slug: ferdinand-iv-of-castile

label: Ferdinand IV of Castile

description: Spanish monarch

date: December 6

text: December 6 – Ferdinand IV, king of Castile and León (d. 1312)

title: 1285

section: Deaths

date: April 25

text: April 25 – King Sancho IV of Castile ("the Brave") dies of a fatal illness (possibly tuberculosis), after a 11-year reign at Toledo. He is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Ferdinand IV ("the Summoned") as ruler of Castile and León. In the Cortes at Valladolid, Henry of Castile the Senator is appointed guardian of Ferdinand, while Queen María de Molina becomes his regent. During the summer, Ferdinand is betrothed to the 5-year-old Princess Constance of Portugal. Hostilities between Castile and King Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") are ended by a peace agreement.

title: 1295

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Treaty of Alcañices: Kings Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") and 11-year-old Ferdinand IV of Castile ("the Summoned") (under the guidance of his mother, Queen-Regent Maria de Molina) sign a treaty between Portugal and Castile, which establishes an alliance of friendship and mutual defense, leading to a peace of 40 years between the two kingdoms.

title: 1297

text: December 6 – In Spain, Ferdinand IV of Castile reaches the age of 16 and is proclaimed of the age of majority to be crowned as King of Castile and as King of León. Ferdinand IV had become the nominal monarch at age 9, under the regency of his mother, María de Molina.

title: 1301

section: Events › October– December

date: January 23

text: January 23 – King Ferdinand IV of the Spanish Kingdom of Castile, having recently reached the age of majority at age 16, marries 12-year-old Princess Constance, the only daughter of King Dinis of Portugal, in a ceremony at Valladolid.

title: 1302

section: Events › January–March

date: August

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

date: August 8

text: August 8 – Treaty of Torrellas: The 18-year-old King Ferdinand IV of Castile signs a peace with King James II of Aragon ("James the Just"). In the terms, James agrees to restore the Kingdom of Murcia to Castile, except for Alicante, Elche, Orihuela, and lands north of the Segura River. In return for extensive patrimony, Prince Alfonso de la Cerda renounces his claim to the Castilian throne, ending a conflict that has disturbed the tranquility of the realm for nearly 30 years.

title: 1304

section: Events › July – September

date: February 26

text: February 26 – In Spain, King James II of Aragon and King Ferdinand IV of Castile have a summit at the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta in Castile. Attending also from Castile are Ferdinand's uncle, Prince John; Juan Núñez II de Lara of the House of Lara; Ferdinand's cousin Juan Manuel; and Prince Afonso of Portugal.

title: 1305

date: May 19

text: May 19 – In Spain, the Treaty of Elche is signed between King James II of Aragon and King Ferdinand IV of Castile to revise the borders set out nine months earlier in the Treaty of Torrellas.

title: 1305

section: Events › April – June

date: December 19

text: December 19 – Treaty of Alcalá de Henares: King Ferdinand IV of Castile and King James II of Aragon sign an alliance in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta. Ferdinand agrees to join James in making war by sea and by land against Granada. He also promises to give up one-sixth of Granada to Aragon, and grants him the Province of Almería.

title: 1308

section: Events › October – December

date: April 24

text: April 24 – Spanish kings James II of Aragon and Ferdinand IV of Castile persuade Pope Clement V to grant the papal bull Indesinentis cure, authorizing them approval and church financial support for a crusade to rid the Iberian peninsula of Islam, as well as to conquer Corsica and Sardinia. The two monarchs fail to mention their collaboration with the Muslim Marinid Empire, and use the papal bull to plan a blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar with their combined fleet of 40 warships on their mission to expel the Saracen forces from Spain.

title: 1309

date: December 18

text: December 18 – In Spain, three months after the September 19 death of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Fernando Ponce de León is made the new ruler of Marchena, as well as Bornos, Espera, Rota and Chipiona by King Ferdinand IV of Castile.

title: 1309

date: February 24

text: February 24 – In Spain, King Ferdinand IV of Castile agrees to assist the neighboring Crown of Aragon

title: 1309

date: March 20

text: March 20 – King Ferdinand IV, known as "Ferdinand the Summoned", grants new privileges to the Catholic Church within the Kingdom of Castile during an assembly at Palencia. In April, Ferdinand becomes seriously ill and is transferred to Valladolid, despite the opposition of his wife, Queen Constance, who wishes to transfer him to Carrión de los Condes (northern Spain).

title: 1311

date: July 13

text: July 13 – King Ferdinand IV of Castile leaves his palace at Ávila for the last time, placing his son Prince Alfonso in charge, and arrives in Toledo before proceeding to the province of Jaén to join his younger brother.

title: 1312

date: May 28

text: May 28 – After the Emir Abu al-Juyush Nasr of Granada asks for help from King Ferdinand IV of Castile, the Kingdom of Castile's forces, commanded by Peter of Castile, Lord of Cameros, Ferdinand's son of King Sancho IV, defeats the rebel Granadan Governor of Malaga, Abu Said Faraj in battle. Abu Said is allowed to retain his post as Governor of Málaga and resumes paying tributes to the Emir.

title: 1312

date: September 7

text: September 7 – King Ferdinand IV of Castile dies after a 17-year reign and is succeeded by his one-year-old son Alfonso XI. King Alfonso's mother, Queen consort Constance, becomes regent.

title: 1312


slug: ferdinand-vii

label: Ferdinand VII

description: King of Spain (1784–1833) (r. 1808; 1813–1833)

section: Crime & Justice

date: October 30

text: October 30 – El Escorial Conspiracy: Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias is arrested for conspiring against his father Charles IV of Spain.

title: 1807

section: Events › October–December

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: March 19

text: March 19 – Charles IV of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII.

title: 1808

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Ferdinand VII is forced to abdicate as King of Spain by Napoleon. This effectively ends the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808) as the United Kingdom allies with Spain and Portugal against the French in the Peninsular War.

title: 1808

section: Events › April–June

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Paraguay governor Bernardo de Velasco and the Cabildo of Asunción declare their loyalty to Ferdinand VII of Spain and break up their relationship with Buenos Aires.

title: 1810

section: Events › July–September

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolute monarchy.

title: 1814

date: June 22

text: June 22 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by royal decree, makes the production and sale of tobacco a legal endeavor in Cuba, thus sparking the birth of the Cuban cigar industry.

title: 1817

date: March 9

text: March 9 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain accepts the new constitution, beginning the Trienio Liberal.

title: 1820

date: July 7

text: July 7 – July 1822 Spanish coup d'état, an attempt by supporters of Ferdinand VII to overthrow the Liberal government of Spain, fails.

title: 1822

date: May 25

text: May 25 – The Duke of Angoulême, commander of the invading French forces, establishes a regency in Madrid on behalf of Ferdinand VII who remains a captive of the Spanish government.

title: 1823


slug: ferrara

label: Ferrara

description: comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The oldest document mentioning the city of Ferrara (Northern Italy) is from this year (approximate date).

title: 754

section: Culture & Society

date: May

text: May – Pietro IV Candiano, doge of Venice, remarries to Waldrada of Tuscany, a daughter of Hubert, Duke of Spoleto, and a relative of Otto the Great. Waldrada brings him a large dowry, including the possessions of Ferrara, Friuli and Treviso (northern Italy).

title: 966

section: Events › Europe

text: Summer – Pietro IV Candiano, doge of Venice, demands Venetian assistance to put down a revolt in his personal fiefs around Ferrara. The Venetians also revolt against Candiano and assault the doge's palace. Repelled by mercenary forces, they burn the neighborhood – bringing the palace down with it. Candiano and his family escape, but are killed by the mob.

title: 976

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Autumn – Countess Mathilda of Tuscany leads a successful expedition in northern Italy and takes Ferrara.

title: 1101

date: April 7

text: April 7 – Oath of Pontida: Supported by Pope Alexander III, the Lombard League is founded, a military alliance between the municipalities of Milan, Lodi, Ferrara, Piacenza and Parma, against the German invading forces of Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) in Northern Italy. The League (with other Italian cities) openly challenges Frederick's claim to power (Honor Imperii).

title: 1167

date: October 20

text: October 20 – Pope Urban III dies after a 2½-year pontificate at Ferrara. He is succeeded by Gregory VIII as the 173rd pope of the Catholic Church.

title: 1187

section: Events › By topic › Religion

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Azzo VII d'Este, marquis of Ferrara (b. 1205)

title: 1264

text: Castello Estense in Ferrara (now in Italy)

title: 1385

section: Events › Date unknown

date: November 22

text: November 22 – The War of Padua in Italy comes to an end as Padua and Ferrara surrender to the armies of the Venetian Republic, commanded by General Malatesta IV. The Republic of Venice then annexes the territory of the defeated lordships.

title: 1405

section: Religion & Belief

date: January 8

text: January 8 – Upset at the attempted reforms at the Council of Basel in Switzerland, Pope Eugene IV convenes a rival council at Ferrara in Italy, through Niccolò Albergati, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bologna, with 40 prelates in attendance.

title: 1438

section: Science & Discovery

text: Johannes de Sacrobosco's De sphaera mundi (written c. 1230) is first published in Ferrara, the first printed astronomical book.

title: 1472

section: Events › Undated

date: March 5

text: March 5 – La Cassaria by Ludovico Ariosto, the first Italian language comedy, is premiered at Ferrara.

title: 1508

section: Climate & Environment

date: November 17

text: November 17 – A major earthquake strikes the Italian city of Ferrara at 3:00 in the morning local time, destroying 40 percent of the buildings in the city, but causing only 171 deaths. After the initial shocks, a sequence of aftershocks continue for four years, with over 2,000 in the period from November 1570 to February 1571.

