slug: american-civil-war

label: American Civil War

description: 1861–1865 civil war in the United States between the North and the South over the enslavement of African-Americans

date: February 20

text: February 20 – John E. Wool, general officer in the United States Army, who served during the War of 1812, Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War (d. 1869)

title: 1784

date: September 5

text: September 5 – John L. Burns, American veteran of the War of 1812, civilian combatant for the Union Army during the American Civil War. (d. 1872)

title: 1793

date: September 3

text: September 3 – States Rights Gist, Confederate Brigadier General in the American Civil War (d. 1864)

title: 1831

section: Births › July–December

date: September 2

text: September 2 – James H. Wilson, Union Army major general in the American Civil War (d. 1925)

title: 1837

section: Births › July–September

date: November 13

text: November 13 – Edward Burd Grubb Jr., American Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General (d.1913)

title: 1841

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Dred Scott v. Sandford: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that blacks are not citizens and slaves can not sue for freedom, driving the U.S. further towards the American Civil War (the ruling is not overturned until the 14th Amendment is adopted in 1868).

title: 1857

date: December 20

text: December 20 – American Civil War: South Carolina, led by Governor Francis Pickens, becomes the first state to secede from the United States.

title: 1860

section: Events › December

date: April 12

text: April 12 – The American Civil War begins with the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

title: 1861

section: Events › April

date: April 27

text: April 27 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.

title: 1861

date: December 1

text: December 1 – American Civil War: Trent Affair – The British government dispatches its response, partly drafted by Prince Albert (a fortnight before his death).

title: 1861

date: December 10

text: December 10 – American Civil War: A rebel government representing Kentucky is accepted into the Confederate States of America, although Kentucky officially remains part of the United States.

title: 1861

date: March 11

text: March 11 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

title: 1861

section: Events › March

date: March 4

text: March 4 – American Civil War: The "Stars and Bars" is adopted as the flag of the Confederate States of America.

title: 1861

date: May 13

text: May 13 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality", which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.

title: 1861

date: May 23

text: May 23 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia's ordinance of secession from the United States is ratified in a referendum.

title: 1861

date: November 2

text: November 2 – American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Frémont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.

title: 1861

section: Events › November

date: October 21

text: October 21 – American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff – Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops, in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is also killed in the fighting.

title: 1861

section: Events › October

section: Deaths

date: April 10

text: April 10 – W. H. L. Wallace, American Civil War Union general (died of wounds) (b. 1821)

title: 1862

section: Deaths › January–June

date: January 30

text: January 30 – American Civil War: The first U.S. ironclad warship, , is launched in Brooklyn.

title: 1862

section: Events › January

date: July 23

text: July 23 – American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army.

title: 1862

section: Events › July

date: June 26

text: June 26 – American Civil War: Battle of Mechanicsville – Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the troops of General George B. McClellan in the first of the Seven Days Battles.

title: 1862

section: Events › June

date: March 13

text: March 13 – American Civil War: The U.S. federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.

title: 1862

date: October 11

text: October 11 – American Civil War: In the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam, Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart and his men loot Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during a raid into the North.

title: 1862

date: October 8

text: October 8 – American Civil War: Battle of Perryville – Union Army forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.

title: 1862

date: September 22

text: September 22 – American Civil War: The preliminary announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation is made by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln: From January 1, 1863, slaves in the Confederate States will be considered free.

title: 1862

date: January 1

text: January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing proclaims the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's four million slaves and immediately frees 50,000 of them, with the rest freed as the Union Army advances. This event marks the start of America's Reconstruction Era.

title: 1863

date: July 9

text: July 9 – American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends, and the Union controls the entire Mississippi River for the first time.

title: 1863

text: April 12 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Pillow – Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers who surrender at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

title: 1864

date: December 15

text: December 15–16 – American Civil War: Battle of Nashville – Union forces decisively defeat the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

title: 1864

date: November 4

text: November 4 – American Civil War: Battle of Johnsonville – At Johnsonville, Tennessee, troops under the command of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest bombard a Union supply base with artillery, and destroy millions of dollars' worth of material.

title: 1864

date: April 1

text: April 1 – American Civil War – Battle of Five Forks: In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.

title: 1865

date: January 13

text: January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Union forces launch a major amphibious assault against the last seaport held by the Confederates, Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

title: 1865

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Captain Henry Wirz, Confederate superintendent of Andersonville Prison (Camp Sumter) is hanged, becoming the second of two combatants, and only serving regular soldier, to be executed for war crimes committed during the American Civil War.

title: 1865

text: November 6 – American Civil War: The CSS Shenandoah, last remnant of the Confederate States of America and its military, surrenders in Liverpool after fleeing westward from the Pacific.

title: 1865

text: September 26 – Champ Ferguson becomes the first person (and one of only two) to be convicted of war crimes for actions taken during the American Civil War, found guilty by a U.S. Army tribunal on 23 charges, arising from the murder of 53 people. He is hanged on October 20, two days after the conviction of Henry Wirz for war crimes.

title: 1865

text: July 24 – Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.

title: 1866

text: November 10 – John E. Wool, general officer in the United States Army, who served during the War of 1812, Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War (b. 1784)

title: 1869

text: February 4 – John L. Burns, American veteran of the War of 1812, civilian combatant for the Union Army during the American Civil War. (b. 1793)

title: 1872

text: January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War.

title: 1879

text: September 13 – Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general, inventor, politician from Rhode Island (b. 1824)

title: 1881

text: November 7 – Peter Conover Hains, major general in the United States Army, and veteran of the American Civil War, Spanish–American War, and First World War (b. 1840)

title: 1921

text: August 31 – Six of the last sixteen surviving veterans of the Union Army, in the American Civil War, meet in Indianapolis.

title: 1949

text: November 2 – 1976 United States presidential election: Jimmy Carter narrowly defeats incumbent Gerald Ford, becoming the first candidate from the Deep South to win since the Civil War.

title: 1976


slug: american-football

label: American football

description: form of team game played with an oval ball on a field marked out as a gridiron

section: Culture & Society

date: November 6

text: November 6 – The first game of American football between two American colleges is played. Rutgers University defeats Princeton University 6–4, in a forerunner to American football and College football.

title: 1869

date: March 3

text: March 3 – The first American football game in Ohio State University history is played in Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan

title: 1890

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: September 3

text: September 3 – The first professional American football game is played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club (Latrobe wins 12–0).

title: 1895

section: Events › September

section: Births

date: June 8

text: June 8 – Byron White, American football player and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2002)

title: 1917

section: Births › June

date: October

text: Centre College's American football team, led by quarterback Bo McMillin, defeats Harvard University 6–0, to break Harvard's five-year winning streak. For decades afterward, this is called "football's upset of the century".

title: 1921

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: November 14

text: November 14 – Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in Wayne County, West Virginia; all 75 on board, including 37 players and 5 coaches from the Marshall University football team, are killed.

