date: June 6

text: June 6 – The siege of Pontoise is started by with 5,000 troops led by King Charles VII of France and Arthur de Richemont, Duke of Brittany, to capture a 1,200 member English Army garrison located on the Île-de-France near Paris. The siege continues for three months until the garrison surrenders.


date: June 27

section: Conflict & Security

text: June 27 – The siege of Novo Brdo in Serbia ends after eight months as Ottoman Empire troops, led by the Sultan Murad II and General Hadım Şehabeddin guarantee the safe evacuation of the surviving Ragusan defenders, accept the Serbian surrender.

source_section: Events › April–June


date: September 19

text: September 19 – The siege of Pontoise ends after four months, following a three-day final assault led by Marshal André de Laval-Montmorency and Jean de Bueil, Count of Sancerre of the French Army. More than 400 of the English defenders are killed, and hundreds of survivors taken prisoner, including their commander, Baron Clinton. Because Pontoise was not surrendered, the property of the survivors is seized by the French and Clinton and most of his officers are held hostage until a ransom is paid. The English soldiers are not ransomed and are drowned in public instead.

source_section: Events › July–September


date: October 2

text: October 2 – (16 Jumada I, 845 AH) In what is now Saudi Arabia, Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan is appointed as the new Emir of Mecca by the Mamluk Sultanate and his brother Barakat ibn Hasan is deposed, but the news does not reach Barakat for nearly two months.

source_section: Events › October–December


date: November 10

text: November 10 – Alfonso V of Aragon lays siege to Naples.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – (14 Rajab 845 AH) Barakat ibn Hasan learns that he is deposed as Emir of Mecca and leaves that evening.


date: December 16

text: December 16 – (2 Sha'ban 845 AH) Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan takes office as the new Emir of Mecca.


text: A revolt occurs in the Mayan nation of Mayapan; the Maya civilization splits into warring city-states.

source_section: Events › Date unknown


text: Ouagadougou becomes the capital of the Mossi Kingdoms.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The first enslaved black Africans are brought to Europe at Lagos in the Kingdom of Portugal.


text: Nuno Tristão reaches the Ras Nouadhibou (Cabo Branco) on the western coast of Africa. This is probably the first voyage where a caravel is used for maritime exploration.


date: March 17

section: Religion & Belief

text: March 17 – The Swiss Canton of Bern intervenes to block an agreement between the Canton of Zürich that would have ceded the town of Grüningen to the Habsburg family of Germany.

source_section: Events › January–March


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Isidore of Kiev, the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia, returns to his home in Moscow after having attended the Council of Florence, where he agreed to unify the Russian Church with the Roman Catholic Church. When he arrives, he is arrested on the order of Grand Prince Vasily II and imprisoned under minimum security.


date: April 20

text: April 20 — The Council of Florence, led by Pope Eugene IV, declares that the members of the Council of Basel are heretics and votes to excommunicate them, as well as affirming the superiority of the Pope over the Councils in the bull Etsi non dubitemus. In 1440, the Council of Basel had declared Eugene IV to be a heretic, deposed him as Pope, and excommunicated him.


date: April 26

text: April 26 — Pope Eugene IV orders the transfer of the Council of Florence to Rome


date: June 7

text: June 7 – The University of Bordeaux is established by Pope Eugene IV while Bordeaux is under the control of France. Closed in 1793 during the French Revolution, it will reopen in 1896 and continue to be in existence 280 years later.


date: August 26

text: August 26 – Bishop Alberto da Sarteano, who had been sent by the Vatican on a mission to seek the Ethiopian Coptic Christian Church to join with the Roman Catholic Church, returns to Rome with four Ethiopians who had been allowed to leave by the Emperor Zara Yaqob. Two of the visitors the attend the Council of Florence to discuss the possible union of Coptic Orthodoxy and the Latin Church, marking the earliest recorded contact of the Ethiopian Coptic Church with Europe.


date: October 4

text: October 4 – Pope Eugene IV issues a papal bull to recognize the Order of St Ambrose.


date: July 12

section: Crime & Justice

text: July 12 ((Kakitsu 1, 24th day of the 6th month) – In Japan, the Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshinori is murdered by Akamatsu Mitsusuke, who is upset that Ashikaga has made Akamatsu Sadaura leader of the Akamatsu clan. Over the next 16 days, several prominent nobles allied with Ashikaga are killed during the fighting including Kyōgoku Takakazu, the Shugo of Yamashiro Province and Ōuchi Mochiyo (1394–1441), the head of the Ōuchi clan. After the fighting ceases, Yoshinori's 8-year-old son, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, is proclaimed as the new shōgun.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – The Metropolitan Isidore of Kiev is allowed by Grand Prince Vasily II to escape from imprisonment in Moscow, along with two of his disciples, Gregory the Bulgarian and Afanasy. He flees to Tver and then to Novogrudok and eventually to Rome.