title: 1570


slug: fez-morocco

label: Fez, Morocco

description: city in Morocco

text: The Fatimid Caliphate crushes Idrisid forces in battle, capturing the cities of Tlemcen and Fez.

title: 921

section: Events › By place › Africa

text: The Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli launches a military campaign in the west of the Maghreb. He resumes his expansion, together with the Zirids, and conquers Fez (modern-day Morocco).

title: 967

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song dynasty in China, becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Fez in the Almohad Caliphate.

title: 1180

section: Events › By topic › Demography

date: August 6

text: August 6 – A combined Genoese-Sevillian fleet led by Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria wins a victory over 27 Marinid galleys at Alcácer Seguir –12 galleys are taken and the rest put to flight. The following day, Benedetto drags the captured vessels along the coast in view of Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr, Marinid ruler of Morocco, who, "defeated and dishonored", withdraws his fleet to Fez.

title: 1291

section: Events › By place › Europe

date: April

text: April – After his ascent to the throne, the Emir Nasr ad-Din Muhammad of Granada sends envoys to the Marinid court at Fez, in Morocco.

title: 1309

section: Events › April – June

date: November 8

text: November 8 – Ibn Battuta arrives in Fez, Morocco.

title: 1349

section: Events › January–December

text: The Kingdom of Fez ruling the modern nation of Morocco, is founded by the Wattasid dynasty with Sultan Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya as its first ruler.

title: 1472

date: March 11

text: March 11 – The city of Fez, part of the Saadi Sultanate in modern-day Morocco is captured by Ottoman forces led by Abd al-Malik, in an attempt to overthrow the Sultan Muhammed al-Mutawakkil and to make the Sultanate a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1576

section: Events › January–March


slug: fidel-castro

label: Fidel Castro

description: Cuban politician, author and revolutionary (1926–2016)

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Fidel Castro and his brother lead a disastrous assault on the Moncada Barracks, preliminary to the Cuban Revolution.

title: 1953

section: Events › July

date: November 25

text: November 25 – Fidel Castro and Che Guevara depart from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico, en route to Santiago de Cuba aboard the yacht Granma, with 82 men.

title: 1956

section: Events › November

date: April 3

text: April 3 – In Cuba, Castro's revolutionary army begins its attacks on Havana.

title: 1958

section: Events › April

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: February 24

text: February 24 – In Cuba, Fidel Castro's Radio Rebelde begins broadcasting from Sierra Maestra.

title: 1958

section: Events › February

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: February 16 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba.

title: 1959

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.

title: 1959

section: Events › January

date: January 7

text: January 7 – The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

title: 1959

date: June 14

text: June 14 – A 3-front invasion of the Dominican Republic by exile forces backed by Fidel Castro and Venezuela attempts to overthrow Rafael Trujillo.

title: 1959

section: Events › June

date: April 20

text: April 20 – Fidel Castro announces that the Bay of Pigs Invasion has been defeated.

title: 1961

date: December 2

text: December 2 – Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announces he is a Marxist–Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt socialism.

title: 1961

section: Events › December

date: January 3

text: January 3 – The office of Pope John XXIII announces the excommunication of Fidel Castro for preaching communism and interfering with Catholic churches in Cuba.

title: 1962

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Fidel Castro visits the Soviet Union.

title: 1963

section: Events › May

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Fidel Castro announces that all intellectual property belongs to the people and that Cuba intends to translate and publish technical literature without compensation.

title: 1967

date: August 5

text: August 5 – Maleconazo: Groups of protesters spread from Havana, Cuba's Castillo de la Punta ("Point Castle"), creating the first protests against Fidel Castro's government since 1959.

title: 1994

section: Events › August

date: January 21

text: January 21 - Pope John Paul II begins a 5-day visit to Cuba; Fidel Castro releases 300 political prisoners in a gesture of goodwill.

title: 1998


slug: finland

label: Finland

description: country in Northern Europe

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Battle at Herdaler: Olaf Haraldsson sails to the southern coast of Finland to plunder, where he and his men are ambushed and defeated in the woods.

title: 1008

section: Religion & Belief

date: January 20

text: January 20 – Freeholder Lalli slays the English missionary-bishop Henry with an axe, on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland (according to legend).

title: 1156

text: King Canute VI leads a Danish Crusade to Finland.

title: 1191

text: Danish forces make a Crusade to Finland which is led by Anders Sunesen, archbishop of Lund, and his brother.

title: 1202

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Thomas, bishop of Turku (modern Finland), is granted resignation by Pope Innocent IV. He admits to committing several felonies, such as torturing and forging a papal letter.

title: 1245

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Summer – Second Swedish Crusade: A Swedish expedition led by Birger Jarl subjugates the province of Tavastia – securing Swedish power in Finland. As a part of the Treaty of Lödöse Birger marries off his 11-year-old daughter Rikissa to Haakon the Young, ruler and eldest son of King Haakon IV of Norway.

title: 1249

text: The pagan Karelians start a destructive expedition to Sweden in which King Valdemar requests Alexander IV to declare a crusade against them. This leads to the Third Swedish Crusade to Finland (1293–95).

title: 1257

date: August 12

text: August 12 – Treaty of Nöteborg: Sweden signs a peace treaty with the Novgorod Republic, regulating the border (known as Finland today) for the first time. The treaty is negotiated with the help of the Hanseatic League in order to conclude the conflict over the control of the Gulf of Finland during the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.

title: 1323

section: Events › July – September

section: Culture & Society

text: The municipality of Juva, Finland is founded.

title: 1442

section: Events › Date unknown

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 20

text: November 20 – The Hanseatic warship Hanneke Vrome capsizes and sinks off of the coast of Finland, killing its estimated 180 passengers and crew, along with a valuable cargo including 10,000 Rheingulden coins, equivalent to at least 34000 kg lb of gold. The ship had been sailing between the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck (in Germany) and Reval (now Tallinn, capital of Estonia) when it ran into a gale.

title: 1468

section: Events › October–December

date: June 12

text: June 12 – The city of Helsinki (now in Finland but known as Helsingfors in Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.

title: 1550

section: Events › April–June

date: November 10

text: November 10 – The Åbo Bloodbath takes place in Åbo (Turku), in modern-day Finland, which was part of Sweden at the time.

title: 1599

date: October 2

text: October 2 – The Great Fire of Oulu destroys almost all of the houses of the town’s bourgeoisie, the provision warehouses and the drawbridge of Oulu Castle, in the town of Oulu, Finland.

title: 1652

text: An Åbo Lantdag (assembly) meets in Turku, Finland.

title: 1676

section: Climate & Environment

text: The Great Famine of 1695–1697 begins as the Great Famine of Estonia (1695–97) in Swedish Estonia and spreads across Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden, while the "seven ill years" of famine in Scotland are ongoing.

title: 1695

text: The Great Famine of 1695–1697 wipes out almost a third of the population of Finland, while the Great Famine of Estonia (1695–97) takes out a fifth of the population of Estonia; and the "seven ill years" of famine in Scotland are ongoing.

title: 1696

text: The Russians burn the city of Porvoo, Finland (at the time part of Sweden).

title: 1708

date: March 2

text: March 2 – (February 19 old style) The Battle of Storkyro is fought between troops of the Swedish Empire and the Russian Empire, near what is now the village of Napue in Finland. The outnumbered Swedish forces, under the command of General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt, suffer 1,600 troops killed in action while the Russians led by General Mikhail Golitsyn lose 400 men.

title: 1714

date: August 20

text: August 20 – The Swedish-Russian War effectively ends as 17,000 Swedish troops surrender in Finland at Helsingfors (Helsinki).

title: 1742

section: Events › July–September

text: A census is conducted in Finland.

title: 1749

date: November 17

text: November 17 – The city of Kuopio, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.

title: 1775

section: Events › July–December

date: October 1

text: October 1 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.

title: 1779

date: December 1

text: December 1 – Tsar Alexander I of Russia proclaims Finland a part of Russia.

title: 1808

date: September 4

text: September 4 – The Great Fire of Turku destroys three-quarters of the city (at this time Finland's largest), with 27 human casualties.

title: 1827

text: The city of Joensuu is founded in North Karelia, Finland by Czar Nicholas I of Russia.

title: 1848

date: March 17

text: March 17 – The first railway line in Finland, between the cities of Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, is officially opened.

title: 1862

section: Events › March

section: Economy & Finance

date: May 12

text: May 12 – Electric equipment and mobile brand Nokia founded in Tampere, Finland.

title: 1865

date: July 16

text: July 16 – The city of Kotka is founded in Kymenlaakso, Finland, by separating its two islands from the old Kymi parish.

title: 1879

date: November 2

text: November 2 – The Great Fire of Oulu destroys 27 buildings in the downtown of Oulu, Finland.

title: 1882

date: September 22

text: September 22 – The first hydropower plant of Finland is commissioned along the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, Pirkanmaa.

title: 1891

section: Events › September

text: A particularly severe flood hits many water areas in Finland. The water level of many lakes, such as lake Saimaa, reach extraordinary heights, which are marked on the coastal cliffs to this day. In Finland the flood is called the Oathbreaker's flood because it coincided with severe dissatisfaction with the emperor Nicholas II among the Finns.

title: 1899

text: April 3 – Failed assassination attempts on General Mannerheim, retired leader of the victorious White Guard in the Finnish Civil War, led by Aleksander Weckman by order of Eino Rahja, during a White Guard parade in Tampere, Finland.