title: 1970

section: Conflict & Security

date: December 25

text: December 25 – In the longest American football game in National Football League history, the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 after 82 minutes, 40 seconds of playing time. Garo Yepremian kicked the winning 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of the second overtime period.

title: 1971

date: August 4

text: August 4 – Opening game of the American Football Bundesliga played between Frankfurter Löwen and Düsseldorf Panther, first-ever league game of American football in Germany.

title: 1979

section: Events › August

date: January 19

text: January 19 – In American football, Tom Brady's victory in the Tuck Rule Game causes a national controversy.

title: 2002


slug: american-indian-wars

label: American Indian Wars

description: frontier conflicts between American, Canadian and European settlers and Indigenous peoples of the Americas

date: March 22

text: March 22 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquian natives kill 347 English settlers outside Jamestown, Virginia (one third of the colony's population), and burn the Henricus settlement. This begins the American Indian Wars.

title: 1622

section: Events › January–May

date: August 14

text: August 14 – American Indian Wars: United States general William J. Worth declares the Second Seminole War to be over.

title: 1842

section: Events › July–September

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 5

text: November 5 – American Indian Wars: In Minnesota, more than 300 Santee Sioux are found guilty of rape and murder of white settlers, and are sentenced to hang.

title: 1862

date: January 29

text: January 29 – American Indian Wars – Bear River Massacre: The United States Army, led by General Patrick Edward Connor, massacres Chief Bear Hunter and forces of the Shoshone, in the Idaho Territory.

title: 1863

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: July 30

text: July 30 – American Indian Wars: Representatives of the United States and tribal leaders including Chief Pocatello (of the Shoshone) sign the Box Elder Treaty.

title: 1863

date: November 27

text: November 27 – American Indian Wars – Battle of Washita River: In the early morning, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on a band of Cheyenne living on reservation land with Chief Black Kettle, killing 103 Cheyenne.

title: 1868

date: November 29

text: November 29 – American Indian Wars: The Modoc War begins with the Battle of Lost River.

title: 1872

date: April 15

text: April 15–17 – American Indian Wars: The Second Battle of the Stronghold is fought.

title: 1873

section: Events › April

text: August 4 – American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the Seventh Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux, near the Tongue River (only 1 man on each side is killed).

title: 1873

date: January 17

text: January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the United States Army.

title: 1873

date: June 4

text: June 4 – American Indian Wars: The Modoc War ends with the capture of Kintpuash (Captain Jack).

title: 1873

date: November 9

text: November 9 – American Indian Wars: In Washington, D.C., Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins issues a report stating that hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne associated with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are hostile to the United States (the Battle of the Little Bighorn is fought in Montana the next year).

title: 1875

date: June 17

text: June 17 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne, led by Crazy Horse, beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.

title: 1876

date: June 25

text: June 25/26 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Little Bighorn: 300 men of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer are wiped out by 2,000 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

title: 1876

date: November 25

text: November 25 – American Indian Wars: Dull Knife Fight – In retaliation for the dramatic American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops under General Ranald S. Mackenzie sack Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River (Montana). The soldiers destroy all of the villagers' winter food and clothing, and then slash their ponies' throats.

title: 1876

date: August 9

text: August 9 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Big Hole – Near Big Hole River, Montana, a small band of Nez Perce people who refuse government orders to move to a reservation, clash with the United States Army. The army loses 29 soldiers, and the Indians lose 89 warriors, in an Army victory.

title: 1877

text: June 17 – American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon – The Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon, in the Idaho Territory. This begins the Nez Perce War.

title: 1877

date: September 5

text: September 5 – American Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier, after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

title: 1877

date: July 20

text: July 20 – American Indian Wars: Sioux chief Sitting Bull leads the last of his people in surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana.

title: 1881

date: September 4

text: September 4 – American Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders, with his last band of warriors, to General Nelson Miles, at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.

title: 1886

date: December 29

text: December 29 – Wounded Knee Massacre: At Wounded Knee, South Dakota, a Lakota camp, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment tries to disperse the non-violent "Ghost-Dance" which was promised to usher in a new era of power and freedom to Native Americans but is feared as a potential rallying tool for violent rebellion by some in the U.S. government. Shooting begins, and 153 Lakota Sioux and 25 troops are killed; about 150 flee the scene. This is the last tribe to be defeated and confined to a reservation as well as the beginning of the decline of both the American Indian Wars and the American frontier.

title: 1890

section: Events › December

text: Autumn – In the United States, the final raid of the Renegade period of the Apache Wars takes place, bringing the American Indian Wars to a close, after 315 years.

title: 1924

section: Events › Date unknown


slug: american-revolution

label: American Revolution

description: revolution establishing the United States of America

date: July 27

text: July 27 – Samuel Whittemore, American farmer and oldest known colonial combatant of the American Revolution (d. 1793)

title: 1696

section: Births › July–September

date: September 27

text: September 27 – Samuel Adams, Boston politician, leader in the American Revolution (d. 1803)

title: 1722

date: July 16

text: July 16 – Samuel Huntington, Patriot in the American Revolution and politician (d. 1796)

title: 1731

date: November 20

text: November 20 – Philip Schuyler, general in the American Revolution, United States Senator from New York, father of Angelica Schuyler Church and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (d. 1804)

title: 1733

date: April 7

text: April 7 – Haym Salomon, Polish-Jewish American financier of the American Revolution (d. 1785)

title: 1740

date: March 18

text: March 18 – American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which has been very unpopular in the British colonies; the persuasion of Benjamin Franklin is considered partly responsible. The Declaratory Act asserts the right of Britain to bind the colonies in all other respects.

title: 1766

section: Events › January–March

date: April 19

text: April 19 – American Revolution – Battles of Lexington and Concord: Hostility between Britain and its American colonies explodes into bloodshed, igniting the American Revolutionary War.

title: 1775

section: Events › January–June

date: February 9

text: February 9 – American Revolution: The Parliament of Great Britain declares the Province of Massachusetts Bay to be in rebellion.

title: 1775

date: April 12

text: April 12 – American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina produces the Halifax Resolves, making it the first British colony to officially authorize its Continental Congress delegates to vote for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

title: 1776

section: Events › March–April

date: August 15

text: August 15 – American Revolution: The first Hessian troops land on Staten Island, to join British forces.

title: 1776

section: Events › July–August

date: August 27

text: August 27 – American Revolution: Battle of Long Island – George Washington's troops are defeated in Brooklyn by the British, under William Howe.

title: 1776

date: December 19

text: December 19 – American Revolution – Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops, publishes the first in the series of pamphlets on The American Crisis in The Pennsylvania Journal, opening with the stirring phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls."

title: 1776

section: Events › November–December

date: December 21

text: December 21 – American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina reorganizes into the State of North Carolina after adopting its own constitution. Richard Caswell becomes the first governor of the newly formed state.

title: 1776

date: December 25

text: December 25 – American Revolution: George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River – At 6 p.m. Gen. George Washington and his troops, numbering 2,400, march to McConkey's Ferry, cross the Delaware River and land on the New Jersey bank by 3 a.m. the following morning.