date: February 12

section: Culture & Society

text: February 12 – King's College, Cambridge, is founded by King Henry VI of England.


date: February 25

text: February 25 – Elizabeth of Luxembourg, widow of the late King Albert of Hungary presents the Crown of St. Stephen to Frederick, King of Germany and invites him to take the throne, although Hungary's nobles had elected King Władysław III of Poland as King Laszlo of Hungary.


date: September 13

text: September 13 — The coronation of King Christopher II of Denmark as King Cristoffer of Sweden takes place in Uppsala.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – In accordance with the proposals for the Peace of Cremona to end the war between Venice and Milan, Francesco I Sforza of Venice marries Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of the Duke of Milan. An Italian tradition credits the creation of nougat to the celebration of the wedding.


date: February 9

section: Births

text: February 9 – Ali-Shir Nava'i, Central Asian poet, politician and writer (d. 1501)

source_section: Births


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Ernest, Elector of Saxony, German ruler of Saxony (d. 1486)


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1478–1484) (d. 1484)


date: June 27

text: June 27 – John III, Count of Nassau-Weilburg, German nobleman (d. 1480)


date: July 23

text: July 23 – Danjong of Joseon, King of Joseon (d. 1457)


date: November 11

text: November 11 – Charlotte of Savoy, French queen (d. 1483)


date: March 8

section: Deaths

text: March 8 – Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria

source_section: Deaths


date: April 1

text: April 1 – Prince Carlos of Viana legally becomes the King of Navarre in Spain upon the death of his mother, Queen Blanca, who had ruled since 1425.


text: April 1 – Blanche I of Navarre, Queen of Navarre (1425–1441) and Regent of Sicily (1404–1405 and 1408–1415)


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Corrado IV Trinci, former lord of Foligno


date: July 9

text: July 9 – Jan van Eyck, Dutch painter


text: July 12 – Kyōgoku Takakazu, Japanese noble and vassal of Ashikaga Yoshinori


text: July 12 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (b. 1394)


text: July 23 – Abū r-Rabīʿ Sulaymān al-Mustakfī bi-Llāh, or Al-Mustakfi II, becomes the new Caliph of Cairo upon the death of his father, Al-Mu'tadid II.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – King Afonso V of Portugal, the 9-year-old monarch since the 1438 death of his father, King Duarte, is formally betrothed to his cousin, Isabel of Coimbra, aged 10, as part of an arranged marriage planned by Isabel's father Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, the King's regent. Their marriage does not take place until almost six years later, on May 6, 1447.


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Akamatsu Mitsusuke, Japanese samurai


date: October 24

text: October 24 – Adolf, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1434)


date: October 27

text: October 27 – Margery Jourdemayne, Englishwoman executed for treasonable witchcraft


date: November 18

text: November 18 – Roger Bolingbroke, English cleric, astronomer, astrologer, magister and alleged necromancer


date: December 26

text: December 26 – Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara (b. 1383)


date: January 25

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: January 25 – The English Parliament opens at Westminster for a 60-day session, and the House of Commons re-elects William Tresham as its speaker.


text: January 25 – The Treaty of Nürtingen is signed between the two counts of Württemberg, the brothers Ludwig and Ulrich, dividing the German territory between them.


date: March 27

text: March 27 – The English Parliament adjourns and King Henry VI gives royal assent to numerous adts passed, including the Treason Act 1442 (making the act of restraining English citizens or possessions within Wales an act punishable as treason) and the Peeresses Act 1441 (requiring that wives of nobles shall be put on trial in the same way as the peers of the realm)


date: May 8

text: May 8 – In Germany, the Electorate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania enter into an alliance against the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Stargard.


date: March 25

text: March 25 – Battle of Hermannstadt: After seven days of fighting that began on March 18, John Hunyadi defeats an army of the Ottoman Empire (80,000 strong), led by Mezid Bey of Vidin, near Sibiu in what is now Romania.


date: June 2

text: June 2 – After a six-month siege, King Alfonso of Aragon proclaims himself King of Naples. Alfonso allows the French ruler, King René of Anjou, to return to France.