title: 1920

date: December 13

text: December 13 – Miina Sillanpää becomes Finland's first female government minister.

title: 1926

date: September 7

text: September 7 – The steamship SS Kuru sank in Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere, Finland, leading to 138 people drowning.

title: 1929

date: November 26

text: November 26 – Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Union's Red Army shells the Russian village of Mainila, then claims that the fire originated from Finland, giving a casus belli for the Winter War.

title: 1939

section: Crime & Justice

date: September 2

text: September 2 – The last execution of a Finn in Finland will take place when soldier Olavi Laiho is executed by shooting in Oulu.

title: 1944

date: June 28

text: June 28 – The First Miss Universe pageant is held. Armi Kuusela from Finland wins the title of Miss Universe 1952.

title: 1952

section: Events › May–June

text: September 30 – Finnair Flight 405 aircraft is hijacked by Aarno Lamminparras in Oulu, Finland.

title: 1978

text: February 6 – The Soviet oil tanker Antonio Gramsci suffers a minor shipwreck in Finnish waters en route to the Neste oil refinery in Porvoo, resulting in an oil spill of approximately 570–650 tons.

title: 1987

text: January 17 – The Jumalan teatteri ("The theatre of God") theatre students' group cause a huge scandal at the Oulu City Theatre in Oulu, Finland by throwing excrement, eggs and yoghurt on the audience during their two-minute performance.

title: 1987

text: June 1–10 – Pope John Paul II visits Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.

title: 1989

text: March 3 – Jammu Siltavuori abducts and murders two eight-year-old girls in the Myllypuro suburb of Helsinki, Finland.

title: 1989

text: April 21 – Japanese Yoshio Tani, M.Sc. murders gold merchant Turkka Elovirta and businessman Juhani Komulainen in Siuntio, Finland, having convinced them to buy a nonexistent 500 kilogram stash of Nazi gold.

title: 1990

text: September 29 – The Tampere Hall, the largest concert and congress center in the Nordic countries, was inaugurated in Tampere, Finland.

title: 1990

text: July 1 – The world's first GSM telephone call is made in Finland.

title: 1991

text: January 1 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union.

title: 1995

text: September 21 – St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in Tyrvää, Finland, is burnt down.

title: 1997

text: May 10–12 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 takes place in Helsinki, Finland, and is won by Serbian entrant Marija Šerifović with the song "Molitva".

title: 2007

text: November 7 – The Jokela school shooting happened in Finland.

title: 2007

text: July 1 – Finland takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Romanian presidency.

title: 2019

text: March 7 – As the final Nordic country to join the alliance, Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming its 32nd member after Finland a year earlier.

title: 2024


slug: first-bulgarian-empire

label: First Bulgarian Empire

description: medieval Bulgar-Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD.

section: Births

text: Asparuh, ruler of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)

title: 640

text: Asparukh, ruler (khan) of the First Bulgarian Empire (d. 701)

title: 641

text: Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire (d. 721)

title: 675

section: Conflict & Security

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine IV is forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia, and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace. Consequently, Constantine creates the Theme of Thrace of the Byzantine Empire (located in the south-eastern Balkans).

title: 681

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Deaths

text: Asparuh, founder of the First Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 20-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Tervel, who becomes ruler (khan) of the Bulgarians.

title: 701

section: Events › By place › Balkans

text: Asparuh, ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

title: 701

text: Autumn – Emperor Tiberios III tries to bribe Busir and dispatches two Khazar officials, Papatzys and Balgitzin, to kill Justinian. Warned by his wife, he flees to the Bulgar Khanate, securing the assistance of the Bulgarian ruler Tervel, in exchange for financial considerations.

title: 704

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Justinian II ascends to the throne again and rewards his ally Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, for his assistance with the title of kaisar (Caesar), which makes him second only to Justinian and the first foreign ruler in Byzantine history to receive such a title, and a territorial concession in northeastern Thrace, a region called Zagora in modern-day Bulgaria.

title: 705

text: The Bulgars under Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, raid Thrace and reach the city walls of Constantinople. Skirmishes continue until 716; Emperor Philippicus transfers a Byzantine army from the Opsikion Theme in Asia Minor, to police the Balkan Peninsula.

title: 712

text: Emperor Theodosios III concludes a peace treaty with Kormesiy, son of Tervel of Bulgaria, in an effort to secure support against the Arab invasion in Anatolia (modern Turkey). The treaty recognizes the Bulgarian borders, including the newly gained lands of Zagore (see 705). Theodosios agrees to pay annual tribute, and exchange refugees charged with conspiracy against the legal ruler. Goods can only be imported or exported with a state seal. Bulgarian merchants gain official access to the trade market in Constantinople.

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Siege of Constantinople: A Bulgar relief force attacks the siege lines at Constantinople, on the west side of the Bosporus. Contemporary chroniclers report that at least 22,000–32,000 Arabs are killed during the Bulgarian attacks. Caliph Umar II is forced to lift the siege after 13 months; the Muslim army attempts to withdraw back through Anatolia, while the rest escapes by sea in the remaining vessels. The Arab fleet suffers further casualties to storms, and an eruption of the volcano of Thera. According to Arab sources 150,000 Muslims perish during the campaign.

title: 718

text: Ex-Emperor Anastasios II starts a revolt against Leo III with considerable support, including auxiliaries provided by Tervel, emperor (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire. His attack on Constantinople fails; Anastasios is captured and is put to death (by beheading), on the orders of Leo.

title: 719

text: Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by Kormesiy, possibly a son of Tervel, who is co-ruler and a descendant of the royal Dulo clan.

title: 721

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 721

text: Telets, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)

title: 731

text: Kardam, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 735

text: Kormesiy, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, is deposed by the nobility. He is replaced on the throne by his son Sevar, who is a descendant of the royal Dulo clan.

title: 738

text: Sevar, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)

title: 753

text: Sevar, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 15-year reign. He is succeeded by Kormisosh, who belongs to the Vokil clan (approximate date).

title: 753

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine V builds a series of fortifications along the Byzantine frontier on the Danube, and starts settling Christian Armenians and Syrians in the Thracesian Theme. In response, Kormisosh, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, demands the payment of tribute. Constantine refuses, and the Bulgars raid into Thrace, reaching the Anastasian Wall stretching between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara (near the outskirts of Constantinople).

title: 756

text: Battle of the Rishki Pass: Emperor Constantine V invades Bulgaria again, but his forces are ambushed and defeated while crossing the Rishki Pass, near Stara Planina (modern Bulgaria). The Bulgarian ruler (khagan) Vinekh does not exploit his success, and begins peace negotiations.

title: 759

text: Vinekh, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a six-year reign. He is succeeded by Telets, ending the rule of the Vokil clan, and beginning the reign of the Ugain clan.

title: 762

text: Vinekh, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 762

date: June

text: June – Battle of Anchialus: Emperor Constantine V sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (800 ships and 9,600 cavalry) to Thrace, to defend the fortress city of Anchialus on the Black Sea Coast. Meanwhile, Telets, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, blocks the mountain passes and takes positions on the heights near Anchialus. During a desperate cavalry charge, the Bulgars are defeated and many are captured; Telets manages to escape. Constantine enters Constantinople in triumph, and kills all the prisoners.

title: 763

text: Telets, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 765

text: Sabin, ruler (khagan) of Bulgaria, flees to the Byzantine fortress city of Mesembria, from where he escapes to Constantinople. Constantine V arranges for the transfer of Sabin's family from Bulgaria.

title: 766

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Constantine V invades Bulgaria across the Balkan Mountains, setting afire some settlements around the Bulgarian capital of Pliska. Constantine accepts a peace agreement with Pagan, the Bulgar ruler (khagan), whose land is in anarchy.

title: AD 767

text: Toktu, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: AD 767

text: Pagan, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 768

text: Battle of Berzitia: The Bulgarian ruler (khagan) Telerig sends a small raiding army (12,000 men) to strike into the southwest of Macedonia, and capture Berzitia. Emperor Constantine V is informed about this raid by his spies in Pliska, and assembles an enormous force (80,000 men). He surprises the Bulgarians, who did not expect to find a Byzantine army there, and defeats them decisively. The Bulgars suffer heavy losses.

title: 774

date: September 14

text: September 14 – Emperor Constantine V dies while on a campaign in Bulgaria. In his 34-year reign he has suppressed monasticism and image worship, restored aqueducts, revived commerce, and repopulated Constantinople. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son Leo IV ("the Khazar"), who continues Constantine's campaigns against the Bulgars and Muslim Arabs.

title: 775

text: Telerig, ruler (khagan) of Bulgaria

title: AD 777

text: Battle of Marcellae: Constantine VI leads a Byzantine expeditionary force into northern Thrace. At the border castle of Marcellae, near the modern town of Karnobat (Bulgaria), the Bulgarians under Kardam defeat the Byzantines.

title: 792

text: Krum becomes ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire (until 814). During his reign Bulgarian territory doubles in size, from the Danube to the Dniester.

title: 802

text: Kardam, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire (or 803)

title: 802

text: Kardam, ruler (khan) of Bulgaria (or 802)

title: 803

date: May

text: May – Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, begins his territorial expansion and raids the Byzantine northern frontier. He leads his warriors — mostly Bulgars, Slavs, Thracians and Macedonians — across the Carpathian Mountains, over the Danube River, and throughout Transylvania, Thrace, and Macedonia.

title: 803

text: Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, conquers and destroys the Eastern part of the Avar Khaganate (approximate date).