title: 1776

date: January 10

text: January 10 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense, arguing for independence from British rule in the Thirteen Colonies.

title: 1776

section: Events › January–February

date: January 20

text: January 20 – American Revolution: South Carolina Loyalists led by Robert Cunningham sign a petition from prison, agreeing to all demands for peace by the formed state government of South Carolina.

title: 1776

date: July 4

text: July 4 – American Revolution: United States Declaration of Independence – The Continental Congress approves the declaration by the United States of its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The text was drafted during June by Benjamin Franklin.

title: 1776

date: July 8

text: July 8 – American Revolution: The Liberty Bell rings in Philadelphia for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

title: 1776

date: July 9

text: July 9 – American Revolution – An angry mob in New York City topples and beheads the equestrian statue of George III of Great Britain in Bowling Green; much of its metal content will be used to make musket balls.

title: 1776

date: June 11

text: June 11 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress appoints a Committee of Five to draft a Declaration of Independence.

title: 1776

section: Events › May–June

date: June 12

text: June 12 – American Revolution: The Virginia Declaration of Rights (by George Mason) is adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates.

title: 1776

date: June 15

text: June 15 – American Revolution: Delaware Separation Day – The Delaware General Assembly votes to suspend government under the British Crown.

title: 1776

date: June 7

text: June 7 – American Revolution: Lee Resolution – Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposes to the Second Continental Congress (meeting in Philadelphia) that "these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."

title: 1776

date: June 8

text: June 8 – American Revolution: Battle of Trois-Rivières – The invading American Continental Army is driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

title: 1776

date: May 15

text: May 15–26 – American Revolution: Battle of the Cedars – British forces skirmish with the American Continental Army around Les Cèdres, Quebec.

title: 1776

date: June 13

text: June 13 – American Revolution: The Marquis de Lafayette lands near Georgetown, South Carolina, to help the Continental Congress train its army.

title: 1777

section: Events › April–June

date: November 15

text: November 15 – American Revolution: After 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation, in the temporary American capital at York, Pennsylvania.

title: 1777

section: Events › July–December

date: November 17

text: November 17 – American Revolution: The Articles of Confederation are submitted to the states for ratification.

title: 1777

date: August 30

text: August 30 – American Revolution: A French fleet under Comte de Grasse enters Chesapeake Bay, cutting British General Charles Cornwallis off from escape by sea.

title: 1781

date: July 29

text: July 29 – American Revolution – Skirmish at the House in the Horseshoe: A Tory force under David Fanning attacks Phillip Alston's smaller force of Whigs, at Alston's home in Cumberland County, North Carolina (in present day Moore County, North Carolina). Alston's troops surrender, after Fanning's men attempt to ram the house with a cart of burning straw.

title: 1781

date: October 19

text: October 19 – American Revolution: Following the Siege of Yorktown, General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolution.

title: 1781

section: Events › October–December

date: September 10

text: September 10 – American Revolution: Graves gives up trying to break through the now-reinforced French fleet and returns to New York, leaving Cornwallis to his fate.

title: 1781

date: September 28

text: September 28 – American Revolution: American and French troops begin a siege of the British at Yorktown, Virginia.

title: 1781

text: September 5 – American Revolution – Battle of the Chesapeake: A British fleet under Thomas Graves arrives and fights de Grasse, but is unable to break through to relieve the Siege of Yorktown.

title: 1781

text: September 6 – American Revolution – Battle of Groton Heights: A British force under Benedict Arnold attacks a fort in Groton, Connecticut, achieving a strategic victory.

title: 1781

text: September 8 – American Revolution – Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina: The war's last significant battle, in the Southern theatre, ends in a narrow British tactical victory.

title: 1781

text: May 26 – A Great Jubilee Day, celebrating the end of the American Revolution, is held in Trumbull, Connecticut.

title: 1783

text: January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain to end the American Revolution, with the signature of President of Congress Thomas Mifflin.

title: 1784

text: January 6 – Haym Salomon, Polish-Jewish American financier of the American Revolution (b. 1740)

title: 1785

text: February 2 – Samuel Whittemore, American farmer and oldest known colonial combatant of the American Revolution (b. 1696)

title: 1793

text: November 18 – Philip Schuyler, general in the American Revolution, a United States senator from New York, father of Angelica Schuyler Church and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton (b. 1733)

title: 1804

text: May 9 – Robert Morris, English-born merchant, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, "financier of the American Revolution" (b. 1734)

title: 1806


slug: american-revolutionary-war

label: American Revolutionary War

description: 1775–1783 war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, which won independence as the United States of America

section: Births

date: June 19

text: June 19 – Johann de Kalb, Bavarian-French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)

title: 1721

date: March 6

text: March 6 – Henry Laurens, political leader during the American Revolutionary War, father of John Laurens (d. 1792)

title: 1724

date: December 4

text: December 4 – Lord Stirling, American brigadier-general during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1783)

title: 1726

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Horatio Gates, retired British soldier who served as an American general during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1806)

title: 1727

date: January 24

text: January 24 – Benjamin Lincoln, major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and politician (d. 1810)

title: 1733

date: February 15

text: February 15 – William Stacy, American Revolutionary War officer (d. 1802)

title: 1734

date: February 27

text: February 27 – Thomas Conway, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1800)

title: 1734

date: February 17

text: February 17 – John Sullivan, American General in the American Revolutionary War, delegate in the Continental Congress (d. 1795)

title: 1740

date: September 25

text: September 25 – Hercules Mulligan, tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1825)

title: 1740

date: May 14

text: May 14 – Louis Lebègue Duportail French military leader in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1802)

title: 1743

date: March 10

text: March 10 – John Gunby, Maryland soldier in the American Revolutionary War (d. 1807)

title: 1745

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish military leader, aids the United States in its quest for independence in the American Revolutionary War (d. 1786)

title: 1746

date: May 2

text: May 2 – John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)

title: 1750

text: September 10 – Lemuel Cook, American Revolutionary War veteran, centenarian (d. 1866)

title: 1759

date: January 6

text: January 6 – John Gray, last verified American Revolutionary War veteran (d. 1868)

title: 1764

section: Conflict & Security

date: March 5

text: March 5 – Boston Massacre: Eleven American men are shot (five fatally) by British troops, in an event that helps start the American Revolutionary War five years later.

title: 1770

section: Events › January– March

date: November 2

text: November 2 – American Revolutionary War: Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren form the first Committee of Correspondence.

title: 1772

date: April 19

text: April 19 – American Revolution – Battles of Lexington and Concord: Hostility between Britain and its American colonies explodes into bloodshed, igniting the American Revolutionary War.

title: 1775

text: June 11 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Machias: In the first naval engagement of the American Revolution, Patriot forces capture the schooner HMS Margaretta.

