political instability. President Salvador Allende allegedly commits suicide during the coup in the presidential palace and General Augusto Pinochet heads a US-backed military junta that governs Chile for the next 17 years.

title: 1973

section: Events › September

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: June 27

text: June 27 – The head of the Chilean Military Junta, Army General Augusto Pinochet, assumes the office of "Supreme Chief of the Nation". On December 17, via a Supreme Decree amendment, he will be formally designated President of Chile.

title: 1974

section: Events › May–June

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

title: 1976

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet is sworn in as President of Chile for another 8-year term.

title: 1981

section: Events › March

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; 5 of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed.

title: 1986

date: October 5

text: October 5 – Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet loses a national plebiscite on his rule; he relinquishes power in 1990.

title: 1988

section: Events › October

text: March 11 – Augusto Pinochet hands over power to the elected president Patricio Aylwin, marking the beginning of the Chilean transition to democracy after 17 years of the military dictatorship of Chile.

title: 1990

date: October 10

text: October 10 – Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet: General Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator from 1973 to 1990, is indicted for human rights violations he committed in Chile by Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón. 6 days later British police place him under house arrest during his medical treatment in the UK. This is a leading case in the law of universal jurisdiction.

title: 1998

text: March 11 – Gabriel Boric is sworn in as President of Chile. He becomes the youngest head of state in the nation's history and the first to be born during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

title: 2022


slug: augustus-honorific

label: Augustus (honorific)

year_label: 27 BCE

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Octavian formally returns full power to the Senate; they give him the titles of Princeps and Augustus. He accepts this honor, having declined the alternative title of Romulus, thus becoming first Roman emperor.

title: 27 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic/Empire

text: Commodus is given the title Augustus, and is made co-emperor, with the same status as his father, Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 177

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Philip the Arab is recognized by the Roman Senate as the new Roman Emperor with the honorific Augustus. He nominates his son Philippus, age 6, with the title of Caesar and makes him heir to the throne; gives his brother Priscus supreme power (rector Orientis) in the Eastern provinces; and begins construction of the city of Shahba (Syria) in the province of his birth.

title: 244

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti.

title: 337

date: January 19

text: January 19 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium, giving him the title Augustus with power over all the eastern provinces. Theodosius comes to terms with the Visigoths and settles them in the Balkans as military allies (foederati).

title: 379

text: Emperor Theodosius I cedes Dacia and Macedonia to Valentinian II. They recognize Magnus Maximus as Augustus.

title: AD 383

section: Culture & Society

text: Magnus Maximus elevates his son Flavius Victor to the rank of Augustus.

title: 384

section: Deaths

text: Flavius Victor, Roman co-emperor (Augustus)

title: 388

date: January 23

text: January 23 – Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his son Honorius, age 8, co-ruler (Augustus) of the Western Roman Empire.

title: 393

date: October 23

text: October 23 – Valentinian III, six-year-old son of Galla Placidia, is installed as emperor (Augustus) of the Western Roman Empire. Real power is in the hands of his mother who becomes a regent.

title: 425

date: February 9

text: February 9 – Zeno, father of Leo II, is crowned as co-emperor (Augustus). He rules the empire together with his son, and stabilises the Eastern frontier.

title: 474

date: January 9

text: January 9 – Emperor Zeno abdicates under pressure, as his wife's uncle Basiliscus stages a coup d'état at Constantinople, with support from Zeno's trusted adviser and fellow Isaurian Illus. Basiliscus usurps the throne and is proclaimed new emperor (Augustus) of the Eastern Roman Empire. He begins a 20-month reign; Zeno and his supporters flee to Isauria.

title: 475

text: July 4 – Heraklonas, age 12, son of Heraclius, obtains (through the influence of his mother Martina) the title of Augustus. This brings him in rivalry with his elder half-brother Constantine.

title: 638

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Emperor Constans II appoints his son Constantine IV, age 2, co-emperor (Augustus). He is too young to rule as monarch of the Byzantine Empire, and his title remains a given name.

title: 654

text: Constans II elevates his son Heraclius to the rank of co-emperor (Augustus), alongside his brother Tiberius.

title: 659


slug: augustus-title

label: Augustus (title)

description: imperial rank, honorific and title

text: In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul.

title: AD 196

date: January 28

text: January 28 – Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus.

title: AD 198

section: Religion & Belief

text: Publius Septimius Geta receives the titles of Imperator and Augustus from his father, Emperor Septimius Severus.

title: 209

text: Aemilianus is murdered at Spoletium and Publius Valerianus, age 60, is recognised as the new emperor by the Rhine legions. He gives his son Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus the title Augustus. Valerianus I dispatches him to the Danube where the Goths have violated the treaty signed with Rome and invaded Moesia.

title: 253

text: Saloninus, son of Gallienus, is proclaimed Augustus by his troops. Postumus besieges Cologne, where Silvanus is praetorian prefect and Roman ruler of Gaul.

title: 260

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Diocletian rewards Maximian by elevating him to co-emperor, giving him the title Augustus.

title: 286

date: November 20

text: November 20 – The Augusti Diocletian and Maximian reunite in Rome to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Diocletian's accession, which is now treated as a joint anniversary for both emperors. A series of columns in the Roman Forum and a triumphal arch are dedicated to the emperors. The two emperors also agree on a plan of abdication.

title: 303

text: Constantius I and Galerius are declared Augusti; Flavius Valerius Severus and Maximinus Daza are appointed Caesars.

title: 305

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 11

text: November 11 – Following the murder of Severus, Galerius promotes Licinius to Augustus.

title: 307

text: November 11 – The Conference of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, Galerius recalls Diocletian briefly from retirement, and they convene with Maximian. Diocletian persuades Maximian to return to retirement, and he and Galerius declare Maxentius a public enemy. Licinius is proclaimed Augustus of the west, while rival contender Constantine I is again declared Caesar.

title: 308

text: Maximinus Daza, caesar under Emperor Galerius, is acclaimed augustus by his troops. Galerius is forced to recognize him as co-ruler of the East. The Roman Empire is thus divided between seven simultaneous emperors: Galerius (East), Maximinus II (East), Licinius (Middle), Constantine I (West), Maximian (West), Maxentius (Italy), and Domitius Alexander (Africa).