title: 805

text: Spring – Siege of Serdica: Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, captures the fortress of Serdica (modern Sofia), after a long siege. According to Byzantine sources, he massacres the garrison (supposedly 6,000 men), sacks the city, and razes the city walls, before returning with much loot to Bulgaria. In the following years (and centuries), Serdica will serve as a base for the expansion of the Bulgars to the south of the Balkans.

title: 809

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor Nikephoros I organises a new campaign against the Bulgarian Empire, gathering an expeditionary force (most of the Roman army) from all parts of the empire. He is accompanied by high-ranking officials and aristocrats, including his son Stauracius and brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe (both later emperors temporarily). Krum, ruler (khan) of Bulgaria, sends envoys to sue for peace. Nikephoros refuses to accept the terms and marches through the Balkan passes towards Pliska, the Bulgarian capital.

title: 811

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, launch an invasion against the Byzantines. They capture the fortress cities of Develt and Mesembria, near the Black Sea.

title: 812

date: June 22

text: June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) is destroyed by a counter-attack of Bulgarian heavy cavalry, while trapped in the valley. Krum captures the Byzantine camp and a rich prize, including gold and weaponry.

title: 813

date: April 13

text: April 13 – Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 814

text: April 13 – Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Over the winter Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, had assembled a huge army (including Slavs and Avars), for a campaign against the Byzantine Empire. But before he sets out for a major attack on Constantinople, he dies of a stroke. Krum is succeeded by his son Omurtag.

title: 814

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty: Emperor Leo V the Armenian signs a 30-year peace agreement in Constantinople with Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire. The Rhodope Mountains become the Byzantine border again, and Leo regains its lost Black Sea cities, after the Bulgars have them demolished.

title: 815

text: Summer – Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches an attack to the West, and penetrates into Pannonia. He expels the local chiefs, and installs Bulgar governors over the Slavic tribes to control them. Omurtag conquers the cities of Beograd, Braničevo, Sirmium, and most of eastern Slavonia.

title: 827

text: Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his youngest son Malamir, because his older brother Enravota favours Christianity.

title: 831

text: Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 831

text: Enravota, ruler of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)

title: 833

text: Malamir, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 4-year reign and is succeeded by his nephew Presian I. Because of his young age and inexperience, the Bulgarian state affairs are dominated by his minister and commander-in-chief Isbul.

title: 836

text: Malamir, ruler of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 836

text: Presian I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, sends his prime-minister Isbul against the Smolyani (a Slavic tribe in Byzantine territory near the Struma River). The Bulgarian army campaigns along the Aegean coasts, and conquers most of Thrace and Macedonia, including the fortress city of Philippi, as recorded in the Presian Inscription.

title: 837

text: The Hungarians (also known as Magyars) who until this time have lived east of the Carpathians, raid the Lower Danube at the request of the Bulgarian Empire against the Byzantine insurgents.

title: 839

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgarians violate the peace treaty (see 815), and invade Macedonia along the River Struma. The cities of Serres and Philippi are devastated.

title: 846

text: Presian I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 852

text: Presian I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 23-year reign in which the Bulgarians have expanded into Upper Macedonia and Serbia. He is succeeded by his son Boris I, as monarch of Bulgaria.

title: 852

text: King Charles the Bald bribes Boris I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, to form an alliance against his brother Louis the German, with Rastislav of Moravia.

title: 853

text: The Byzantine Empire invades Bulgaria in order to impose Orthodox Christianity on Boris I.

title: 863

text: The Christianization of Bulgaria begins: Boris I, Knyaz of the Bulgarian Empire, is converted to Orthodox Christianity. His family and high-ranking dignitaries accept the Orthodox faith at the capital, Pliska - from this point onwards the rulers of the Bulgarian Empire are known as ‘Tsars’ rather than ‘Khans’.

title: 864

text: Simeon I, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire (or 865)

title: 864

text: Boris I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, suppresses a revolt, and orders the execution of 52 leading boyars, along with their whole families.

title: 865

text: Simeon I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire (or 864)

title: 865

text: Boris I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, sends a diplomatic mission, led by the Bulgarian nobleman Peter, to Rome, in an effort to renew ties with the West.

title: 866

text: April 16 – The city of Belgrade is first mentioned in a papal letter to Boris I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 878

text: The Glagolitic alphabet, devised by Cyril and Methodius, missionaries from Constantinople, is adopted in the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 886

text: Boris I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, abdicates the throne after a 37-year reign, and retires to a monastery. He is succeeded by his eldest son Vladimir, as monarch of Bulgaria. Vladimir falls under the influence of the old boyars; many remain anti-Christian and anti-Byzantine. He attempts to restore the former Frankish alliance, and to reestablish paganism.

title: 889

text: Vladimir, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, signs a military alliance with Arnulf of Carinthia of the East Frankish Kingdom. This alliance works against the pro-Byzantine policy of his father.

title: 892

text: Vladimir, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, is dethroned by his father Boris I, with help from loyal boyars. He is blinded, and succeeded by his brother Simeon I, as prince of Bulgaria; the capital is moved from Pliska to Preslav. Simeon makes an alliance with the Pechenegs (or Patzinaks), a semi-nomad Turkic tribe from the Central Asian steppes.

title: 893

text: Council of Preslav: The Byzantine clergy is expelled from Bulgaria, and the Greek language is replaced with Old Bulgarian (also known as Old Church Slavonic), as an official language.

title: 893

text: Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Stylianos Zaoutzes, leading minister and basileopator, convinces Emperor Leo VI (the Wise) to move the Bulgarian market from Constantinople to Thessaloniki. This affects the commercial importance of Bulgarian trade. Simeon I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, mobilizes his Bulgarian forces and invades Byzantine territory, ravaging the countryside.

title: 894

text: Simeon I (the Great), ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, seeks refuge in the fortress of Drastar, while the Magyars reach the outskirts of the capital Preslav. Facing a difficult situation with war on two fronts, Simeon calls for a truce. Leo VI sends the diplomat Leo Choirosphaktes to Bulgaria, to negotiate the terms.

title: 895

text: Battle of Southern Buh: Bulgarian forces under Simeon I ('the Great') defeat the Magyars, near the banks of the Southern Buh river (modern Ukraine). The Magyars withdraw from Bulgaria, and are forced to migrate to new pastures. Led by Árpád, they settle in the Carpathian Basin (modern Hungary).

title: 896

text: Emperor Leo VI (the Wise) is forced to sign a peace treaty with Simeon I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire. All Slavic-inhabited lands of Macedonia and southern Albania are ceded to the Bulgarians.

title: 904

text: May 2 – Boris I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 907

text: August – Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Simeon I (the Great), ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches a campaign at the head of a large Bulgarian army, and reaches Constantinople unopposed. The Bulgarians besiege the Byzantine capital and construct ditches from the Golden Horn to the Golden Gate at the Marmara Sea.

title: 913

text: August 20 – Battle of Achelous: A Byzantine expeditionary force (62,000 men) under General Leo Phokas (the Elder) is routed by the Bulgarians at the Achelous River near the fortress of Anchialos (modern Pomorie) on the Black Sea coast. Phokas flees to Mesembria (modern Nesebar) and escapes by boarding a ship. Tsar Simeon I (the Great) becomes de facto ruler of the whole Balkan Peninsula, except the well-protected Byzantine capital of Constantinople and the Peloponnese.

title: 917

text: Summer – Battle of Constantinople: Emperor Romanos I sends Byzantine troops to repel another Bulgarian raid at the outskirts of Constantinople. The Byzantines storm the Bulgarian camp, but are defeated when they are confronted by the main Bulgarian forces. Having won the battle, the Bulgarians lack the maritime power to conduct a successful siege of Constantinople.

title: 922

text: September 7 – Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Tsar Simeon I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, leads the burning of the Church of St. Mary of the Spring in Constantinople.

title: 924

text: Tomislav, duke of the Croatian duchies of Pannonia and Dalmatia, is crowned as king of Croatia. He forges an alliance with the Byzantines during the struggle with the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date).

title: 925

text: May 27 – Simeon I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, dies of heart failure in his palace at Preslav after a 34-year reign. He is survived by four sons and succeeded by his second son Peter I, who signs a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. The peace is confirmed by Peter's marrying Maria Lekapene (the daughter of Christopher Lekapenos, son and co-emperor of Romanos I). The treaty restores the borders to those established by several treaties (thus recognizing Bulgaria's possession of Macedonia).

title: 927

text: May 27 – Simeon I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 927

text: October/November - Treaty of Constantinople. The Bulgarian Empire solidifies its status as a great power.

title: 927

text: Boris II, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire (d. 977)

title: 931

text: Battle of W.l.n.d.r: The Hungarians and Pechenegs kill Constantinople's inhabitants, inflict severe damage on the countryside, and defeat both the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria, forcing them to pay tribute. Emperor Romanos I signs a peace treaty with the Hungarians.

title: 934

text: Samuel, tsar of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)

title: 958

text: The Hungarians invade the Bulgarian Empire and force Peter I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarians, to conclude a peace treaty with them. He lets them cross to attack the Byzantine Empire.

title: 966

text: Summer – Sviatoslav I, Grand Prince of Kiev, defeats Bulgar forces in the Balkans at the behest of Emperor Nikephoros II (who pays him 1,500 pounds of gold to invade the Bulgarian Empire).

title: 967

text: Peter I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, suffers a stroke and abdicates the throne in favour of his eldest son Boris II. He arrives (after being an honorary hostage at Constantinople) in Preslav and is proclaimed as the new ruler. Boris regains lost territory from the Kievan Rus' and recaptures Pereyaslavets, an important trade city at the mouth of the Danube.