title: 1775

date: December 26

text: December 26 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trenton – Washington's troops surprise the 1,500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. Johann Rall at 8 a.m. outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 948 prisoners while suffering only five wounded.

title: 1776

date: January 1

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

title: 1776

date: June 28

text: June 28 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Sullivan's Island – South Carolina militia repel a British attack on Charleston.

title: 1776

date: June 29

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

title: 1776

date: March 17

text: March 17 – American Revolutionary War: Threatened by Patriot cannons on Dorchester Heights, the British evacuate Boston, ending the 11‑month Siege of Boston.

title: 1776

date: March 25

text: March 25 – American Revolutionary War: American Patriots conduct a Raid on Tybee Island, primarily seeking to capture runaway slaves who sought refuge with British forces stationed there.

title: 1776

date: March 4

text: March 4 – American Revolutionary War: American Patriots capture Dorchester Heights, dominating the port of Boston.

title: 1776

date: November 16

text: November 16 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Fort Washington – Hessian forces under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington (Manhattan) from the American Continental Army.

title: 1776

date: November 20

text: November 20 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Fort Lee – The invasion of New Jersey, by British and Hessian forces, leads to the subsequent general retreat of the American Continental Army.

title: 1776

date: October 11

text: October 11 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island – On Lake Champlain near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats, commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the two-day-long battle will give Patriot forces enough time to prepare the defenses of New York City.

title: 1776

section: Events › September–October

date: October 18

text: October 18 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Pell's Point – Troops of the American Continental Army resist a British and Hessian force in The Bronx.

title: 1776

date: October 28

text: October 28 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains – British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.

title: 1776

date: September 11

text: September 11 – American Revolutionary War: An abortive peace conference takes place between the British and Americans, on Staten Island.

title: 1776

date: September 15

text: September 15 – American Revolutionary War: Landing at Kip's Bay – British troops land on Manhattan at Kips Bay.

title: 1776

text: September 16 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Harlem Heights – The Continental Army under Washington is victorious against the British on Manhattan.

title: 1776

text: September 22 – American Revolutionary War – Nathan Hale is executed by the British in New York City for espionage.

title: 1776

text: September 7 – American Revolutionary War: World's first submarine attack – The American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship in New York Harbor.

title: 1776

text: April 13 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Bound Brook: A British and Hessian force led by Charles Cornwallis surprises a Continental Army outpost in New Jersey, commanded by Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

title: 1777

text: April 27 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Ridgefield: The British Army defeats Patriot militias, galvanizing resistance in the Connecticut Colony.

title: 1777

text: August 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Bennington: British and Brunswicker forces are decisively defeated by American troops at Walloomsac, New York.

title: 1777

text: August 22 – American Revolutionary War – The Siege of Fort Stanwix is ended by withdrawal of British forces, following a ruse by Benedict Arnold to persuade them that a much larger force is arriving.

title: 1777

text: August 6 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Oriskany: Loyalists gain a tactical victory over Patriots; Iroquois fight on both sides.

title: 1777

text: December 19 – American Revolutionary War – George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

title: 1777

text: January 12 – Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer, mortally wounded in battle (b. 1726)

title: 1777

text: January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second battle at Trenton, New Jersey.

title: 1777

text: January 3 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Princeton: American general George Washington's army defeats British troops.

title: 1777

text: July 6 – American Revolutionary War – Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

title: 1777

text: July 7 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Hubbardton: British forces capture over 200 of the American rearguard, from Fort Ticonderoga.

title: 1777

text: October 17 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Saratoga: British General John Burgoyne surrenders to the American troops.

title: 1777

text: October 4 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.

title: 1777

text: October 6 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery: British troops capture Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery (Hudson River), and are able to dismantle the Hudson River Chain.

title: 1777

text: October 7 – American Revolutionary War – Second Battle of Saratoga (Battle of Bemis Heights): British General John Burgoyne is defeated by American troops.

title: 1777

text: September 11 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Brandywine: The British gain a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

title: 1777

text: September 19 – American Revolutionary War – First Battle of Saratoga (Battle of Freeman's Farm): Patriot forces withstand a British attack at Saratoga, New York.

title: 1777

text: September 26 – American Revolutionary War – British troops occupy Philadelphia; members of the Continental Congress flee to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they meet and hold a one day session as the Fifth Congress before fleeing again.

title: 1777

text: September 3 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cooch's Bridge: British and Hessian forces defeat an American militia in a minor skirmish in New Castle County, Delaware.

title: 1777

text: September 30 – American Revolutionary War – The Sixth Continental Congress opens its session at York, Pennsylvania, and continues for 272 days until June 27, 1778.

title: 1777

text: August 29 – American Revolutionary War: The tactically inconclusive Battle of Rhode Island takes place, after which the Continental Army abandons its position on Aquidneck Island.

title: 1778

text: December 29 – American Revolutionary War: Capture of Savannah – British forces under Archibald Campbell take the city of Savannah, Georgia.

title: 1778

text: February 23 – American Revolutionary War: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and begins to train the American troops.

title: 1778

text: February 6 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris, the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France, signaling official French recognition of the new republic.

title: 1778

text: July 27 – American Revolutionary War: First Battle of Ushant – British and French fleets fight to a standoff.

title: 1778

text: July 3 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Wyoming takes place near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, ending in a terrible defeat for the local colonists.

title: 1778

text: July 4 – American Revolutionary War: George Rogers Clark takes Kaskaskia.

title: 1778

text: June 28 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Monmouth – George Washington's Continental Army battles British general Sir Henry Clinton's army to a draw, near Monmouth County, New Jersey.

title: 1778

text: March 10 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington approves the dishonorable discharge of Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin, for "attempting to commit sodomy, with John Monhort a soldier".

title: 1778

text: November 11 – American Revolutionary War: Cherry Valley massacre – British forces and their Iroquois allies attack a fort and the village of Cherry Valley, New York, killing 14 soldiers and 30 civilians.

title: 1778

text: September 7 – American Revolutionary War: Invasion of Dominica – The French capture the British fort there, before the latter is aware that France has entered the war in the Franco-American alliance.

title: 1778

text: January 22 – American Revolutionary War – Claudius Smith is hanged at Goshen, Orange County, New York for supposed acts of terrorism upon the people of the surrounding communities.

title: 1779

text: July 16 – American Revolutionary War – United States forces, led by General Anthony Wayne, capture Stony Point, New York from British troops.

title: 1779

text: July 24 – American Revolutionary War – American forces, led by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, launch the Penobscot Expedition in what is now Castine, Maine, resulting in the worst naval defeat in U.S. history, until surpassed by the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

title: 1779

text: June 1 – American Revolutionary War – Benedict Arnold is court-martialed for malfeasance, in his treatment of government property.

title: 1779

text: June 16 – American Revolutionary War – In support of France, Spain declares war on Britain.

title: 1779

text: September 14–15 – American Revolutionary War – Little Beard's Town, a loyalist stronghold, is burnt by the Sullivan Expedition.