title: 310

text: Licinius elevates Valerius Valens to Augustus, and mobilises an army against Constantine. Bassianus is accused of conspiracy and executed.

title: 316

date: October 8

text: October 8 – Battle of Cibalae: Constantine the Great defeats his rival Licinius near the town of Colonia Aurelia Cibalae (modern-day Vinkovci, Croatia). Licinius is forced to flee to Sirmium and loses all of the Balkans except for Thrace. Peace negotiations are initiated between the two Augusti, but they are unsuccessful.

title: 316

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Valens, brother of Valentinian I, is appointed co-emperor (Augustus) in the palace of Hebdomon (Turkey). He rules the Eastern portion of the Roman Empire, from the Danube to the Persian border, and begins the first anti-pagan persecutions.

title: 364

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Gratian receives the title of Augustus under his father, Valentinian I.

title: 367

text: Emperor Jovinus elevates his brother Sebastianus as co-emperor (Augustus) and takes control of Gaul.

title: 412

date: February 8

text: February 8 – Constantius III is appointed co-emperor (Augustus) with his ineffectual brother-in-law, Honorius, and becomes the real ruler of the Western Roman Empire.

title: 421


slug: augustus

label: Augustus

description: first emperor of the Roman Empire and founder of the Julio-Claudian dynasty

year_label: 85 BCE

section: Births

text: Atia, niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Augustus (d. 43 BC)

title: 85 BC

year_label: 80 BCE

text: Scribonia, wife to the Roman Emperor Augustus (approximate date) (d. AD 16)

title: 80 BC

year_label: 63 BCE

date: September 23

text: September 23 – Augustus, first Roman Emperor (d. AD 14)

title: 63 BC

year_label: 59 BCE

text: Livia, Roman empress as the second wife of Augustus

title: 59 BC

text: Gaius Octavius, father of Caesar Augustus

title: 59 BC

year_label: 44 BCE

date: April

text: April – Octavian returns from Apollonia in Dalmatia to Rome to take up Caesar's inheritance, against advice from Atia (his mother and Caesar's niece) and consul Antony.

title: 44 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

section: Conflict & Security

date: December

text: December – Antony besieges Brutus Albinus in Mutina (Modena), with Octavian, an ally of Decimus, who is one of his uncle's assassins, close by.

title: 44 BC

year_label: 43 BCE

text: Consuls: Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Aulus Hirtius. The Roman Senate confirms Octavian as propraetor with joint responsibility for the campaign against Antony. Hirtius and Octavian mobilize troops for the march to Mutina, while Pansa continues the levy. Embassy dispatched to treat with Antony.

title: 43 BC

text: Atia, niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Augustus (b. 85 BC)

title: 43 BC

date: April 21

text: April 21 – Antony is again defeated in the Battle of Mutina by a coalition of Octavian, Decimus Brutus, and the two consuls of the year.

title: 43 BC

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Octavian takes office as consul. He's prevailed to pass the lex Pedia, a law establishing the murder of Caesar as a capital crime.

title: 43 BC

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Octavian is given imperium, marking the start of his public career.

title: 43 BC

year_label: 42 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Octavian returns to Rome and arranges for ± 40,000 veterans' settlements in Campania, Etruria, Picenum, Samnium, Umbria, and in northern Italy.

title: 42 BC

text: Marcus Claudius Marcellus, nephew of Augustus (d. 23 BC)

title: 42 BC

date: July

text: July – Mark Antony lands with an army (28 legions) in Illyria, leaving Octavian ill at Dyrrachium, and marches to Amphipolis. Admiral Ahenobarbus, with the Republican fleet (130 warships), blockades the Adriatic Sea.

title: 42 BC

year_label: 41 BCE

text: Lucius Antonius occupies Perusia. He accepts the appeal of the local population. Lucius and Fulvia are defeated by Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian in the Battle of Perugia.

title: 41 BC

year_label: 40 BCE

text: Treaty of Brundisium: The Triumvirs agrees to divide the Roman Republic into spheres of influence. Gaius Octavian styles himself "Imperator Caesar" and takes control of the Western provinces. Mark Antony is given the Eastern provinces; the River Drin, the boundary between the provinces Illyricum and Macedonia, is to serve as their frontier. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus controls Hispania and Africa. The treaty is cemented by the marriage of Antony and Octavia the Younger.

title: 40 BC

text: Siege of Perusia: trying a last attempt to break the siege, which fails; Lucius Antonius surrenders to Octavian. His life is spared, but the citizens are executed or sold into slavery. Fulvia flees with her children and is exiled to Sicyon, where she dies of a sudden illness.

title: 40 BC

year_label: 39 BCE

text: Julia the Elder, daughter of Caesar Augustus (d. AD 14)

title: 39 BC

year_label: 37 BCE

text: Caesar Augustus (Octavian) engineers the "Second Pact of Tarentum" which renews the Triumvirate for an additional five years. Mark Antony exchanges 120 ships, for service against Sextus Pompeius. Octavian Caesar donates 1,000 troops from the Praetorian Guard and 20,000 legionaries for the Parthian campaign in Syria.

title: 37 BC

year_label: 36 BCE

date: August

text: August – Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, an admiral of Octavian Caesar, secures the Lipari Islands and harasses the coast from Mylae to Tyndaris. Octavian transports his legions, via Leucopetra, to Tauromenium (modern Taormina).

title: 36 BC

year_label: 34 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian pacifies Dalmatia and Pannonia forming the province of Illyricum, while Antony regains Armenia from Parthia. Octavian reduces the outposts defending the Liburnian town of Promona, sets up siege works and forces its surrender.

title: 34 BC

year_label: 32 BCE

text: July – The Roman Senate declares war upon Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Octavian Caesar is proclaimed dux and the West - Gallic and Spanish provinces, Africa, Sicily and Sardinia - swear an oath (sacramentum) of loyalty to him. In order to assure this oath, Octavian forces the high priest of the Vestal Virgins in Rome to hand over Antony's will, which contains information about the Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms and plans to build a tomb in Alexandria for him and Cleopatra.