date: June 24

text: June 24 – The Siege of Tartas ends in France after almost two years, when French forces come to the relief of Charles II of Albret and force the Gascony rebels and English troops to retreat.


date: September 2

text: September 2 – John Hunyadi defeats another army of the Ottoman Empire (70,000 strong), led by Hadım Şehabeddin, Beylerbey (or governor) of Rumelia, near the Ialomița River. Following this, he places Basarab II as ruler of Wallachia.


date: December 18

text: December 18 – In Italy Tomaso di Campofregoso, Doge of the Republic of Genoa, is removed from office by a group of armed men, led by Raffaele Adorno and Giovanni Antonio Fieschi, who invade the Ducal Palace and force him to leave.


text: Portuguese sailors first arrive at the Senegal River.


text: January 25 – John Fortescue becomes the new Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, replacing the late John Hody.


date: February 4

text: February 4 – As part of his campaign to reunite the Christian churches of the world, Pope Eugene IV promulgates the Bull of Union with the Copts (officially, Cantate Domino), an attempted union with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt.


date: June 17

text: June 17 – Friedrich, Duke of Inner Austria is crowned as Romanorum Rex, King of the Germans, and becomes the heir to the Holy Roman Emperor.


date: August 30

text: August 30 – Louis IV, Elector Palatine, agrees to serve as the judge in resolving a dispute between Henry II, Count of Nassau-Siegen and the Archbishop Jakob von Sierck.


date: December 19

text: December 19 – Pope Eugene IV issues the papal bull Illius qui se pro divini granting full remission of sins to any Christian who had participated in the Crusades by Prince Henry the Navigator against the Saracens.


text: Jelena Balšić completes writing the Gorički zbornik manuscripts at her church of St. Mary, on the island of Beška in the Serbian Despotate.


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The community of Rauma, Finland is granted its town rights.


section: Science & Discovery

text: The national law of Kristofers landslag is introduced in Sweden.


text: After being imprisoned (before September) by the Sultan, Vlad II Dracul is temporarily replaced, as ruler of Wallachia, by his son Mircea II.


date: April 6

text: April 6 – Thihathu is enthroned as the new Burmese King Narapati I of Ava.


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Erik III is deposed as King of Norway and the nobles vote to invite King Christopher of Sweden to become the new monarch.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – In China, Qian marries the 14-year-old Emperor Yingzong of Ming and becomes the primary Empress Consort.


date: July 2

text: July 2 – The coronation of King Christopher of Sweden and Denmark as King of Norway takes place in Oslo.


date: October 18

text: October 18 – The University of Ferrara is reopened in Italy, after having been closed for 48 years.


text: A fourth tower is added to Liverpool Castle in England.


text: The municipality of Juva, Finland is founded.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Henry IV of Neuhaus, High Treasurer of Bohemia (1485–1503), Burgrave of Prague Castle (1503–1507) (d. 1507)


date: April 15

text: April 15 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)


date: April 28

text: April 28 – Edward IV, King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 to 9 April 1483 (d. 1483)


date: July 3

text: July 3 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman, eldest son of King George of Podebrady (d. 1496)


date: September 8

text: September 8 – John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (d. 1513)


date: September 27

text: September 27 – John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (d. 1492)


text: Vannozza dei Cattanei, mistress of Pope Alexander VI


text: Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian archbishop (d. 1521)


text: Ahmad Zarruq, Moroccan scholar and Sufi sheikh (d. 1493)


date: January 25

text: January 25 – Two months after the death of the Burmese King Minye Kyawswa I of Ava, his brother-in-law Thihapate of Mohnyin turns down an offer to rule the kingdom, and recommends that Kyswswa's younger brother, Thihathu, Viceroy of Prome, become the new King.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – Duke John V of Brittany (b. 1389)


text: August 29 – Fransez I becomes the new Duke of Brittany upon the death of his father, Yann V. Princess Isabella of Scotland, who had been part of a contract to marry Jean V, arranges to marry Francis I


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Lê Nhân Tông becomes the new Emperor of Vietnam upon the death of his father, Lê Thái Tông.