title: 1779

text: September 23 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Flamborough Head – The American ship Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, engages the British ship . The Bonhomme Richard sinks, but the Americans board the Serapis and other vessels, and are victorious.

title: 1779

text: April 29 – American Revolutionary War: The Spanish commander of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception on the San Juan River in modern-day Nicaragua surrenders it to the British San Juan Expedition.

title: 1780

text: August 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Camden: British troops inflict heavy losses on a Patriot army at Camden, South Carolina.

title: 1780

text: August 19 – Johann de Kalb, Bavarian-French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1721)

title: 1780

text: August 9 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova captures a British convoy totalling 55 vessels amongst Indiamen, frigates and other cargo ships off Cape St. Vincent.

title: 1780

text: January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet.

title: 1780

text: July 11 – French soldiers arrive in Newport, Rhode Island to reinforce the colonists, in the American Revolutionary War.

title: 1780

text: June 23 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Springfield: The Continental Army defeats the British in New Jersey.

title: 1780

text: March 11 – General Lafayette embarks on at Rochefort, arriving in Boston on April 28, carrying the news that he has secured French men and ships to reinforce the American side in the American Revolutionary War.

title: 1780

text: March 17 – American Revolutionary War: The British San Juan Expedition sails from Jamaica under the command of Captains John Polson and Horatio Nelson to attack the Captaincy General of Guatemala (modern-day Nicaragua) in New Spain.

title: 1780

text: May 12 – American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces after 44 days of siege.

title: 1780

text: November 30 – American Revolutionary War: The British San Juan Expedition is forced to withdraw.

title: 1780

text: October 2 – American Revolutionary War: In Tappan, New York, British spy John André is hanged by American forces.

title: 1780

text: October 7 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Kings Mountain: Patriot militia forces annihilate Loyalists under British Major Patrick Ferguson, at Kings Mountain, South Carolina.

title: 1780

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

title: 1781

text: January 17 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cowpens: The American Continental Army, under Daniel Morgan, decisively defeats British forces in South Carolina.

title: 1781

text: January 5 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia is burned by British naval forces, led by Benedict Arnold.

title: 1781

text: August 19 – A combined British and Native American force defeat Kentucky militiamen in the Battle of Blue Licks in the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War.

title: 1782

text: December 12 – American Revolutionary War: Action of 12 December 1782: A naval engagement off Ferrol, Spain, in which the British ship commanded by James Luttrell successfully attacks a convoy of French and American ships attempting to supply the United States.

title: 1782

text: February 27 – The British House of Commons votes against further war in America, paving the way for the Second Rockingham ministry and the Peace of Paris.

title: 1782

text: November 30 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized in the Treaty of Paris).

title: 1782

text: April 15 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War are ratified by the Congress of the Confederation in the United States.

title: 1783

text: February 3 – American Revolutionary War: Great Britain acknowledges the independence of the United States of America. At this time, the Spanish government does not grant diplomatic recognition.

title: 1783

text: January 15 – William Alexander, Lord Stirling, American major-general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1726)

title: 1783

text: November 25 – American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave New York City and George Washington triumphantly returns, three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

title: 1783

text: September 3 – Peace of Paris: A treaty between the United States and Great Britain is signed in Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War, in which Britain recognizes the independence of the United States; and treaties are signed between Britain, France, and Spain at Versailles, ending hostilities with the Franco-Spanish Alliance.

title: 1783

text: November 30 – Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish military leader who aided the United States in its quest for independence, in the American Revolutionary War (b. 1746)

title: 1786

text: December 8 – Henry Laurens, political leader during the American Revolutionary War, father of John Laurens (b. 1724)

title: 1792

text: November 19 – The United States and Great Britain sign the Jay Treaty (coming into effect in 1796), which attempts to clear up some issues left over from the American Revolutionary War and secures a decade of peaceful trade between the two nations. Britain agrees to evacuate border forts in the Northwest Territory (roughly the area north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi) and thereby end British support for the Indians.

title: 1794

text: January 23 – John Sullivan, American general in the American Revolutionary War, delegate in the Continental Congress (b. 1740)

title: 1795

text: June 16 – Walter Stewart, Irish-born American general during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1756)

title: 1796

text: August 12 – Louis Lebègue Duportail French military leader in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1743)

title: 1802

text: April 10 – Horatio Gates, British soldier, served as an American general during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1727)

title: 1806

text: May 17 – John Gunby, Maryland soldier in the American Revolutionary War (b. 1745)

title: 1807

text: May 9 – Benjamin Lincoln, major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1733)

title: 1810

text: March 4 – Hercules Mulligan, tailor, spy during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1740)

title: 1825

text: September 29 – Daniel Shays, American Revolutionary War captain, also the leader of the Shays's Rebellion (b. 1747)

title: 1825

text: February 26 – Sybil Ludington, alleged heroine during the American Revolutionary War (b. 1761)

title: 1839


slug: americas

label: Americas

description: North America and South America taken together as a single continent or landmass

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Great Pyramid of the Sun is constructed in Teotihuacan. It is the tallest pre-Columbian building in the Americas.

title: AD 150

section: Events › By place › Americas

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Brendan, Irish abbot, allegedly climbs to the top of Mount Brandon to look for the Americas (approximate date).

title: 530

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Bjarni Herjólfsson, a Norse-Icelandic merchant captain and explorer, becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to discover the mainland of the Americas.

title: 986

section: Events › By topic › Exploration

section: Culture & Society

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Martin Waldseemüller publishes his Cosmographiae Introductio ("Introduction to Universal Cosmography") and accompanying wall map, the first to show the Americas as a separate continent, naming them in honour of Amerigo Vespucci, his friend and idol.

title: 1507

section: Deaths

date: February 22

text: February 22 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian merchant and cartographer, after whom the Americas are named (b. 1451)

title: 1512

date: May 12

text: May 12 – The National University of San Marcos is founded in Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, being the first officially established university in the Americas.

title: 1551

date: September 21

text: September 21 – The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico is founded in Mexico City (Mexico), being the second officially established university in the Americas.

title: 1551

section: Events › July–September

date: December 13

text: December 13 – Francis Drake leaves Plymouth, England, aboard the Pelican, with four other ships and 164 men, on an expedition against the Spanish, along the Pacific coast of the Americas, which will become his circumnavigation.

title: 1577

section: Religion & Belief

text: Mission San Luis de Apalachee is built in the New World by two Spanish friars.

title: 1633

text: Publication at Cambridge in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of the "Eliot Indian Bible" (Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God), which becomes the first complete Bible published in the Americas, a translation by English-born Puritan missionary John Eliot of the Geneva Bible, from English into the Massachusett language (Natic or Wômpanâak) variety of the Algonquian languages.

title: 1663

text: Construction work is completed on the Citadelle Laferrière in Haiti, the largest fortification in the Americas, built on the orders of Henri Christophe to defend the country against potential French reoccupation.

title: 1820

section: Health & Medicine

text: In or about this year, one person returning to Haiti from the Congo is thought to have first brought HIV to the Americas.