title: 969

text: Emperor John I delegates the war in the Balkans to his brother-in-law, the Domestic of the Schools Bardas Skleros, and to the eunuch general Peter Phokas, who begin to gather a Byzantine army in Thrace. At the news of this, a powerful Kievan expeditionary force (30,000 men), along with many Bulgarians and a Pecheneg contingent, is sent south over the Balkan Mountains. After sacking the Bulgarian stronghold of Philippolis (modern-day Plovdiv), they bypass the heavily defended city of Adrianople, and turn towards Constantinople.

title: 970

text: January 30 – Peter I, emperor of Bulgaria

title: 970

text: John I returns in triumph to Constantinople. He brings along Boris II, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, and his family, together with the contents of the Bulgarian imperial treasury. Boris is given the Byzantine 'court title' of magistros as compensation. The Bulgarian lands in Thrace and Lower Moesia become part of the Byzantine Empire.

title: 971

text: Boris II, emperor of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 977

text: May – Boris II, dethroned emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria, and his brother Roman manage to escape from captivity in Constantinople. They reach the Bulgarian border, but Boris is killed by mistake by the border guards. Roman is crowned as new ruler, although leadership and the control of the army remain in the hands of General Samuel (a member of the Cometopuli Dynasty).

title: 977

text: Spring: Byzantine Emperor Basil II begins a campaign against the Bulgarians.

title: 991

text: The Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty was engaged in a long and hard war with the First Bulgarian Empire. The Byzantine generals, Theodorokanos and Nikephoros Xiphias captured the former Bulgarian capitals of Pliska and Great Preslav, along with Little Preslav, extending Byzantine control over the northeastern portion of the Bulgarian state (Mysia and Scythia Minor). At the same time, Byzantium was instrumental in the Christianization of Kievan Rus' and of other medieval confederations of Slavic states.

title: AD 1000

text: Battle of Skopje: Emperor Basil II defeats the Bulgarian forces near Skopje (modern North Macedonia). Leaving his army behind, Samuel of Bulgaria manages to escape. Basil continues his campaign and besieges the fortress of Pernik. By the end of the year Basil has reconquered about half of the Bulgarian Empire.

title: 1004

text: Summer – Battle of Thessalonica: Emperor Basil II launches a raiding expedition against Bulgaria. From Western Thrace via Serres he reaches the valley of the Strymon River, near Thessaloniki (modern Greece); the local Byzantine governor Theophylact Botaneiates defeats the Bulgarians.

title: 1014

text: October 6 – Samuel, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire

title: 1014

text: Gavril Radomir, emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria

title: 1015

text: Ivan Vladislav, emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria

title: 1018


slug: first-lady-of-the-united-states

label: First Lady of the United States

description: wife of the President of the United States

date: September 27

text: September 27 – Martha Jefferson Randolph, Acting First Lady of the United States (1801–1809) (d. 1836)

title: 1772

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Margaret Taylor, First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)

title: 1788

date: May 22

text: May 22 – Martha Washington, first First Lady of the United States (b. 1731)

title: 1802

section: Deaths › January–June

date: September 4

text: September 4 – Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (d. 1891)

title: 1803

section: Births › July–December

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Jane Irwin Harrison, de facto First Lady of the United States (d. 1846)

title: 1804

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)

title: 1806

section: Births › January–June

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Priscilla Cooper Tyler, de facto First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)

title: 1816

text: December 13 – Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States (d. 1882)

title: 1818

date: February 13

text: February 13 – Angelica Singleton Van Buren, Acting First Lady of the United States (d. 1877)

title: 1818

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (b. 1744)

title: 1818

section: Deaths › July–December

text: July 23 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)

title: 1820

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)

title: 1826

date: May 9

text: May 9 – Harriet Lane, Acting First Lady of the United States (d. 1903)

title: 1830

date: September 23

text: September 23 – Elizabeth Monroe, First Lady of the United States (b. 1768)

title: 1830

date: August 28

text: August 28 – Lucy Webb Hayes, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)

title: 1831

date: April 19

text: April 19 – Lucretia Garfield, First Lady of the United States (d. 1918)

title: 1832

section: Births › March–April

date: October 1

text: October 1 – Caroline Harrison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1892)

title: 1832

section: Births › September–October

date: July 5

text: July 5 – Mary Arthur McElroy, de facto First Lady of the United States (d. 1917)

title: 1841

date: September 10

text: September 10 – Letitia Christian Tyler, First Lady of the United States 1841–1842 (b. 1790)

title: 1842

date: June 13

text: June 13 – Rose Cleveland, de facto First Lady of the United States (d. 1918)

title: 1846

date: May 11

text: May 11 – Jane Irwin Harrison, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1804)

title: 1846

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Ida Saxton McKinley, First Lady of the United States (d. 1907)

title: 1847

section: Births › June

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Dolley Madison, 81, First Lady of the United States (b. 1768)

title: 1849

date: August 14

text: August 14 – Margaret Taylor, First Lady of the United States (b. 1788)

title: 1852

date: May 15

text: May 15 – Louisa Adams, First Lady of the United States (b. 1775)

title: 1852

date: March 30

text: March 30 – Abigail Fillmore, First Lady of the United States (b. 1798)

title: 1853

text: August 15 – Florence Harding, First Lady of the United States (d. 1924)

title: 1860

section: Births › July–September

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Edith Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1948)

title: 1861

date: December 2

text: December 2 – Jane Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (b. 1806)

title: 1863

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Anna Harrison, First Lady of the United States (b. 1775)

title: 1864

date: July 21

text: July 21 – Frances Cleveland, First Lady of the United States (d. 1947)

title: 1864

date: October 15

text: October 15 – Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States (d. 1961)

title: 1872

section: Births › October–December

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)

title: 1874

text: January 15 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)

title: 1876

text: December 29 – Angelica Singleton Van Buren, Acting First Lady of the United States (b. 1818)

title: 1877

text: January 3 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (d. 1957)

title: 1879

text: July 16 – Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States (b. 1818)

title: 1882

text: October 11 – Eleanor Roosevelt, American politician, diplomat, activist, and First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)

title: 1884

text: December 29 – Priscilla Cooper Tyler, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1816)

title: 1889

text: July 10 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, First Lady of the United States (b. 1820)

title: 1889

text: June 25 – Lucy Webb Hayes, First Lady of the United States (b. 1831)

title: 1889

text: August 14 – Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (b. 1803)

title: 1891

text: October 25 – Caroline Harrison, First Lady of the United States (b. 1832)

title: 1892

text: November 14 – Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States (d. 1979)

title: 1896

text: July 3 – Harriet Lane, Acting First Lady of the United States (b. 1830)

title: 1903

text: May 26 – Ida Saxton McKinley, First Lady of the United States (b. 1847)

title: 1907

text: December 22 – Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States (d. 2007)

title: 1912

text: March 16 – Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)

title: 1912

text: January 8 – Mary Arthur McElroy, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1841)

title: 1917

text: April 8 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)

title: 1918

text: November 22 – Rose Cleveland, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1846), Spanish flu

title: 1918

text: July 6 – Nancy Reagan, American actress, First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)

title: 1921

text: November 21 – Florence Harding, First Lady of the United States (b. 1860)

title: 1924

text: June 8 – Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States (d. 2018)

title: 1925

text: August 18 – Rosalynn Carter, First Lady of the United States (d. 2023)

title: 1927

text: July 28 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)

title: 1929

text: October 28 – Mary Harrison McKee, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1858)

title: 1930

text: April 9 – African-American singer Marian Anderson performs before 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after having been denied the use both of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and of a public high school by the federally controlled District of Columbia. First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt resigns from the DAR because of their decision.

title: 1939

text: January 7 – Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States (b. 1874)

title: 1944

text: November 4 – Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States

title: 1946

text: October 26 – Hillary Clinton, American politician, First Lady, US Senator (D-Ny.), Secretary of State, and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate

title: 1947

text: October 29 – Frances Cleveland, First Lady of the United States (b. 1864)

title: 1947

text: September 30 – Edith Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (b. 1861)

title: 1948

text: June 3 – Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States

title: 1951

text: January 21 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the , is launched in Groton, Connecticut, by First Lady of the United States Mamie Eisenhower.

title: 1954

text: July 8 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (b. 1879)

title: 1957

text: December 28 – Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 (b. 1872)

title: 1961

text: February 14 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.

title: 1962

text: November 7 – Eleanor Roosevelt, American politician, diplomat and activist, First Lady of the United States (b. 1884)

title: 1962

text: January 17 – Michelle Obama, American attorney and author, former First Lady of the United States

title: 1964

text: April 26 – Melania Trump, Slovenian model, First Lady of the United States

title: 1970


slug: first-nations-in-canada

label: First Nations in Canada

description: Indigenous peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis

date: August 11

text: August 11 – Battle of La Prairie in Canada: An English and Iroquois force come north from Albany, New York to attack Montreal, but are repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their First Nations allies.

title: 1691

section: Events › July–September

date: May 29

text: May 29 – The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld at Quebec.

title: 1733

section: Events › April–June

text: The Halifax Treaties are concluded between the various bands of the Miꞌkmaq, other First Nations people and the British in Halifax, Nova Scotia, notably in the Burying the Hatchet ceremony on June 25.

title: 1761

section: Events › Date unknown

date: September 22

text: September 22 – Treaty 7 is concluded between several mainly Blackfoot First Nations tribes and the Canadian Confederation, at the Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River, settling the Blackfoot on Indian reserves in what will become southern Alberta.

title: 1877

section: Events › September

date: June 21

text: June 21 – "Treaty 8", the most comprehensive of the eleven Numbered Treaties, is signed between the British Crown on behalf of Canada, with various Cree groups of the First Nations, ceding 320000 sqmi of land in the northern parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, as well as a portion of the Northwest Territories, to the Canadian government.