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Robert de Morley, 6th Baron Morley, Lord of Morley Saint Botolph (b. 1418)


text: October 18 – Infante João of Portugal (b. 1400)


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Yolande of Aragon, politically active French noblewoman (b. 1384)


date: November 18

text: November 18 – A few days before his 15th birthday, Emperor Yingzong of Ming assumes full control of the Empire of China, two days before the death of his grandmother and regent Empress Dowager Chengxiaozhao.


date: December 13

text: December 13 – King Władysław III of Poland, who had been elected as King of Hungary in 1440, and Elisabeth of Luxembourg, widow of King Albert of Hungary and mother of Ladislaus the Posthumous, whom she arranged to be crowned king, reach an agreement in the Hungaryian city of Győr, brokered by Cardinal Julian Cesarini. Elizabeth dies at the age of 33, six days after the meeting, leading to rumors that she had been poisoned by King Wladyslaw.


date: December 18

text: December 18 – Pierre Cauchon, French Catholic bishop (b. 1371)


date: December 19

text: December 19 – Elizabeth of Luxembourg (b. 1409)


text: Nguyễn Trãi, Vietnamese Confucian scholar.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – The Duke of York, Richard Plantagenet, signs a treaty with Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy for an indefinite truce between the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Burgundy.


date: June 6

text: June 6 – Afonso V of Aragon formally reunites the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl (Old Zurich War): The forces of the city of Zurich are defeated, but the Swiss Confederacy have insufficient strength to besiege and take the city.


date: August 14

text: August 14 – The Siege of Dieppe, an attempt by England's Earl of Shrewsbury to capture the French port at Normandy and France's access to the English Channel, fails after nine months.


date: November 8

text: November 8 – Battle of Niš: John Hunyadi and the army of the Crusade of Varna defeat three armies of the Ottoman Empire, and capture the city of Niš in modern-day Serbia; Skanderbeg deserts the Ottoman camp and goes to Albania.


date: November 28

text: November 28 – Skanderbeg and his forces, rebelling against the Ottoman Empire, liberate Krujë, in Middle Albania, and raise the Albanian flag.


date: December 12

text: December 12 – At the Battle of Zlatitsa in what is now Bulgaria, Ottoman troops under the Sultan Murad II and General Kasim Pasha defeat an attack by John Hunyadi and the forces of Hungary, Croatia, Poland and Serbia.


date: December 24

text: December 24 – The Christian crusaders under Hunyadi begin their retreat westward after their defeat at Zlatica, and the Ottoman forces follow them, with a confrontation ultimately taking place on January 2 at the Battle of Kunovica.


text: Vlad II Dracul begins his second term as ruler of Wallachia, succeeding Basarab II.


text: In Moldavia, the conflict between brothers and co-rulers Iliaș and Stephen II reignites, and Stephen captures Iliaș and blinds him, thus remaining sole ruler of the country.


text: Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão penetrates the Arguin Gulf, off the west coast of Africa.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Pope Eugene IV called for Christians under his jurisdiction to participate in the Crusade of Varna against the incursions of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe.


date: May 13

text: May 13 – John Stafford is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Eugene IV.


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Pope Eugene IV and King Alfonso V of Naples reach a forma agreement at Terracina, with the Pope recognizing Alfonso as the rightful King and Prince Ferrante as heir to the throne, while Alfonso agrees to stop support of the antipope Amadeus VII and the Council of Basel.


date: September 28

text: September 28 – Pope Eugene IV returns to Rome for the first time in more than nine years, after having been forced to flee on June 4, 1434.


text: December 24 – In Poland, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Siewierz sells the duchy of Siewierz to Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Bishop of Kraków, for 6,000 silver coins (Prague groschen), equivalent to at least 21 kg or 750 ounces of silver.


date: December 30

text: December 30 – King Sejong the Great of Korea announces the creation of the Hunminjeongeum (literally "The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People") a manual for Hangul, a standardized writing system for the Korean language.


text: The Buddhist Zhihua Temple (智化寺) is built in Beijing, at the order of Wang Zhen, chief eunuch at the court of the Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty China.


text: King Sejong the Great starts to create Hangul, the native alphabet of the Korean language, with his scholars.


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Pedro de Portugal, Duke of Coimbra and regent for the 11-year old King Afonso V, grants letters patent to his younger brother Dom Henrique of Navegador ("Prince Henry the Navigator"), giving Henrique an exclusive monopoly over all navigation south of Cape Bojador, whether for the purpose of war or trade, as well as a commission on any African goods or slaves brought back to mainland Portugal.