title: 1966

date: April 29

text: April 29 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas.

title: 2015

section: Events › April


slug: amphipolis

label: Amphipolis

description: ancient city of Macedonia, Greece

year_label: 436 BCE

text: Following Pericles' visit to the Black Sea, a large Athenian colony is founded at Amphipolis. This is disconcertingly close to an outpost of Corinthian influence at Potidaea in the Chalcidice. Corinth feels it is being indirectly pressured by Athens.

title: 436 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 424 BCE

text: After he frustrates the Athenian attack on Megara, Brasidas marches through Boeotia and Thessaly to Chalcidice at the head of 700 helots and 1000 Peloponnesian mercenaries to join the Macedonian king Perdiccas II. Refusing to be made a tool for the furtherance of Perdiccas' ambitions, Brasidas wins over the important cities of Acanthus, Stagirus, Amphipolis, and Torone as well as several minor towns. An attack on Eion is foiled by the arrival of Thucydides at the head of an Athenian squadron.

title: 424 BC

year_label: 422 BCE

text: Athenian leader, Cleon, ends the truce between Athens and Sparta after he resolves to rescue the town of Amphipolis in Macedonia. However, through skillful generalship by Brasidas, the Spartans rout the Athenians in the Battle of Amphipolis. Both Brasidas and Cleon are killed in the battle, thereby removing the key members of the pro-war factions on both sides.

title: 422 BC

year_label: 369 BCE

text: On the death of the Macedonian King Amyntas III, his eldest son Alexander II becomes king. The young king is simultaneously faced with an Illyrian invasion from the north-west and an attack from the east by the pretender of the Macedonian throne, Pausanias (who quickly captures several cities and threatens the queen mother, Eurydice). Alexander defeats his enemies with the help of the Athenian general Iphicrates, who has been sailing along the Macedonian coast on the way to recapture Amphipolis.

title: 369 BC

year_label: 364 BCE

text: The Athenian general, Iphicrates, fails in attempts to recover Amphipolis. Retiring to Thrace, Iphicrates fights for his father-in-law, the Thracian king Cotys I, against Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese. Cotys I is victorious and controls the whole Chersonese peninsula by 359 BC.

title: 364 BC

year_label: 359 BCE

text: The Illyrians prepare to close in, the Paeonians raid from the north and two claimants to the Macedonian throne are supported by foreign powers. Philip II buys off his dangerous neighbours and, with a treaty, cedes Amphipolis to Athens.

title: 359 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonia

year_label: 357 BCE

text: The Macedonian general, Parmenion, wins a great victory over the Illyrians. King Philip II of Macedon, having disposed of an Illyrian threat, occupies the Athenian city of Amphipolis (which commands the gold mines of Mount Pangaion). Philip II now has control of the strategic city which secures the eastern frontier of Macedonia and gives him access into Thrace.

title: 357 BC

year_label: 356 BCE

text: Philip II of Macedon secretly offers the city of Amphipolis back to the Athenians in exchange for the valuable port of Pydna. Despite the Athenians being willing to comply, both Pydna and Potidaea are conquered by the Macedonians (along with other Athenian strongholds in Thessaly and Chalcidice) despite being defended by Athenian forces led by general and mercenary commander, Chares, as well as generals Iphicrates and Timotheus.

title: 356 BC

year_label: 320 BCE

text: Zoilus, Greek grammarian, cynic philosopher and literary critic from Amphipolis in Macedon (b. c. 400 BC)

title: 320 BC

year_label: 179 BCE

text: Philip V of Macedon dies at Amphipolis in Macedonia, remorseful for having put his younger son Demetrius to death, at the instigation of his older son Perseus. Nevertheless, he is succeeded by his son Perseus.

title: 179 BC

year_label: 42 BCE

date: July

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

title: 42 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


slug: amsterdam

label: Amsterdam

description: capital and most populous city of the Netherlands

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: October 27

text: October 27 – Floris V, count of Holland, grants the city of Amsterdam freedom from taxes (called a road toll).

title: 1275

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Climate & Environment

date: December 14

text: December 14 – A huge storm and associated storm tide in the North Sea and English Channel, known as St. Lucia's flood in the Netherlands, kills thousands and reshapes the coastline of the Netherlands and England. In the Netherlands, a fringing barrier between the North Sea and a shallow lake collapses, causing the fifth-largest flood in recorded history – which creates the Zuider Zee inlet, and kills over 50,000 people. It also gives sea access to Amsterdam, allowing its development as an important port city.

title: 1287

date: March 15

text: March 15 – The Miracle of the Host occurs (as commemorated in Amsterdam).

title: 1345

section: Events

section: Conflict & Security

date: November 19

text: November 19 – In Germany, the Kölner Konföderation is founded by eight German members of the Hanseatic League (Lübeck, Rostock, Stralsund, Wismar, Kulm and Thorn, and five non-League Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Brielle, Harderwijk,Elbing and Kampen) to fight against the Kingdom of Denmark, whose ruler King Valdemar IV, has been seizing land to expand the territory owned by the Danish crown.

title: 1367

section: Events › October–December

date: December 31

text: December 31 – The city council of Amsterdam prohibits snowball fights: "Neymant en moet met sneecluyten werpen nocht maecht noch wijf noch manspersoon." ("No one shall throw with snowballs, neither men nor (unmarried) women.")

title: 1472

section: Crime & Justice

date: May 10

text: May 10 – In Amsterdam, a small troop of Anabaptists, led by the minister Jacob van Geel, attacks the city hall, in an attempted coup to seize the city. In the counter-attack by the city's militia, the burgemeester, Pieter Colijns, is killed by the rebels. In another incident this year in Amsterdam, seven men and five women walk nude in the streets; and Anabaptists rebel in other cities of the Netherlands.

title: 1535

section: Events › April–June

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Capture of Brielle: The Sea Beggars, Netherlandish Calvinist rebels, capture the port city of Brielle. This leads to a wave of uprisings in Holland and Zeeland against Spanish Habsburg rule, leaving most of those provinces (with the exception of Amsterdam) under rebel control.

title: 1572

date: May 26

text: May 26 – The Alteratie takes place in Amsterdam, expelling the 24 Catholic members of the 40-man city government, and forming a new council is formed with 30 Calvinist Protestants and 10 Catholics.

title: 1578

section: Economy & Finance

text: In Amsterdam, the Compagnie van Verre is created, with the goal of breaking the Portuguese monopoly on spice trade.

title: 1594

section: Events › Date unknown

date: August 14

text: August 14 – First Dutch Expedition to Indonesia: A Dutch expedition commanded by Cornelis de Houtman returns to Amsterdam, after having successfully reached Java. This achievement opens the Spice trade, which had until then been monopolised by the Portuguese, to the Dutch, who in the next years launch several more expeditions to the Indies.

title: 1597

date: July 17

text: July 17 – Second Dutch Expedition to East Indies: A Dutch fleet returns to Amsterdam from what is now Indonesia, carrying 600,000 pounds of pepper and 250,000 pounds of cloves and nutmeg.