title: 32 BC

year_label: 31 BCE

text: Augustus, then known as Imperator Caesar, becomes Roman Consul for the third time. Antony was designated as his colleague but is deposed from office, an action that Antony does not recognise. Elected in Antony's place is Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus; Antony's consulship is not recorded in some sources, as Valerius is marked instead as consul ordinarius.

title: 31 BC

year_label: 30 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus becomes consul for the fourth time. His partner is Marcus Licinius Crassus the Younger.

title: 30 BC

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.

title: 30 BC

year_label: 28 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the sixth time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the second time.

title: 28 BC

text: Augustus initiates a census of the Roman Republic for the first time since 69 BC.

title: 28 BC

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the seventh time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the third time.

title: 27 BC

section: Health & Medicine

text: Augustus' first census of the Roman Empire (formerly the Roman Republic) reports a total of 4,063,000 citizens.

title: 27 BC

text: Caesar Augustus becomes Roman Consul for the tenth time. His partner is Gaius Norbanus Flaccus.

title: 24 BC

text: Caesar Augustus becomes Roman consul for the eleventh time. His co-consul is Aulus Terentius Varro Murena.

title: 23 BC

text: Marcus Claudius Marcellus, son of Octavia and nephew of Augustus (b. 42 BC)

title: 23 BC

text: King Artaxias II returns, with the support of the Parthians, to Armenia and claims the throne. Artavasdes I escapes to Rome, where Caesar Augustus receives him.

title: 22 BC

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa divorces Claudia Marcella Major, and marries Julia the Elder, daughter of Caesar Augustus.

title: 21 BC

text: Gaius Caesar, grandson of Augustus Caesar (d. AD 4)

title: 20 BC

text: May 12 – Emperor Augustus Caesar negotiates a peace with Parthia, making Armenia a buffer zone between the two major powers. The captured eagles of Marcus Licinius Crassus and Mark Antony are returned.

title: 20 BC

text: Caesar Augustus introduces the Lex Julia (Julian Laws):

title: 18 BC

text: Cornelia, daughter of Scribonia (second wife of Augustus)

title: 18 BC

text: Emperor Augustus adopts Gaius and Lucius Caesar.

title: 17 BC

text: Caesar Augustus reorganizes the German provinces, making Trier their capital.

title: 16 BC

text: Vedius Pollio, Roman equestrian (friend of Augustus)

title: 15 BC

text: Caesar Augustus makes Beeroth (modern Beirut) a colonia, named Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus.

title: 14 BC

text: Drusus Julius Caesar, son of the Emperor Tiberius and step-grandson of the Emperor Augustus (d. AD 23)

title: 14 BC

text: The Ara Pacis Augustae ("Altar of Augustan Peace") is commissioned by the Roman Senate to honor the triumphal return of Emperor Augustus from Hispania and Gaul.

title: 13 BC

text: Emperor Augustus is given the title Pontifex Maximus.

title: 12 BC

text: Agrippa Postumus, son of Julia the Elder and grandson of Augustus (d. AD 14)

title: 12 BC

text: Battle of Arbalo: Roman forces under Augustus's stepson Nero Claudius Drusus beat off a German ambush.

title: 11 BC

text: Battle of the Lupia River: Roman forces under Augustus's stepson Nero Claudius Drusus win a victory in Germania.

title: 11 BC

text: Octavia the Younger, sister of Augustus (b. 69 BC)

title: 11 BC

text: The Obelisk of Montecitorio is brought from Egypt to Rome by Emperor Augustus to be erected as a sundial gnomon of the Solarium Augusti. It is now in the Piazza Montecitorio.

title: 10 BC

text: Nero Claudius Drusus, son of Livia and stepson of Augustus (b. 38 BC)

title: 0s BC

text: Nero Claudius Drusus, Emperor Augustus' stepson, begins a campaign against the Marcomanni, but dies soon after, due to a fall from his horse.

title: 0s BC

text: After 20 years, Emperor Augustus initiates his second census of the Roman Empire.

title: 0s BC

text: Augustus' second census of the Roman Empire reports a total of 4,233,000 citizens. However, the specific criteria of the census are still not clear.

title: 0s BC

text: Tiberius retires to Rhodes, to the inconvenience of Emperor Augustus. He is recalled to Rome years later in AD 4, becoming Augustus' adopted son and heir following the deaths of Lucius and Gaius Caesar.

title: 0s BC

text: Acme (enslaved woman), Jewish slave and personal maid in the service of the Empress Livia Drusilla, wife of Augustus

title: 0s BC

text: February 5 – Augustus is proclaimed pater patriae ("father of the country") by the Roman Senate. This bestowed title is the logical consequence and final proof of Augustus' supreme position as princeps, the first in charge over the Roman state.

title: 0s BC

text: Aulus Caecina Severus was appointed consul by Emperor Augustus, succeeding Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus and Lucius Calpurnius Piso.

title: 0s BC

text: AD 1 – Tiberius, under order of Emperor Augustus, quells revolts in Germania (AD 1–5).

title: 0s

text: AD 2 – Following the death of Lucius Caesar, Augustus allows his stepson Tiberius back into Rome as a private citizen, after six years of enforced retirement on Rhodes.

title: 0s

text: AD 3 – The rule of Emperor Augustus is renewed for a ten-year period.

title: 0s

text: AD 4 – Emperor Augustus summons Tiberius to Rome, and names him his heir and future emperor. At the same time, Agrippa Postumus, the last son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, is also adopted and named as Augustus' heir.

title: 0s

text: AD 6 – The Princeps Augustus sets up a treasury, the aerarium militare (170 million sestertii), with the specific purpose of paying bonuses to retiring legion veterans. This is financed by a 5% tax on inheritances, a system said to have been suggested in Julius Caesar's memoirs.

title: 0s

text: AD 6 – Princeps Augustus banishes Agrippa Postumus, one of his adopted sons, to the island of Planasia.

title: 0s

text: AD 6 – Due to a catastrophic fire in Rome, the barracks system - the vigiles, initially manned only by freedmen - is created by the Princeps Augustus to allow quicker response to outbreaks of fire in the city.

title: 0s

text: AD 6 – A pamphletting campaign in Rome is quashed by the Princeps Augustus. Publius Plautius Rufus is accused but found innocent of the crime.