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Raffaele Adorno was elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa.


date: June 5

section: Climate & Environment

text: June 5 – The strongest earthquake on record in Poland kills at least 30 people and damages buildings in Kraków and Wrocław, and in Timișoara and Oradea in Romania.


text: A powerful earthquake destroys the Timișoara Fortress in the Kingdom of Hungary


text: January 1 – The coronation of Christoffer III as King of Denmark and of his wife Dorothea of Brandenburg, as Queen Consort, took place at the Vor Frue Maria Dormkirke in Ribe, nearly three years after he had first claimed the throne on April 9, 1440.


date: February 26

text: February 26 – The Spanish monarch, King Alfonso V of Aragon, makes a triumphant entrance into the city of Naples in order to assume the throne of the Kingdom of Naples.


date: March 11

text: March 11 – At the age of 16 months old, Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, is betrothed in a ceremony to Frederick III of the House of Wettin, the 4-year-old son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. No marriage takes place, however, and Charlotte will marry the Crown Prince of France in 1451.


date: January 27

text: January 27 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1484)


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Italian noble (d. 1508)


date: February 23

text: February 23 – Matthias Corvinus, of Hungary (d. 1490)


date: May 17

text: May 17 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (d. 1460)


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Victor, Duke of Münsterberg, Reichsgraf, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava, Count of Glatz (d. 1500)


date: May 31

text: May 31 or 1441 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, English noble, mother of King Henry VII, grandmother of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1509)


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Anthony Browne, English knight (d. 1506)


date: September 9

text: September 9 – Muhammad Jaunpuri (d. 1505)


date: November 10

text: November 10 – Adolf III of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein, Germany noble (d. 1511)


date: December 1

text: December 1 – Magdalena of France, French princess and regent of Navarre (d. 1495)


date: December 5

text: December 5 – Pope Julius II (d. 1513)


text: Piero del Pollaiuolo, Italian painter (d. 1496)


text: Ygo Gales Galama, Frisian warlord and freedom fighting rebel (d. 1492)


date: January 16

text: January 16 – Erasmo of Narni, Italian mercenary (b. 1370)


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Robert le Maçon, Chancellor of France


date: February

text: February – Guidantonio da Montefeltro, count of Urbino (b. 1377)


date: March 24

text: March 24 – James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas (b. 1371)


date: April 12

text: April 12 – Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury


text: April 12 – Henry Chichele, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury for almost 29 years, dies and is succeeded by John Stafford on May 13.


date: May 9

text: May 9 – Niccolò Albergati, Italian cardinal and diplomat (b. 1373)


date: May

text: May – John II, Count of Nassau-Siegen


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Ferdinand the Holy Prince of Portugal (b. 1402)


date: August 16

text: August 16 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1434)


date: September 18

text: September 18 – Lewis of Luxembourg, Archbishop of Rouen


text: Jelena Balšić, Serbian duchess (b. 1366)


text: date unknown – Infante Diogo, Constable of Portugal


text: probable – Zeami Motokiyo, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1363)


date: February 15

text: February 15 – Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, the Grand Duke of Bosnia, signs a treaty with the King Alfonso of Naples, agreeing to become his vassal in exchange for help against the Republic of Venice.


date: May 22

text: May 22 – The Treaty of Tours, signed between England and France, secures a truce in the Hundred Years' War for five years.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – The Peace of Szeged is signed between the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Hungary.


date: August 22

text: August 22 – Đurađ Branković reclaims Serbia from Ottoman control after the signing of the peace of Szeged, and Wladyslaw of Hungary offers the throne of Bulgaria to John Hunyadi.


date: August

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


date: January 2

text: January 2 – The Battle of Kunovica is fought between the Christian crusaders, led by John Hunyadi, and the Muslim armies of the Ottoman Empire in what is now Serbia. After having retreated 10 days earlier following their loss in the Battle of Zlatitsa, Hunyadi and King Wladyslaw III of Hungary defeat the Ottoman forces and take several of their commanders as prisoners of war, including Mahmud Bey, son-in-law of the Sultan Murad II.


date: March 2

text: March 2 – The League of Lezhë, an alliance of Albanian principalities, is established in Lezhë; George Kastrioti Skanderbeg is proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – King Wladyslaw of Hungary appears before the Országgyűlés, the Diet of Hungary in Buda, and pledges to the legislators present that he will lead the attack against the Turkish Muslims in the summer.