title: 1899

section: Events › June

section: Births

date: November 14

text: November 14 – Mary Greyeyes, first First Nations woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces (d. 2011)

title: 1920

section: Births › November

date: June 27

text: June 27 – The first signings of Treaty 11, an agreement between George V, King of Canada, and various Canadian First Nations, are conducted at Fort Providence.

title: 1921

date: July 17

text: July 17 – The final signings of Treaty 11, an agreement between George V, King of Canada, and various Canadian First Nations, are conducted at Fort Liard.

title: 1922

section: Events › July

date: June 11

text: June 11 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologizes, on behalf of the Canadian government, to the country's First Nations for the Canadian Indian residential school system.

title: 2008


slug: first-punic-war

label: First Punic War

description: First War between Rome and Carthage

year_label: 264 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Start of war between the Romans and the Carthaginians-First Punic War

title: 264 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 256 BCE

text: Rome aims for a quick end to hostilities in the First Punic War and decides to invade the Carthaginian colonies in Northern Africa to force the enemy to accept terms. A major fleet is built, including transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for their protection. Carthage under Hamilcar tries to intervene but a force under the Roman general and consul Marcus Atilius Regulus and his colleague Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus defeat the Carthaginian fleet in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus off the southern coast of Sicily.

title: 256 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: In the Punic War, the Romans shift their attention to the southwest of Sicily. They send a naval expedition toward the Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum. En route, the Romans seize and burn the Carthaginian held cities of Selinous and Heraclea Minoa. The Romans then begin the siege of Lilybaeum.

title: 250 BC

year_label: 241 BCE

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Battle of the Aegates: The Carthaginian fleet sent to relieve the Roman blockade of the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum is totally defeated near the Aegates Islands off western Sicily by the Roman fleet led by Roman consul and commander Gaius Lutatius Catulus. The result is a decisive Roman victory which forces an end to the protracted First Punic War, to Rome's distinct advantage.

title: 241 BC

year_label: 232 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Despite the opposition of the Roman Senate and of his own father, the Roman political leader Gaius Flaminius wins the passage of a measure to distribute land among the plebeians. The Romans decide to parcel out land north of Rome (the Ager Gallicus) into small holdings for its poorer citizens whose farms have fallen into ruin during the First Punic War.

title: 232 BC

year_label: 230 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Adherbal, admiral of the Carthaginian fleet who has battled for domination of the Mediterranean Sea for Carthage in the First Punic War against Rome

title: 230 BC

year_label: 228 BCE

text: Hamilcar Barca, Carthaginian general who has assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome, helped Carthage win the Mercenary War and brought extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula under Carthaginian control (b. c. 270 BC)

title: 228 BC

year_label: 221 BCE

text: Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul and general during the First Punic War (b. c. 290 BC)

title: 221 BC


slug: firth-of-forth

label: Firth of Forth

description: estuary of Scotland's River Forth

year_label: 82 CE

text: Gnaeus Julius Agricola raises a fleet, and encircles the Celtic tribes beyond the Forth; the Caledonians rise in great numbers against the Romans. They attack the camp of Legio IX Hispana at night, but Agricola sends his cavalry in, and puts them to flight.

title: AD 82

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Antoninus Pius orders the construction of the Antonine Wall. The wall stretches 39 miles (63 km), from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde, to Carriden near Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth (Scotland). The Romans build 19 forts and smaller fortlets (milecastles), to protect the border against the Caledonians.

title: AD 142

text: Beorhtfrith fights against the Picts between Haefe and Caere (assumed to be between the rivers Avon and Carron, which flow into the Firth of Forth in Scotland).

title: 710

section: Events › By place › Britain

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Scottish nobles Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and David Fleming of Biggar are assigned by King Robert III to transport the Crown Prince James to Bass Rock at the Firth of Forth to be evacuated to France. The group is ambushed by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany at Long Hermiston Moor. Fleming is killed in battle, but Orkney is able to escape with Prince James and, after rescue, to board a ship to cross the English Channel.

title: 1406

section: Events › January–March

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Scottish Admiral Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, commanding the warships Flower and Yellow Carrel, successfully repels an attempted ambush by three armed English merchant ships at the Firth of Forth. Wood captures the three ships, carries them up the Dundee river and presents them and their crews to King James IV. After a "an earnest remonstrance" to England's King Henry VII about allowing the Englishmen to attempt a battle, King James sets the prisoners free and returns them to England.

title: 1490

date: July 25

text: July 25 – Scotland's Earl of Arran departs from the Firth of Forth with 22 ships on a plan to join France in cutting off England's communications with the rest of Europe.

title: 1513

date: December 28

text: December 28 – Sir John Luttrell of England, recently victorious over Scotland in the Battle of Pinkie, raids the Scottish port of Burntisland on the Firth of Forth, after his uncle Thomas Wyndham brings two Royal Navy warships. Luttrell and Wyndhamburn ships and buildings on the pier and capture Rossend Castle

title: 1547

section: Events › October–December

date: January 7

text: January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn.

title: 1560

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The fleeing Spanish Armada sails past the Firth of Forth, and the English call off their pursuit, entirely avoiding the storm which destroys most of the Spanish fleet as it attempts to round Scotland and the west coast of Ireland.

title: 1588

date: April 29

text: April 29–May 1 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: A Dutch flotilla under Admiral van Ghent enters the Firth of Forth in Scotland and bombards Burntisland.

title: 1667

date: March 23

text: March 23 – James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite pretender to the throne of Great Britain, unsuccessfully tries to land from a French fleet in the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

title: 1708

section: Events › January–June

date: October 12

text: October 12 – William Mackintosh of Borlum, leader of the Jacobite rising against Great Britain, lands with 1,500 men in Scotland after crossing the Firth of Forth from France.

title: 1715

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: March 4

text: March 4 – The Forth Bridge, the longest bridge in Great Britain, on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, is opened to rail traffic.

title: 1890

section: Events › March

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: September

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

date: September 4

text: September 4 – The Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

title: 1964


slug: flanders

label: Flanders

description: ethnic territory of the Flemish people

section: Religion & Belief

text: Eligius succeeds Acarius as bishop of Doornik and Noyon. He becomes constituted guardian of the towns of Vermandois, which also include Ghent and Kortrijk (Flanders).

title: 639

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Judith of Flanders, queen of Wessex and countess of Flanders (approximate date)

title: 843

text: Spring – Viking raiders ravage Flanders, and sack the abbey at Saint-Quentin. King Carloman II blocks their passage at Laviers, which had been on the banks of the Somme. Meanwhile, Vikings enter the Rhine, but are turned back by Henry of Franconia (possibly a margrave of Saxony). They over-winter at Duisburg.

title: 883

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Spring – King David I of Scotland invades northern England and captures many of the major towns including Carlisle and Newcastle. In response, King Stephen raises an army (with Flemish mercenaries), and marches to Durham. David agrees to negotiate a peace between the two countries.

title: 1136

text: King John puts an embargo on wheat exported to Flanders, in an attempt to force an allegiance between the states. He also puts a levy of a fifteenth on the value of cargo exported to France and disallows the export of wool to France without a special license. The levies are enforced in each port by at least six men – including one churchman and one knight. John affirms that judgments made by the court of Westminster are as valid as those made "before the king himself or his chief justice".

title: 1201

section: Events › By place › British Isles

date: August 22

text: August 22 – Edward I of England leads an expedition to Flanders. He moves with an army (some 8,000 men) supported by 800 knights to Ghent and makes the city his base of operations in Flanders.

title: 1297

section: Climate & Environment

date: November 19

text: November 19 – The St. Elizabeth's flood of the North Sea devastates parts of Flanders, Zeeland and Holland.

title: 1404

date: April 11

text: April 11 – The three sons of Philip the Bold—John the Fearless, Philip II, and Anthony— agree at Arras to partition the Burgundian lands of their father between themselves, with John to retain Flanders, Philip to take the County of Nevers, and Anthony to retain Rethel as well to purchase the Duchy of Brabant from John.

title: 1405

section: Events › April–June

section: Crime & Justice

date: January 9

text: January 9 – (Rajab 9, 837 AH) King Alfonso V of Aragon ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily as well, contracts with tapestry weaver Guillem d'Uxelles to Flanders to begin learning the Flemish methods to be duplicated in Spain, beginning the "Hispano-Flemish" style.

title: 1434

date: January 14

text: January 14 – Treaty of Madrid: Peace is declared between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Francis agrees to cede Burgundy and abandons all claims to Flanders, Artois, Naples, and Milan.

title: 1526

text: The kings of Spain take control of what becomes the Flanders region, including the French département of Nord.

title: 1556

section: Events › Date unknown

text: The first Calvinists settle in England, after fleeing Flanders.

title: 1561

date: October 28

text: October 28 – In Flanders (now part of Belgium), two Protestant members of the city council of Ghent, Jan van Hembyze and François van Ryhove, proclaim the Calvinist Republic of Ghent. The stadtholder of Flanders, Philippe III de Croÿ, Duke of Aarschot is arrested, along with the Roman Catholic bishops Martin Rythovius of Ypres and Remi Drieux of Bruges. The Calvinist Republic will exist for seven years until the Spanish conquest of Ghent in 1584.

title: 1577

date: August 7

text: August 7 – The English fleet defeats the Spanish fleet off the coast of Flanders.