title: 1599

date: March 20

text: March 20 – The United East India Company is established by the United Provinces States-General in Amsterdam, with the stated intention of capturing the spice trade from the Portuguese.

title: 1602

section: Events › January–March

date: April 4

text: April 4 – English explorer Henry Hudson, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, sets out from Amsterdam in the Halve Maen.

title: 1609

text: July – Dutch merchant Adriaen Block returns to Amsterdam in the Onrust, having become the first European to enter Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River, and determined that Long Island is an island. He publishes a map of "New Netherland".

title: 1614

text: October 11 – Adriaen Block and a group of Amsterdam merchants petition the States General of the Northern Netherlands for exclusive trading rights, in the area he explored and named "New Netherland".

title: 1614

date: June 14

text: June 14 – Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam (approximate date).

title: 1618

date: November 25

text: November 25 – King Christian IV of Denmark invites the Sephardic Jews of Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic to settle in the newly-built Danish town of Lykstad, promising them the free exercise of their religion without persecution. The city remains part of Denmark until 1864 until it is captured in the Second Schleswig War and is now part of Germany as Glückstadt.

title: 1622

date: January 31

text: January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried out by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the anatomist for the city of Amsterdam, and will be immortalized in Rembrandt's painting The Anatomy Lesson.

title: 1632

text: Willem and Joan Blaeu publish the first edition of their Atlas Novus, in Amsterdam.

title: 1635

text: Rembrandt finishes his painting The Night Watch (Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq) in Amsterdam.

title: 1642

text: March 4 – St. Peter's Flood: Another storm tide in the North Sea strikes the Netherlands, flooding Amsterdam.

title: 1651

text: Joan Blaeu completes publication of his Atlas Maior (Theatrum Orbis Terrarum) in Amsterdam.

title: 1665

text: The first completed printed Bible translation into Armenian, Astuacašunč hnoc' ew noroc' ktakaranac (Oskanean Bible), is published in Amsterdam, edited by Bishop Oskan Yerevantsi.

title: 1666

date: October 4

text: October 4 – Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn dies at the age of 63, after completing his final known work Self-Portrait at the Age of 63. Despite his wealth, is buried in an unmarked grave in Amsterdam's Westerkerk. After 20 years, his remains are removed and destroyed in accordance with church custom.

title: 1669

date: August 1

text: August 1 – The 1674 derecho causes a catastrophic impact in Western Europe. In the Netherlands, the derecho causes over 1,050 deaths and devastates cities such as Utrecht and Amsterdam.

title: 1674

text: Spinoza's Ethics (Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata) is published as part of his Opera Posthuma in Amsterdam.

title: 1677

text: In Amsterdam, the bank Wed. Jean Deutz & Sn. floats the first sovereign bonds on the local market. The scheme is designed to fund a 1.5 million guilder loan to the Holy Roman Emperor. From this date on, European leaders commonly take advantage of the low interest rates available in the Dutch Republic, and borrow several hundred millions on the Dutch capital market.

title: 1695

text: January 31 – In the Netherlands, undertakers revolt after funeral reforms in Amsterdam.

title: 1696

text: Jacob Christoph Le Blon, working in Amsterdam, invents a three-color printing process with red, blue, and yellow plates, a precursor of the modern CMYK printing process.

title: 1710

date: November 9

text: November 9 – Rioters in Amsterdam demand governmental reform.

title: 1747

date: January 20

text: January 20 – French troops enter Amsterdam.

title: 1795

section: Events › January–June

text: The Rijksmuseum moves from The Hague to Amsterdam, where it is located temporarily at the Royal Palace.

title: 1808

date: December 15

text: December 15 – Gerard Adriaan Heineken, 22, buys the brewery 'De Hooiberg' ("The Haystack") in Amsterdam.

title: 1863

section: Events › December

date: December 16

text: December 16 – The Heineken Brewery is founded in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

title: 1873

date: August 12

text: August 12 – The last quagga dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.

title: 1883

section: Events › August

date: October 1

text: October 1 – In Amsterdam, the first International Colonial and Export Exhibition closes, having had over 1 million visitors.

title: 1883

text: April 11 – The Concertgebouw orchestra in Amsterdam is inaugurated.

title: 1888

text: May 17 – The first flight of Dutch air company KLM, from Amsterdam to London, takes place.

title: 1920

text: July 28 – August 12 – The 1928 Summer Olympics are held in Amsterdam, opening with the lighting of the Olympic flame. Women's athletics and gymnastics debut at these games, and discus thrower Halina Konopacka of Poland becomes the first female Olympic gold medal winner for a track or field event. Coca-Cola enters Europe as sponsor of the games.

title: 1928

text: The occupied Netherlands starts the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis powers, the "February strike" against German deportation of Jews in Amsterdam and surroundings.

title: 1941

text: June 12 – The Holocaust: On her 13th birthday, Anne Frank receives the book that she will use to keep her diary in occupied Amsterdam.

title: 1942

text: The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and others in hiding. All will die in captivity, except for Otto Frank, Anne's father.

title: 1944

text: September 10 – Operation Black Tulip, the expulsion of Germans from the Netherlands, begins in Amsterdam.

title: 1946

text: June 25 – The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is published for the first time as Het Achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven 14 juni 1942 – 1 augustus 1944 ("The Annex: Diary Notes from 14 June 1942 – 1 August 1944") in Amsterdam, two years after the writer's death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

title: 1947

text: August 23 – The World Council of Churches is established in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

title: 1948

text: May 2 – S.L. Benfica beats Real Madrid 5–3 at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam to win the 1961–62 European Cup in association football.

title: 1962

text: March 20 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono are married at Gibraltar, and proceed to their honeymoon "Bed-in" for peace in Amsterdam.

title: 1969

text: November 29 – The "tea house" Mellow Yellow opens on the river Amstel in Amsterdam, pioneering the legal sale of cannabis in the Netherlands.

title: 1972

text: April 14 – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are found in an abandoned car near the museum less than an hour later.

title: 1991

text: December 25 – A Nigerian terrorist plotted an attempted terrorist bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route from Amsterdam to Detroit.

title: 2009


slug: amu-darya

label: Amu Darya

description: major river in Central Asia

year_label: 329 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Crossing the Hindu Kush northward, probably over the Khawak Pass, Alexander brings his army, despite food shortages, to Drapsaka. Outflanked, Bessus flees beyond the Oxus river.

title: 329 BC

section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire

section: Deaths

text: Khosrau I dies after a 48-year reign, during which he has extended his realm from the River Oxus to the Red Sea. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd IV, who becomes king of the Persian Empire.

title: 579

section: Events › By place › Persia

text: First Perso-Turkic War: The Sassanid Persians capture the cities Balkh and Herat (Afghanistan). They cross the Oxus River and repulse a Turkic invasion.