title: 0s

text: AD 8 – Vipsania Julia is exiled. Lucius Aemilius Paullus and his family are disgraced. Augustus breaks off the engagement of Claudius to Paullus' daughter Aemilia Lepida. An effort is made to betroth Claudius to Livia Medullina Camilla.

title: 0s

text: Emperor Augustus abandons his plan to create a defensive border at the Elbe, in order to reinforce the Roman defenses along the Rhine and the Danube.

title: 10s

text: Augustus orders a major invasion of Germany beyond the Rhine.

title: 10s

text: Emperor Augustus initiates his third census of the Roman Empire after 20 years.

title: 10s

text: Augustus' third (and final) 20-year census of the Roman Empire reports a total of 4,973,000 citizens.

title: 10s

text: August 19 – Augustus, Roman emperor (b. 63 BC)

title: 10s

text: August 19 – Augustus, the first Roman emperor, dies and is declared to be a god.

title: 10s

text: Nicolaus of Damascus writes a biography of the Emperor Augustus (Bios Kaisaros).

title: 10s

text: Greek geographer Strabo publishes Geographica, a work covering the world known to the Romans and Greeks at the time of Emperor Augustus – it is the only such book to survive from the ancient world.

title: 20s

text: An Arc of Triumph is erected in Rimini, in honor of the former Emperor Augustus.

title: 20s

text: Julia the Younger, granddaughter of Augustus (b. 19 BC)

title: 20s

text: Emperor Trajan starts an expedition against Dacia, exceeding the limits of the Roman Empire set by Augustus.

title: AD 101

text: The Marcomanni tribe wages war against the Romans at Aquileia. They destroy aqueducts and irrigation conduits. Marcus Aurelius repels the invaders, ending the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) that has kept the Roman Empire free of conflict since the days of Emperor Augustus.

title: AD 167


slug: aurangzeb

label: Aurangzeb

description: the sixth Mughal Emperor from 1658 to 1707

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: May 28

text: May 28 – Aurangzeb, Crown Prince of the Mughal Empire in India, narrowly escapes death when an elephant stampedes through his encampment, but is able to defend himself with a lance.

title: 1633

section: Events › April–June

date: April 15

text: April 15 – In India, the Battle of Dharmat is fought in the modern-day state of Madhya Pradesh between rival claimants to the throne of the Mughal Empire. Prince Muhi al-Din Muhammad, the son of the Emperor Shah Jahan, leads 30,000 men in a triumph over 22,000 troops led by Jaswant Singh of Marwar and Ratan Singh Rathore. Despite heavy losses, with more than 11,000 casualties, Prince Muhi, who has adopted the name Aurangzeb, continues toward Samugarh and Agra and captures the throne at the end of July.

title: 1658

text: July 31 – After Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire.

title: 1658

section: Events › July–September

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Aurangzeb wins the Battle of Samugarh as Indian Mughal regent Dara Shikoh makes a last effort to defend the Mughal capital Agra.

title: 1658

date: March 11

text: March 11 – Prince Dara Shikoh, who had been the heir apparent to the throne of the Mughal Empire in India until the overthrow of his father, Shah Jahan, makes a stand near Ajmer to fight the armies sent by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but loses and is forced to flee.

title: 1659

section: Events › January–March

date: December 14

text: December 14 – Prince Murad Bakhsh, younger brother of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, is executed at Gwailor Fort on order of his brother.

title: 1661

section: Events › October–December

date: February 7

text: February 7 – Shah Shuja, who was deprived of his claim to the throne of the Mughal Empire by his younger brother Aurangzeb, then fled to Burma, is killed by Indian troops in an attack on his residence at Arakan.

title: 1661

date: January 23

text: January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal Empire and the independent Ahom Kingdom (in what is now the Assam state), with the Mughals ending their occupation of the Ahom capital of Garhgaon, in return for payment by Ahom in silver and gold for costs of the occupation, and King Sutamla of Ahom sending one of his daughters to be part of the harem of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

title: 1663

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Shivaji, leader of the Bhonsale clan of the Marathas in India, signs the Treaty of Purandar with the Mughal Empire, giving up 23 of the 35 forts under his control, agreeing to pay reparations to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and sending his son to stay as a hostage at Agra.

title: 1665

date: January 27

text: January 27 – Mughal conquest of Chittagong: Mughal forces of Emperor Aurangzeb, in alliance with the Portuguese, under Shaista Khan and his son Buzurg Umed Khan, expel the Maghs from the Bengal port city of Chittagong, renaming the city as Islamabad.

title: 1666

date: May 12

text: May 12 – In India, General Shivaji Bhonsale of the Maratha Empire arrives at the Agra Fort for a meeting with Emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire, as part of the terms of peace under the 1665 Treaty of Purandar. After taking offence at the disrespect shown to him, he gets angry and attempts to leave; he and his son Sambhaji are immediately placed under arrest and imprisoned at the fort.

title: 1666

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb grants the French East India Company a royal mandate to trade at the port of Surat.

title: 1666

text: After Shivaji's escape, hostilities between the Marathas and the Mughals ebb, with Mughal sardar Jaswant Singh acting as intermediary between Shivaji and Aurangzeb for new peace proposals.

title: 1667

section: Events › Date unknown

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Emperor Aurangzeb, ruler of the Mughal Empire in India, orders a massive counterattack on Assam's Ahom kingdom after learning that Mughal troops had captured Guwahati. Aurangzeb appoints Raja Ram Singh to command a force of 36,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers and 40 ships to conquer Ahom. The war lasts until the defeat of the Mughals by the smaller Ahom force in March 1671.

title: 1667

date: January 11

text: January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's dereliction of duty in battle.

title: 1667

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Prince Prithviraj Singh, eldest son of the Maharaja Jaswant Singh of the Kingdom of Marwar (within India's Mughal Empire, part of the modern-day Rajasthan state) dies painfully at the age of 14, supposedly after putting on a khalat (a ceremonial robe) given to him by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. According to the folklore of Marwar, the khalat was actually a garment infused with poison that penetrated the skin.

title: 1667

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Aurangzeb, the Muslim Emperor of the Mughal Empire in India, issues a firman decree for the protection of all Hindu temples and schools in his kingdom.