title: 1588

section: Events › July–September

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter (d. 1641)

title: 1599

section: Births › January–March

text: The Priory of St. Gregory's is founded at Douai, Flanders, at this time in the Spanish Netherlands, by its first prior, John Roberts, and other exiles, thus becoming the first English Benedictine house to renew conventual life after the English Reformation. More than two centuries later the community will establish Downside Abbey back in England.

title: 1605

date: July 10

text: July 10 – England deports 47 Roman Catholic priests, including Thomas Garnet, putting them on board a ship bound for Flanders in modern-day Belgium. A royal proclamation is read to the group, warning them that they will be put to death if they ever return to the British Isles.

title: 1606

date: May 24

text: May 24 – After King Philip IV of Spain reneges on payment of a large dowry to King Louis XIV of France, promised to Louis as a gift for Louis' marriage to Philip's daughter Princess Maria Theresa, the War of Devolution begins between France and Spain. The French Army invades the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), entering Flanders and Franche-Comté. By the time the war ends on May 2, 1668, parts of the Spanish Netherlands are ceded to France.

title: 1667


slug: flavius-aetius

label: Flavius Aetius

description: Roman general and statesman ( c. 390 – 454)

section: Births

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (Magister militum) of part Gothic heritage. (d.454)

title: 391

text: Flavius Aetius is sent as a child hostage at the court of Alaric I, king of the Visigoths.

title: 405

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Attila, age 2, is sent as a child hostage to the court at Rome and in return, the Romans send Flavius Aetius to the Huns.

title: 408

section: Deaths

date: August 15

text: August 15 – Emperor Honorius, age 38, dies at Ravenna of dropsy, perhaps pulmonary edema. With no children to claim the throne, Joannes, primicerius notariorum ("chief notary", head of the civil service), seizes the throne of the Western Roman Empire, and is declared emperor. Among his supporters are Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum). Joannes' rule is accepted in the dioceses of Gaul, Hispania and Italia, but not in Africa.

title: 423

section: Conflict & Security

text: Roman usurper Joannes sends Flavius Aetius, governor of the Palace (cura palatii), to the Huns to ask for their assistance. After negotiating, he returns to Italy with a large force.

title: 424

text: Flavius Aetius leads a force of Huns (60,000 men) into Northern Italy. He reaches a compromise with Placidia, in return for obtaining the rank commander-in-chief (magister militum) in Gaul.

title: 425

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), ends the Gothic revolt of Theodoric I in southern Gaul.

title: 426

text: Flavius Aetius gains appointment as master of both services (magister militum praesentalis), after gaining victories in Gaul over Visigoth and Frankish forces.

title: 428

text: Frankish War (428): Commander-in-chief of the Roman army Aetius put an end to the invasion of Chlodio, king of the Salian Franks in Northern Gaul.

title: 428

text: Aetius puts an end to the Gothic revolt of Anaolsus, not far from Arles; Anaolsus is taken prisoner.

title: 430

text: Aetius campaign in the Alps: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), fights the rebellion in Rhaetia (Switzerland) and Noricum (Austria). He is attested in the city of Vindelicia (modern Augsburg), reestablishing Roman rule on the Danube frontier.

title: 431

text: Roman civil war: Roman forces under command of Flavius Aetius are defeated near Rimini (Italy) in battle. His rival comes Bonifacius is mortally wounded and dies several days later. Aetius flees to Dalmatia and seeks refuge with the Huns.

title: 432

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Flavius Aetius returns to Italy with the support of the Huns. He gains control over the young emperor Valentinian III, and becomes his "protector".

title: 433

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum) in the service of Emperor Valentinian III, begins to hold power in Rome (this will continue for 20 years). He allows the Huns to settle in Pannonia, along the Sava River.

title: 434

text: Roman general (magister militum) Flavius Aetius begins a campaign in Gaul against the Burgundians, following their raids into neighbouring Gallia Belgica by King Gunther.

title: 435

text: End of the Burgundian Revolt of Gunther: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), attempts to put an end to Burgundian raids in Gaul. He calls in Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda, which plunder Augusta Vangionum, killing some 20,000 Burgundians. The Kingdom of the Burgundians is destroyed; King Gunther and his family are killed (this epic disaster will later provide the source for the Nibelungenlied).

title: 436

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum) beats Tibatto and ends temporary the uprising of the Baguads. Then he secures the besieged city of Narbonne (Southern Gaul) against King Theodoric I. He concludes a peace treaty with the Visigoths, and becomes consul for the second time.

title: 437

text: In the Gothic War (436-439) besieges Flavius Aetius over the Visigoths in the Battle of Mons Colubrarius.

title: 438

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), returns as triumphator back to Rome, after several years' fighting the Burgundians and Visigoths in Gaul. He is honoured by a statue erected by the Senate, and by order of Emperor Valentinian III.

title: 440

text: Gaudentius, son of Flavius Aetius (approximate date)

title: 440

text: The Burgundians sign a peace treaty with Rome, agreeing to serve as foederati in the Roman army. They begin to move from the Upper Rhine and Flavius Aetius, commander-in-chief (magister militum), gives them land in the Geneva area (Maxima Sequanorum).

title: 443

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), settles the Alans around Valence and Orléans, to contain unrest in Brittany.

title: 444

text: Petronius Maximus, prominent aristocrat, is given the title of Patrician. He becomes the most honored of all non-imperial Romans, and political rival of Flavius Aetius.

title: 445

text: The Britons and Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, under King Vortigern, appeal to Flavius Aetius (magister militum of Gaul) for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and Irish. Aetius has enough problems with Attila the Hun and is unable to send any help (according to Groans of the Britons).

title: 446

text: Flavius Aetius suppresses the Bagaudae in Armorica (Gaul), and defeats the Salian Franks under King Chlodio near Arras (Belgica Secunda); the invaders are stopped around a river-crossing near Vicus Helena.

title: 448

text: Emperor Valentinian III sends an emissary to Attila the Hun. The purpose of the meeting is a long-running dispute over spoils of war during the Danube offensive (441–442). Attila claims his lost property, but Valentinian and Flavius Aetius (magister militum) refuse this request.

title: 449

date: June

text: June – Attila approaches Aurelianum (modern Orléans) and the city's inhabitants close the gates, forcing him to lay siege. After learning of the Hun invasion, Flavius Aetius (magister militum) moves quickly from Italy into Gaul, and joins forces with Visigoth king Theodoric I.

title: 451

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Emperor Valentinian III stabs his commander-in-chief Flavius Aetius to death, during a meeting of the imperial council at Ravenna. He has accused Aetius of plotting against him to seize power. After his assassination, the Western Roman Empire has no effective defender against its hostile barbarian neighbors (Alans, Franks, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Visigoths).

title: 454

text: September 21 – Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum)

title: 454

date: March 16

text: March 16 – Emperor Valentinian III, age 35, is assassinated by two Hunnic retainers of the late Flavius Aetius, while training with the bow on the Campus Martius (Rome), ending the Theodosian dynasty. His primicerius sacri cubiculi, Heraclius, is also murdered.

title: 455


slug: florence

label: Florence

description: Italian city and commune, located in Tuscany

year_label: 59 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The colonia of Florentia, modern Florence, founded.

title: 59 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

text: Battle of Mucellium: Totila marches down into Tuscany and defeats the Byzantines at Florence, in the valley of Mugello. He treats his prisoners well, and many are induced to join his banner.

title: 542

text: The Page with the Crucifixion, from the "Rabbula Gospels", at the Monastery of St. John in Beth Zagba (Syria), is completed. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy.

title: 586

section: Events › By topic › Art

text: Arnulf of Carinthia crosses the Po River and divides his army in two: one corps (Swabian) proceeds to Florence (via Bologna), while the other corps (Franks) moves through the Lunigiana to the precincts of Rome.

title: 895

text: The Badia Fiorentina, a Benedictine abbey in Florence, is founded by Willa of Tuscany, the widow of Hubert of Tuscany.

title: 978

text: The fortified city of Fiesole in Italy is captured and destroyed by the people of nearby Florence.

title: 1010

date: March 29

text: March 29 – Stephen IX dies of a severe illness after a pontificate of 7 months at Florence. He is succeeded by Nicholas II who will be installed the following year.

title: 1058

date: July 27

text: July 27 – Pope Nicholas II dies after a 2-year pontificate at Florence. He is succeeded by Alexander II as the 156th pope of the Catholic Church in Rome.

title: 1061

text: The mosaic Christ between the Virgin and St Minias is made on the facade of Florence's Basilica di San Miniato al Monte.

title: 1260

section: Events › By topic › Arts and culture

text: September 4 – Battle of Montaperti: The Sienese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs.

title: 1260

section: Culture & Society

date: May 1

text: May 1 – In Florence, the 9-year-old Dante first sees the 8-year-old Beatrice, his lifelong muse. She appears later as one of his guides in the Divine Comedy, Paradiso and Purgatorio.

title: 1274

section: Events › By topic › Literature

date: November 1

text: November 1 – Charles of Valois, son of the late King Philip III ("Philip the Bold"), is summoned to Italy by Pope Boniface VIII to restore peace between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. He enters Florence, and allows the Neri ("Black Guelphs") to return to the city. Charles installs a new government under Cante dei Gabrielli as Chief Magistrate (podestà), leading to the permanent exile of Dante Alighieri, Italian poet and philosopher, from the city.

title: 1301

section: Events › October– December

date: March 17

text: March 17 – Cardinal Albertini, the papal legate and peacemaker, enters Florence and is granted special powers by the government to facilitate his mission.