title: 589

text: The Western Turks conquer the Oxus valley and cooperate with Heraclius against Persia, taking Khorasan (modern Afghanistan).

title: 622

section: Events › By place › Asia

text: Arab invaders cross the Oxus River, in what later will be Uzbekistan. Nomadic Turkic tribes continue to control Central Asia.

title: 654

section: Events › By place › Arabian Caliphate

text: Arab forces gain power in Central Asia, as Qutayba ibn Muslim becomes governor of Khorasan. The region has grown rich from trade with China and Eastern Europe, its merchants dealing in silk, furs, amber, honey, and walrus ivory. During his rule, Qutayba subjugates the mercantile cities of Bukhara and Samarkand (modern Uzbekistan), as well as the Oxus delta area of Khwarezm, south of the Aral Sea.

title: 705

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

text: Xuan Zong reestablishes control over the Oxus and Jaxartes valleys. During his reign he defeats the invading Arab armies, in a series of campaigns in Fergana.

title: 712

date: September 30

text: September 30 – Battle of the Baggage: The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, pursue them south of the River Oxus (northern Afghanistan), and capture their baggage train. In the winter, the Turgesh and their Transoxianan allies launch a major counter-invasion but are halted and their army is destroyed. Khuttal is then conquered by the Arabs.

title: AD 737

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Alp Arslan succeeds to the throne, as sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He becomes sole ruler of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

title: 1064

section: Events › By place › Seljuk Empire

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Spring – Mongol forces (some 80,000 men), under Hulagu Khan, cross the Oxus River, and begin their campaign to destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia – with the first objectives being the Nizari Ismaili strongholds and Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. The roads across Turkestan and Persia are repaired, and bridges built. Carts are requisitioned to bring siege machines from China.

title: 1256

section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire

text: English explorer Anthony Jenkinson travels from Moscow to Astrakhan and Bukhara. He is the first Englishman to note that the Amu Darya changed course, to start flowing into the Aral Sea.

title: 1558

section: Events › Unknown


slug: anastasius-i-dicorus

label: Anastasius I Dicorus

description: Byzantine Emperor from 491 to 518

section: Births

text: Anastasius I, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (approximate date)

title: 431

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Emperor Zeno, age 66, dies of dysentery (or of epilepsy) after a 17-year reign. He has no sons to succeed him and Anastasius, palace official (silentiarius) and favoured friend of empress Ariadne, is elevated to the throne.

title: 491

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

section: Conflict & Security

text: Isaurian War: The Isaurians begin a revolt against Emperor Anastasius I in southern Central Anatolia.

title: 492

section: Religion & Belief

text: Pope Gelasius I gains support from Italian bishops, in his assertion that the spiritual power of the papacy is superior to the emperor's temporal authority. Like his predecessors, the pope opposes the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I's efforts to establish Miaphysite doctrine.

title: 495

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Emperor Anastasius I has Euphemius, patriarch of Constantinople, deposed and excommunicated. He appoints Macedonius II as his successor. Euphemius is sent into exile.

title: 496

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Emperor Anastasius I gives formal recognition to the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great, as his representative (viceroy) in Italy. He sends the imperial standard to Ravenna. Theodoric respects the agreement and allows Roman citizens within the Ostrogothic Kingdom to be subject to Roman law.

title: 497

section: Economy & Finance

text: Emperor Anastasius I abolishes the chrysargyron tax throughout the Eastern Roman Empire, before reforming the monetary system, using Greek numerals instead of Roman.

title: 498

text: Emperor Anastasius I concludes treaties with a number of nomad tribes in northern Arabia. In return for tribute to the Byzantine Empire and military defense of these eastern territories, such tribes are permitted to settle and farm agricultural lands in Arabia (approximate date).

title: AD 500

text: War with Sassanid Persia: Emperor Anastasius I refuses to pay a share of the cost of defending the Caucasian Gates, through which nomadic tribes have come for raids on Persia and the Byzantine Empire. King Kavadh I invades Armenia and captures Theodosiopolis.

title: AD 502

text: War with Sassanid Persia: Emperor Anastasius I sends a Byzantine army (52,000 men) to Armenia, but is defeated. The Romans attempt an unsuccessful siege of the Persian-held city Amida, on the Tigris. King Kavadh I invades Osroene, and lays siege to the city of Edessa (Northern Mesopotamia).

title: 503

section: Events › Byzantine Empire

text: War with Sassanid Persia: Emperor Anastasius I gains the upper hand in Armenia, with the renewed investment of Amida.

title: 504

text: Emperor Anastasius I agrees to pay his share of the cost of defending the Caucasian Gates, against nomadic invasions from East Asia.

title: 505

date: November

text: November – Emperor Anastasius I accepts a peace agreement with the Sasanian Empire (Persia), based on the status quo. He upgrades the fortifications at Batnae, Edessa and Amida (Northern Mesopotamia).

title: 506

text: Emperor Anastasius I completes the strategic fortress at Dara (Northern Mesopotamia). He raises the city walls to 30 feet (10 m), disregarding Persian protests. Alarmed by the depredations of Slavs and Bulgars in Thrace, he builds the Anastasian Wall from the Black Sea to Propontis, across the narrow peninsula near Constantinople (modern Turkey).

title: 507

text: Emperor Anastasius I formally recognizes Clovis I of the Salian Franks as ruler of Gaul. He sends a Byzantine fleet of 100 warships to raid the coasts of Italy.

title: 508

text: Riots erupt in the streets of Antioch, between supporters of Patriarch Flavian II and Emperor Anastasius I, in sympathy with Non-Chalcedonianism.

title: 511

text: Emperor Anastasius I ends a period of moderate eclectic policy, and starts strongly favoring his own monophysitist beliefs.

title: 512

text: Revolt of Vitalian: Byzantine general Vitalian revolts against Emperor Anastasius I, and conquers a large part of the Diocese of Thrace. He gains the support of the local people, and assembles an army of 50,000–60,000 men.

title: 513

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Vitalian, Byzantine general, marches again to Constantinople. A fleet of 200 vessels sails from the Black Sea ports and blockades the entrance of the harbor capital. Emperor Anastasius I is disquieted by riots in the city, which cost many casualties, and decides to negotiate with Vitalian.

title: 514

text: Emperor Anastasius I gives Marinus, former praetorian prefect of the East, command over the Byzantine army. He defeats the rebel fleet at the harbor entrance, using a sulfur-based chemical substance, similar to the later Greek fire.

title: 515

date: July 9

text: July 9 – Anastasius I Dicorus, Byzantine emperor

title: 518

text: July 9 – Emperor Anastasius I dies childless at Constantinople, age 88, after a 27-year reign in which he has abolished the sale of offices, reformed taxation, and perfected the empire's monetary system, but antagonized some with his heretical Monophysite religious policies. He is succeeded by Justin I (Flavius Justinus), his comes excubitorum, commander of the palace guard. After his death, he leaves the imperial treasury richer by 23,000,000 solidi or 320,000 pounds of gold.

title: 518