title: 1669

date: November 28

text: November 28 – In India, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb learns of a rebellion of Hindu residents of in various parts of the Mathurá where he had given the order for the destruction of non-Muslim temples, with rioting in Mauza' Rewarah, Chandarkah, and Surkhrú. The Emperor's historian, Saqi Mustaid Khan, records Aurangzeb's dispatch of General Hasan 'Ali Khán to attack the rebels, and 300 of them are "sent to perdition" while the Mughals lose "many imperial soldiers". Another 250 surviving rebels are arrested. Kokilá Ját, leader of the rebels, is among the prisoners put to death a month later.

title: 1669

text: January 27 – The Muslim emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire in India issues an order for the destruction of all Hindu temples and schools in the empire, including the Keshvadeva Temple in Mathura.

title: 1670

date: July 29

text: July 29 – Muhammad Azam Shah is appointed as the Mughal Governor of Bengal by his father, the Emperor Aurangzeb, but serves for a little more than a year before being recalled from Dhaka.

title: 1678

date: October 6

text: October 6 – Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb returns control of Bengal to the local Nawab of Murshidabad after removing his son, Prince Qutb-ud-Din Muhammad Azam, from the position of Mughal Governor of Dhaka.

title: 1679

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Prince Muhammad Akbar, son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, initiates a civil war in India. With the support of troops from the Rajput states, Akbar declares himself the new Mughal Emperor and prepares to fight his father, but is ultimately defeated.

title: 1681

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Bahadur, son of the Emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire in India, is dispatched along with other Mughal nobles on an invasion of Konkan, the area on the southwestern Indian coast under the control of the Maratha Empire.

title: 1683

text: March 28 – An attack on a Mughal Empire envoy, Khwajah Abdur Rahim, outside of the Maratha fortress at the Bijapur Fort in India leads to a siege of the city by the forces of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The siege lasts for 15 months before Bijapur surrenders.

title: 1685

date: September 22

text: September 22 – The Siege of Golconda, ordered by Emperor Aurangzeb of India's Mughal Empire against the capital of the Golconda sultanate, ends after nine months when a traitor inside the walled city, Sarandaz Khan, opens the first of several entrances into the fortress. The Sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah is taken prisoner by General Mir Shahab ud-Din, and Golconda (now part of Hyderabad in the Telangana state).

title: 1687

text: December 14 – Maratha Empire General Santaji Ghorpade defeats Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's General Alimardan Khan, captures him and brings him back to fort Jinjee near Madras.

title: 1692

date: September 7

text: September 7 – English pirate Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable raids in history, with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to put an end to all English trading in India.

title: 1695

date: February 17

text: February 17 – The Maratha Empire fort at Gingee falls after a siege of almost nine years by the Mughal Empire as King Rajaram escapes to safety. General Swarup Singh Bundela, who led the scaling of the fortress walls and Gingee's capture, is rewarded by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb with command of the area.

title: 1698

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Alamgir II, the Mughal Emperor of India, is assassinated in a conspiracy orchestrated by his Prime Minister, Imad-ul-Mulk. The Shah Alam II, a grandson of the 17th century Emperor Aurangzeb, is made the new Mughal Emperor.

title: 1759


slug: aurelian

label: Aurelian

description: Roman Emperor (C.E.214-275)

date: September 9

text: September 9 – Aurelian, Roman emperor (d. 275)

title: 214

text: Cities in the Roman Empire begin to build walls, as the defense of the frontiers begins to crumble; future emperor Aurelian inspects along the Rhine.

title: 256

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Future emperor Aurelian defeats the Goths and brings many prisoners back to Rome.

title: 257

date: September

text: September – Battle of Naissus: Emperor Gallienus, aided by Aurelian, defeats a Gothic coalition (50,000 warriors) near Naissus (Niš, modern Serbia).

title: 268

text: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (or Aurelian), the cavalry commander who distinguished himself in the previous year at the Battle of Naissus (Serbia), usurps power in Sirmium and marches against Quintillus in Aquileia. Quintillus commits suicide.

title: 270

text: After an indecisive battle, Emperor Aurelian defeats the Vandals, and forces them from Pannonia, and across the Danube.

title: 271

text: Emperor Aurelian launches a two-pronged invasion of the Palmyrene Empire, sending his commander Marcus Aurelius Probus to restore Roman rule in Egypt while he marches into Asia Minor.

title: 272

text: Emperor Aurelian defeats an incursion by the Carpi into Moesia and Thrace.

title: 273

text: Battle of Châlons: The Emperor Aurelian invades Gaul to campaign against the Gallic Empire (Gaul and Britain). In the Catalaunian Plains, the Romano-Gallic Emperor Tetricus I surrenders to Aurelian and leaves his army without an emperor. The Gallic army is then crushed by Aurelian in a major battle. With the conquests of the Palmyrene Empire and the Gallic Empire, the Roman Empire is united again. However, the heavy losses incurred by the Gallic forces compromises the Rhine frontier.

title: 274

text: Emperor Aurelian puts down unrest in Gaul, and defeats Germanic incursions into Gaul and Raetia (these problems had been caused by Aurelian's defeat and overthrow of the Gallic Empire).

title: 275

text: c. November – Aurelian, Roman emperor (b. 214 or 215)

title: 275

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Probus returns the aurelianianus to the tariffing of Aurelian.

title: 276

text: Tacitus' cousin Maximinus administers Syria in a harsh manner, and is assassinated by local men of power, who are joined in the conspiracy by the faction responsible for having assassinated Aurelian in the previous year.

title: 276


slug: auschwitz-concentration-camp

label: Auschwitz concentration camp

description: German network of concentration and extermination camps in occupied Poland during World War II

date: December 27

text: December 27 – In Germany, Regina Jonas becomes the first woman ever to receive semikhah (ordination) as a rabbi within Judaism. She will be killed in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944 and the next such ordination will be in 1972.

title: 1935

section: Events › December

date: June

text: A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first residents of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

title: 1940

section: Events › June

date: September 3

text: September 3 – The Holocaust: SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch first uses the pesticide Zyklon B to execute Soviet prisoners of war en masse at Auschwitz concentration camp; eventually it will be used to kill about 1.2 million people.