title: 1304

section: Events › January – March

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Henry VII, the future Holy Roman Emperor, is crowned King of Italy in Milan with a mock-up of the Iron crown of Lombardy. The Tuscan Guelphs refuse to attend the ceremony and begin preparing for resistance against Henry's rule. Henry approves the despotic regimes of Matteo I Visconti in Milan and Cangrande I della Scala in Verona. The cities of Piedmont and Lombardy submit to Henry – in accordance with the proclaimed program of peace and justice. Florence and their Guelph (anti-imperialist) allies in Tuscany and Romagna move to defend themselves against Henry's accession.

title: 1311

date: October 31

text: October 31 – Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor abandons his campaign against Florence.

title: 1312

section: Events › October – December

date: November 4

text: November 4 – The River Arno floods, causing massive damage in Florence, as recorded by Giovanni Villani.

title: 1333

section: Events › January–December

date: July 18

text: July 18 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundational stone laid for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral (the tower was designed by the artist Giotto).

title: 1334

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: All streets in the city of Florence are paved, the first European city in post-Roman times where this has happened.

title: 1339

text: Giovanni Villani, chronicler of Florence (Black Death) (b. c. 1276)

title: 1348

date: June 18

text: June 18 – Saint Catherine of Siena, now the Roman Catholic patron saint of Italy, visits Pope Gregory XI in Avignon in France, to attempt to persuade him to make peace with Florence, and move the Papacy back to Rome.

title: 1376

text: A sermon by a German monk states "the game of cards has come to us this year", and prohibitions against cards are issued by Prince John of Castile, and the cities of Florence and Basel.

title: 1377

text: Construction begins on the Brancacci Chapel in Florence.

title: 1386

section: Health & Medicine

text: The House of Medici becomes powerful in Florence.

title: 1400

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Battle of Casalecchio: Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the Duke of Milan, crushes the forces of Bologna and Florence. He dies from a fever less than three months later.

title: 1402

text: On the Italian Peninsula, Venice has a population of 84,000, of which 200 men rule the city, while Florence has a population of 40,000, of which 600 men rule the city.

title: 1422

section: Events › Undated

date: June 1

text: June 1 – In the battle of San Romano, fought in Italy only 30 mi from the capital at Florence, the Republic of Florence cavalry and infantry, led by General Niccolò da Tolentino defeat the army of the Republic of Siena, led by Francesco Piccinino. The Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello later commemorates the event in a triptych painting.

title: 1432

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Cosimo de' Medici, later the unofficial leader of Florence and patron of Marsilio Ficino, is imprisoned in the Palazzo dei Priori. Initially facing life imprisonment, Medici is then exiled by the Albizzi/Strozzi faction instead. He returns a year later, on October 6, 1434.

title: 1433

section: Science & Discovery

text: The Florentine polymath Leon Battista Alberti begins writing the treatise On Painting, in which he argues for the importance of mathematical perspective, in the creation of three-dimensional vision on a two-dimensional plane. This follows the ideas of Masaccio, and his concepts of linear perspective and vanishing point in artwork.

title: 1436

date: January 10

text: January 10 – Pope Eugene IV, who had convened the Council of Ferrara a year earlier to fight the reforms of the Council of Basel, orders the transfer of its participants from Ferrara to Florence.

title: 1439

section: Events › January–March

text: A monk, Leonardo da Pistoia, arrives in Florence from Macedonia, with the Corpus Hermeticum.

title: 1460

text: June – Leonardo da Vinci is admitted as a master in his own right to the artists' Guild of Saint Luke in Florence. An entry is made in the register of the Compagnia di San Luca reading "Anno Domini 1472— Leonardo, son of Ser Piero da Vinci, painter, to pay the sum of 6 sol, for the whole month of June 1472, for the remittance of his debt to the Company until July 1472... and to pay for the whole of November 1472, 5 sol due on 18 October 1472."

title: 1472

date: June 16

text: June 16 – Volterra, a town in the Republic of Florence in Italy, surrenders after a siege of 25 days by Florentine soldiers under the command of Federico da Montefeltro. Because the town had rebelled against the power of Lorenzo de' Medici, da Montefeltro allows his soldiers on June 18 to pillage Volterra and to commit rape and murder of its citizens.

title: 1472

date: April 26

text: April 26 – On Easter Sunday, the Pazzi family attacks Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Republic of Florence, and kills his brother Giuliano, during High Mass in Florence Cathedral. A total of 80 accused conspirators are executed. With the death of his brother and co-ruler Giuliano, Lorenzo becomes the sole ruler of Florence.

title: 1478

text: The plague breaks out in Florence.

title: 1479

section: Events › Ongoing

text: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola returns to Florence, and writes Oration on the Dignity of Man.

title: 1486

date: November 17

text: November 17 – Italian War of 1494–98: The armies of King Charles VIII of France enter Florence. Charles is dissuaded from destroying the city by the Florentine leader, Girolamo Savonarola, who had recently taken control from the Medici family. After being persuaded that he has a divine role of reformation of the Roman Catholic Church, King Charles spares Florence from destruction and leaves the city on November 28, guiding his troops onward toward Rome.

title: 1494

section: Events › October–December

section: Economy & Finance

date: November 9

text: November 9 – The Medici Bank becomes insolvent and the House of Medici is expelled from Florence.

title: 1494

date: February 24

text: February 24 – King Henry VII of England signs the commercial treaty Intercursus Magnus with Venice, Florence, and the cities of the Hanseatic League and the Netherlands.

title: 1496

text: February 7 – At the public square in Florence, on Shrove Tuesday, followers of the charismatic Dominican friar and evangelist Girolamo Savonarola carry out the first "bonfire of the vanities" and burn thousands of artworks, books, clothing, mirrors, music instruments, playing cards and other objects deemed by them to be a temptation to sin.

title: 1497

text: May 23 – Girolamo Savonarola, ruler of Florence, is executed for criticizing the Pope.

title: 1498

text: Michelangelo returns to his native Florence, to begin work on the statue David.

title: 1501

text: October – Earliest record of Leonardo da Vinci working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, probably the Mona Lisa, in Florence.

title: 1503

text: In Florence, Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli become involved in a scheme to divert the Arno River, cutting the water supply to Pisa to force its surrender: Colombino, the project foreman, fails to follow da Vinci's design, and the project is a major failure.

title: 1504

text: The Signoria of Florence commissions both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to paint the walls of the Grand Council Chamber in the Palazzo Vecchio.

title: 1504

text: September 8 – Michelangelo's sculpture of David is unveiled in Florence.

title: 1504

text: March 22 – Working from the house of Piero di Braccio Martelli at Florence, Leonardo da Vinci begins writing his "collection without order" of his scientific discoveries.

title: 1508

text: May 8 – Italian renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni of Florence signs a contract with the Vatican to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, in return for a promised fee of 3,000 gold ducats (equivalent in 2023 to more than U.S. $600,000).

title: 1508

text: September 1 – After being dispatched by Pope Julius II with command of a Spanish Army, General Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici recaptures the city of Florence (Firenze), capital of the Florentine Republic in Italy and ousts Piero Soderini as the ruling Gonfaloniere. The success at Florence spares the city of Rome from a French invasion. Within a year, Medici becomes leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States as Pope Leo X.

title: 1512

text: May 16 – In Florence, the Piagnon, a group devoted to the memory of Girolamo Savonarola, drive out the Medici for a second time, re-establishing the Republic of Florence until 1530.

title: 1527

text: Michelangelo Buonarroti begins work on the fortifications of Florence.

title: 1528

text: August 3 – Battle of Gavinana: Florence is captured by Spanish troops under Prince Philibert of Chalon (who is killed in the action). The Piagnon (followers of the memory of Girolamo Savonarola) are overthrown, ending the Siege of Florence, and the Medici are restored, in the person of the Pope's nephew Alessandro de' Medici.

title: 1530

text: August 2 – Battle of Marciano: Senese–French forces are defeated by the Florentine–Imperial army.

title: 1554

text: April 17 – After 18 months of siege, the Republic of Siena surrenders to the Florentine–Imperial army.

title: 1555

text: May 2 – Girolamo Bargagli's play The Pilgrim Woman is given its first performance, premiering in Florence, three years after Bargagli's death.

title: 1589

text: October 6 – The première of Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest known fully surviving work of modern opera, takes place in Florence for the wedding of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Emilio de' Cavalieri stages the production.

title: 1600

text: Week-long festivities in honor of the Prince of Urbano, of the Barberini family, occur in Florence, Italy.

title: 1616

text: February 3 – Francesca Caccini's opera La liberazione di Ruggiero has its premiere, stated in Florence in Italy. The opera will continue to be staged almost 400 years later, as late as the year 2018.

title: 1625

text: January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, where he is quarantined for 22 days because of an outbreak of the plague.

title: 1633

text: The Accademia del Cimento is founded in Florence, Italy.

title: 1657

text: An inventory made for the House of Medici of Florence is the first documentary evidence for a piano, invented by their instrument keeper Bartolomeo Cristofori.

title: 1700

text: The first piano is exhibited in Florence by its inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori, who names it "gravicembalo col piano e forte", a name which is subsequently shortened to "pianoforte" and then "piano".

title: 1709

text: March 14 – Verdi's opera Macbeth premieres at the Teatro della Pergola, in Florence, Italy.

title: 1847

text: December 12 – Vincenzo Peruggia tries to sell the Mona Lisa in Florence, and is arrested.

title: 1913

text: Luxury goods brand Gucci is founded in Florence, Italy.

title: 1921

text: November 4 – 1966 flood of the Arno river in Italy hits Florence, flooding it to a maximum depth of 6.7 m ft, leaving thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books. In addition, a severe tidal flood hits Venice.

title: 1966