title: 1941

section: Events › September

date: April 10

text: April 10 – The Holocaust: Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Auschwitz concentration camp; on April 25–27 they prepare the Vrba–Wetzler report, one of the earliest and most detailed descriptions of the extermination of Jews in the camp.

title: 1944

section: Events › April

date: May 15

text: May 15–July 8 – The Holocaust: Hungarian Jews are deported to Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.

title: 1944

section: Events › May

date: October 10

text: October 10 – The Holocaust/Porajmos: 800 Romani children are systematically murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

title: 1944

section: Events › October

section: Deaths

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Benjamin Fondane, Romanian-French Symbolist poet, critic and existentialist philosopher (gassed in Auschwitz concentration camp) (b. 1898)

title: 1944

section: Deaths › October

date: October 7

text: October 7 – The Holocaust: Members of the Sonderkommando – a special detachment of Jewish prisoners who are forced to empty the gas chambers after a mass gassing and undertake the burning of the bodies – organises the only armed revolt that ever takes place in Auschwitz concentration camp. They succeed in destroying the gas chambers and Crematorium IV. The Waffen-SS murders more than 450 prisoners who take part in the revolt.

title: 1944

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Holocaust: Diarist Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from Westerbork to Auschwitz concentration camp, arriving 3 days later.

title: 1944

date: January 18

text: January 18 – The Holocaust: The SS begins the evacuation of Auschwitz concentration camp. Nearly 60,000 prisoners, mostly Jews, are forced to march to other locations in Germany; as many as 15,000 die. The 7,000 too sick to move are left without supplies being distributed.

title: 1945

section: Events › January

date: April 16

text: April 16 – Rudolf Höss, German commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp (executed) (b. 1900)

title: 1947

section: Deaths › April

date: June 6

text: June 6 – The remains of Josef Mengele, the physician notorious for Nazi human experimentation on inmates of Auschwitz concentration camp, buried in 1979 under the name of Wolfgang Gerhard, are exhumed in Embu das Artes, Brazil.

title: 1985

date: September 19

text: September 19 – The Catholic Church calls for removal of the Carmelite convent located near the former Auschwitz concentration camp, whose presence has offended some Jewish leaders.

title: 1989


slug: australia

label: Australia

description: country in Oceania

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: February 26

text: February 26 – Sailing on the Dutch ship Duyfken, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon and the crew make the first confirmed sighting of Australia by a European, reaching the Cape York Peninsula, at the Pennefather River near what becomes Weipa, Queensland. The Duyfken follows by exploring the western coast.

title: 1606

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.

title: 1644

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Pirates Charles Swan and William Dampier and the crew of the privateer Cygnet become the first Englishmen to set foot on the continent of Australia.

title: 1688

date: April 18

text: April 18 (April 19 by Cook's log) 18:00 – First voyage of James Cook: English explorer Captain James Cook and his crew become the first recorded Europeans to encounter the eastern coastline of the Australian continent. Land is sighted at Point Hicks, and named after Lieutenant Hicks who first observes landform at 6am.

title: 1770

section: Events › April–June

section: Science & Discovery

date: February 15

text: February 15 (approx.) – The first officially recognised gold is found in Australia, by surveyor James McBrien at Fish River, near Bathurst, New South Wales, predating the Australian gold rushes.

title: 1823

date: September 26

text: September 26 – The earliest reference by the British government to an official renaming of its South Pacific Ocean territory as "Australia" comes in a dispatch titled "Taking Possession of Melville and Bathurst Islands", as the Admiral Sir Gordon Bremer refers to "the North Coast of New Holland or Australia".

title: 1824

section: Events › July–September

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: August 31

text: August 31 – The chartered ship Amphitrite sinks off Boulogne-sur-Mer while transporting 108 British female convicts and 12 children from Woolwich in England to New South Wales in what is now Australia. All of the passengers die, along with 13 of the 16 crew, leaving 3 survivors.

title: 1833

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Paweł Strzelecki reaches Australia's highest summit, Mount Kosciuszko.

title: 1840

date: May 1

text: May 1 – Van Diemen's Land is separated administratively from the Australian province of New South Wales and granted self-government.

title: 1855

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Explorer William Gosse reaches Uluru in central Australia and names it Ayers Rock.

title: 1872

section: Events › July

section: Crime & Justice

date: June 28

text: June 28 – Australian police capture bank robber Ned Kelly, after a gun battle at Glenrowan, Victoria.

title: 1880

section: Economy & Finance

date: July 16

text: July 16 – BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary), a worldwide mining and natural gas producer is founded in New South Wales, Australia.

title: 1885

section: Climate & Environment

date: January 7

text: January 7 – A cyclone destroys Darwin, Australia.

title: 1897

date: April 24

text: April 24 – The Scottish ship Loch Sloy is wrecked off the coast of Australia's Kangaroo Island, drowning 32 people on board.

title: 1899

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minister of Australia.

title: 1901

date: March 20

text: March 20 – The city of Canberra, the centre of the Australian Capital Territory, becomes the official capital of the Commonwealth of Australia.

title: 1913

section: Events › March

date: February 6

text: February 6 – Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. The princess, who is on a visit to Kenya when she hears of the death of her father, King George VI, aged 56, takes the regnal name Elizabeth II.

title: 1952

section: Events › January–February

section: Conflict & Security

date: May 25

text: May 25 – No. 9 Squadron RAAF becomes part of the 4,500 strong Australian Task Force assigned to duties in Vietnam, leaving for Southeast Asia aboard the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney.

title: 1966

date: January 31

text: January 31 – Nauru president Hammer DeRoburt declares independence from Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

title: 1968

date: April 21

text: April 21 – The Principality of Hutt River "secedes" from Australia (it remained unrecognised by Australia and other nations, and is dissolved in 2020).

title: 1970

section: Health & Medicine

date: October 31

text: October 31 – The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 takes effect in Australia.

title: 1975

date: January 16

text: January 16 – A locomotive crashes into the rear of a commuter train in Glenbrook, Australia, killing one person onboard and injuring ten others in the 1976 Glenbrook rail accident.

title: 1976

date: February 5

text: February 5 – Australia cancels its involvement in U.S.-led MX missile tests.

title: 1985

section: Events › February

date: August 13

text: August 13 – 1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash: An accident near Alice Springs, Australia kills thirteen people.

title: 1989

section: Events › August

section: Culture & Society

date: March 17

text: March 17 – Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by beating Australia in the final.

title: 1996

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Australia holds its first National Sorry Day.

title: 1998

date: June 20

text: June 20 – Australia defeats Pakistan by 8 wickets at Lord's Cricket Ground in London in the 1999 Cricket World Cup Final, securing their second World Cup title.

title: 1999

date: July 24

text: July 24 – The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, led by Australia, begins after ethnic violence engulfs the island country.

title: 2003

text: February 26 – The Nintendo 3DS has its first release in Japan, following later releases in Europe on March 25, North America on March 27, and Australia on March 31.

title: 2011

date: March 25

text: March 25 – Qantas launches direct non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, making it the first commercially non-stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom.

title: 2018

date: December 20

text: December 20 – COVID-19 pandemic: A highly infectious new strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreading in Europe and Australia provokes international border closures.

title: 2020

date: November 19

text: November 19 – The Brereton Report into Australian war crimes during the War in Afghanistan is released.

title: 2020

section: Events › November

date: December 6

text: December 6 – The United States announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to China's human rights record. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia join shortly after.

title: 2021

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: January 1 – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

title: 2022

text: September 22 – October 1 – The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup is held in Sydney, Australia. In the final, the United States wins 83–61 against China.

title: 2022

text: July 20–August 20 – The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is held in Australia and New Zealand. In the final, Spain wins 1–0 against England.

title: 2023

text: November 10 – In the Falepili Union treaty, Australia grants "special" freedom of movement and defence rights to Tuvaluans for residence and employment for climate reasons.

title: 2023

text: September 21 – The UK, Canada, and Australia announce their formal recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state, with France also doing so the next day.

title: 2025


slug: australian-labor-party

label: Australian Labor Party

description: federal political party in Australia

date: January 5

text: January 5 – The Australian shearers' strike, that leads indirectly to the foundation of the Australian Labor Party, begins.

title: 1891

section: Events › January

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: April 27

text: April 27 – The Australian Labor Party becomes the first such party to gain national government, under Chris Watson.

title: 1904

section: Events › April

date: November 13

text: November 13 – Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes is expelled from the Labor Party over his support for conscription.

title: 1916

date: November 14

text: November 14 – 1925 Australian federal election: Stanley Bruce's Nationalist/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with an increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Matthew Charlton.

title: 1925

date: November 17

text: November 17 – 1928 Australian federal election: Stanley Bruce's Nationalist/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a decreased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by James Scullin.

title: 1928

date: October 12

text: October 12 – 1929 Australian federal election: The Labor Party, led by James Scullin, defeats the Nationalist/Country Coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce. Scullin will be sworn in on October 22. Notably, this is the first occasion in Australian political history where a sitting prime minister loses his own seat (the second being John Howard in 2007).

title: 1929

section: Events › October

date: December 19

text: December 19 – The UAP/Country Coalition, led by Joseph Lyons, defeats the Australian Labor Government, led by Prime Minister James Scullin. Coming in the aftermath of two splits in the Labor Party, the election comes about due to the defeat of the Scullin government on the floor of the House of Representatives – to date, it is the last federal election where a one-term government was defeated. Lyons will be sworn in January 6th the following year, but not before disbanding the Coalition, after the UAP wins enough seats to form a government in its own right.

title: 1931

section: Events › December

date: September 15

text: September 15 – 1934 Australian federal election: Joseph Lyons' UAP government is re-elected with a decreased majority, defeating the Labor Party, led by former Prime Minister James Scullin. Consequently, Lyons is forced to resume the Coalition with the Country Party, and include them in his government. Scullin steps down from the Labor leadership shortly after; he is replaced by future Prime Minister John Curtin.

title: 1934

section: Events › September–October

date: October 23

text: October 23 – 1937 Australian federal election: Joseph Lyons' UAP/Country Coalition government is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by John Curtin.

title: 1937

date: September 21

text: September 21 – 1940 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' UAP/Country Coalition Government is re-elected as a minority government, narrowly defeating the Labor Party led by John Curtin. It is the last federal election to result in a minority government until 2010.

title: 1940

section: Events › September

date: August 21

text: August 21 – 1943 Australian federal election: John Curtin's Labor government defeats the Country/UAP Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Arthur Fadden. Labor achieves its greatest ever electoral result, including winning every seat (except one) outside of the eastern states. Notably, this election marked the first time that a woman has been elected to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Fadden will step down from the Opposition leadership, handing it over to Robert Menzies, who will go on to dissolve the UAP and form the Liberal Party shortly after.

title: 1943

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Ben Chifley is elected leader of the Labor Party, and consequently becomes the 16th Prime Minister of Australia, defeating Frank Forde as well as Norman Makin and H.V. Evatt. As a result, Forde becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in Australian history; nevertheless, he retains his post as deputy leader.

title: 1945

date: December 10

text: December 10 – 1949 Australian federal election: The Liberal/Country Coalition led by Robert Menzies defeats the Labor government, led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. Menzies is sworn in on December 19, his second stint as prime minister; he will hold the office for over 16 years until his retirement in 1966 and Labor will not win office again until 1972, under Gough Whitlam.

title: 1949

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Australian Senate election, 1953: The Liberal/Country Coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies, holds their Senate majority, despite gains made by the Labor Party, led by H. V. Evatt. This is the first occasion where a Senate election is held without an accompanying House of Representatives election.

title: 1953

section: Events › May

date: May 29

text: May 29 – 1954 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a decreased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H.V. Evatt. The election has come shortly after the Petrov Affair, arguably helping the Government survive what was initially predicted to be a defeat.

title: 1954

text: December 10 – 1955 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a substantially increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. This election comes in the immediate aftermath of the devastating split in the Labor Party, which leads to the formation of the Democratic Labor Party. The DLP will preference against Labor, and keep the Coalition in office until 1972.

title: 1955

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: November 22

text: November 22 – 1958 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H.V. Evatt. This is the first election where television is used as a medium for communicating with voters. Evatt will eventually resign as Labor leader and will be replaced by his deputy Arthur Calwell.

title: 1958

section: Deaths

date: December 9

text: December 9 – 1961 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a one-seat majority, narrowly defeating the Labor Party led by Arthur Calwell. One of the closest election results in Australian history, such a result will not be replicated again until 2016. Notably, former Prime Minister Earle Page loses his seat, although he dies a few days later, never knowing the result.

title: 1961

date: November 30

text: November 30 – 1963 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with an increased majority to an unprecedented eighth term in office, defeating the Labor Party led by Arthur Calwell. (This would be the final lower house election won by Menzies, who would retire from office during the term as the longest-serving Prime Minister in Australian history; he would be replaced by Harold Holt.)

title: 1963

date: December 5

text: December 5 – Australian Senate election, 1964: The Liberal/Country Coalition Government led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies hold their status quo, while the Labor Party led by Arthur Calwell lose one seat to the Democratic Labor Party, who hold the balance of power in the Senate alongside independent Reg Turnbull.

title: 1964

date: November 25

text: November 25 – 1967 Australian Senate election: The Liberal/Country Coalition government led by Prime Minister Harold Holt lost two seats, while the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam failed to make any gains. The Democratic Labor Party won the two seats from the Liberals and gained the sole balance of power in the Senate.

title: 1967

date: October 25

text: October 25 – 1969 Australian federal election: John Gorton's Liberal/Country Coalition government is narrowly re-elected with a sharply reduced majority, defeating a resurgent Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Prime Minister Gorton survived a leadership challenge by his deputy William McMahon as well as David Fairbairn in the immediate aftermath of the election.

title: 1969

date: November 21

text: November 21 – 1970 Australian Senate election: The Liberal/Country Coalition government led by Prime Minister John Gorton and the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam each end up with 26 seats, both suffering a swing against them. The Democratic Labor Party wins an additional seat and holds the balance of power in the Senate. This is the last occasion on which a Senate election is held without an accompanying House of Representatives election.

title: 1970

date: May 18

text: May 18 – 1974 Australian federal election: Gough Whitlam's Labor government is re-elected with a reduced majority, defeating the Liberal/Country Coalition led by Billy Snedden. Whitlam consequently becomes the first Labor Prime Minister to be re-elected in his own right. The Democratic Labor Party meanwhile loses all five of their Senate seats, effectively wiping them out as a political force.

title: 1974

section: Events › May–June

date: December 13

text: December 13 – 1975 Australian federal election: The Liberal/National Country Coalition led by Malcolm Fraser defeats the recently dismissed Labor government led by Gough Whitlam. The Fraser government achieves what is so far the largest parliamentary majority in federal Australian political history. Whitlam would subsequently survive a leadership challenge against him.

title: 1975

text: December 10 – 1977 Australian federal election: Malcolm Fraser's Liberal/National Country Coalition government is re-elected with a slightly reduced majority, defeating the Labor Party led by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Consequently, Whitlam resigns as ALP leader after holding the job for nearly 11 years; he is replaced by former treasurer Bill Hayden.

title: 1977

date: October 18

text: October 18 – 1980 Australian federal election: Malcolm Fraser's Liberal/National Country Coalition government is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Hayden. The Government also loses control of the Senate, with the Australian Democrats winning the balance of power.

title: 1980

date: February 3

text: February 3 – Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser is granted a double dissolution of both houses of parliament, for elections on March 5, 1983. As Fraser is being granted the dissolution, Bill Hayden resigns as leader of the Australian Labor Party, and in the subsequent leadership spill Bob Hawke is elected as Hayden's successor unopposed.

title: 1983

date: March 5

text: March 5 – Australian federal election: The Labor Party led by Bob Hawke defeats the Liberal/National Coalition government led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Hawke is to be sworn in on March 11. As soon as the results become clear, Fraser resigns from the Liberal leadership; he is replaced by outgoing Minister for Industry and Commerce Andrew Peacock.

title: 1983

date: December 2

text: December 2 – 1984 Australian federal election: Bob Hawke's Labor government is re-elected with a reduced majority, defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by Andrew Peacock.

title: 1984

date: July 11

text: July 11 – 1987 Australian federal election: Bob Hawke's Labor government is re-elected with an increased majority, defeating the Liberal Party led by John Howard and the National Party led by Ian Sinclair.

title: 1987

date: March 24

text: March 24 – 1990 Australian federal election: Bob Hawke's Labor government is re-elected with a reduced majority, narrowly defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by Andrew Peacock.

title: 1990

date: March 13

text: March 13 – 1993 Australian federal election: Paul Keating's Labor government is re-elected with an increased majority, defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by John Hewson.

title: 1993

text: March 2 – 1996 Australian federal election: The Liberal/National Coalition led by John Howard defeats the Labor government led by Prime Minister Paul Keating. Howard was sworn in on March 11.

title: 1996

text: October 3 – 1998 Australian federal election: John Howard's Liberal/National Coalition government is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Kim Beazley.

title: 1998

text: November 10 – 2001 Australian federal election: The Coalition government, led by John Howard, is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Kim Beazley.

title: 2001

text: November 24 – 2007 Australian federal election: The Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd defeats the Liberal/National Coalition government led by Prime Minister John Howard. Rudd would be sworn in on December 3.

title: 2007

text: August 21 – 2010 Australian federal election: Julia Gillard's Labor government is re-elected, narrowly defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by Tony Abbott.

title: 2010

text: June 24 – Julia Gillard is elected unopposed in a Labor Party leadership ballot and sworn in as the first female prime minister of Australia following the resignation of Kevin Rudd.

title: 2010

text: September 7 – 2013 Australian federal election: The Liberal/National Coalition led by Tony Abbott defeats the Labor Government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Abbott is sworn in on September 18.

title: 2013

text: July 2 – 2016 Australian federal election: Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal/National Coalition Government is narrowly re-elected, defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Shorten.

title: 2016

text: May 18 – 2019 Australian federal election: Scott Morrison's Liberal/National Coalition government is narrowly re-elected, defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Shorten.

title: 2019

text: May 21 – 2022 Australian federal election: The Labor party, led by Anthony Albanese, defeats the Liberal-National Coalition government led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Albanese is sworn in as Prime Minister two days later.

title: 2022

text: May 3 – 2025 Australian federal election: The incumbent Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese wins reelection, increasing their majority.

title: 2025