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Battle of Torvioll: Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman army.


date: August 26

text: August 26 – Old Zürich War – Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs: Charles VII of France, seeking to send away troublesome troops made idle by the truce with England, sends his son (the Dauphin Louis) with a large army into Switzerland, to support the claims of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. The massively outnumbered Swiss force is destroyed in this battle, but inflict such casualties on the French that they withdraw.


date: September 9

text: September 9 – General Alvise Loredan, commander of the Venetian and Papal States squadrons in the Crusade of Varna, receives instructions from the Republic of Venice to open secret negotiations with the Ottoman Sultan and to abstain from offensive actions until further notice. Loredan is soon faced with defending an Ottoman invasion of Europe.


text: September 18 – As the Crusade of Varna resumes, the 16,000 Christian soldiers under the command of Wladyslaw and Hunyadi begin crossing over the Danube river near Belgrade and complete their crossing into Ottoman Muslim territory in Bulgaria.


date: October 20

text: October 20 – As the Christian crusaders begin their approach to the Black Sea, the former Ottoman Sultan Murad II comes out of retirement at Bursa to assume command of the Ottoman troops.


date: November 10

text: November 10 – Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Władysław III of Poland and Hungary are defeated by the Turks, under Sultan Murad II. Władysław is killed, ending the Jagiellonian Union of Hungary and Poland.


date: December 24

text: December 24 – Ottoman General Kasım Pasha is defeated in the Battle of Melštica near Sofia by Christian troops who had survived the Battle of Varna.


text: Constantine XI Palaiologos, as ruler of the Despotate of the Morea, invades the Duchy of Athens (at this time under Florentine control), and forces it to pay tribute and return Thebes to the Byzantine Empire.


text: Forces of the Sultan of Egypt fail to take Rhodes from the Knights of Rhodes.


date: August 6

text: August 6 – A Portuguese fleet of caravels, led by Lançarote de Freitas, lands 235 slaves at Algarve, Portugal.


text: The first European slave market for the sale of African slaves, the Mercado de Escravos, opens in Lagos, Portugal.


text: Portuguese explorers reach the mouth of the rivers Senegal and Gambia.


date: April 18

text: April 18 – In Sicily, the University of Catania receives papal recognition from Pope Eugene IV, ten years after its founding on October 19, 1434.


text: A serious fire occurs at Old St Paul's Cathedral in London.


text: The Iguvine Tablets are discovered at Gubbio, Italy.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Oddantonio da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, an independent duchy in what is now the Le Marche region of Italy, is assassinated at his palace by conspirators, who also murder his counsellors Manfredo dei Pio da Carpi and Tommaso di Guido dell'Agnello. He is succeeded by his half-brother, Federico da Montefeltro.


date: June 15

text: June 15 – Cosimo de' Medici founds a public library at San Marco, Florence.


text: Stephen II of Moldavia takes as co-ruler his step brother Petru, also brother-in-law to John Hunyadi.


date: January 24

text: January 24 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)


date: March 15

text: March 15 – Francesco Gonzaga, Catholic cardinal (d. 1483)


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk (d. 1503)


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Otto III, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin (1460–1464) (d. 1464)


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Nilakantha Somayaji, Indian astronomer-mathematician (d. 1544)


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1487)


date: October 18

text: October 18 – John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk (d. 1476)


text: date unknown – Donato Bramante, Italian architect (d. 1514)


date: January 8

text: January 8 – Wilhelm II, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen (b. 1415)


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard, regent of Württemberg (b. 1387)


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (b. 1374)


date: April 26

text: April 26 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – John Meverel, English politician


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)


date: May 27

text: May 27 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (b. 1404)


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Niccolò Piccinino, Italian mercenary (b. 1386)


date: November 10

text: November 10 – King Władysław III of Poland (in battle) (b. 1424)


date: November 25

text: November 25 – Martin Gouge, French chancellor


text: date unknown – Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, Italian humanist, statesman, and canon lawyer


date: January 13

text: January 13 – King Henry VI of England summons the English Parliament for the first time in almost three years, directing the Lords and the members of the House of Commons to assemble at Westminster on February 25.


date: February 25

text: February 25 – The English Parliament is opened by King Henry VI. On the first day, the House of Commons elects William Burley as its Speaker.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – The 14th Parliament of King Henry VI (23 H. 6) closes and royal assent is given to new laws, including the Labourers Act (requiring that "A servant in husbandry purporting to depart from his master must give him half a year's warning, or else shall serve him the year following.") and the Exportation Act ("Whoever shall pack or ship thrums or threads to pass beyond the seas, during the three years next coming, shall forfeit the same, or the value.")


date: July 16

text: July 16 – In Germany, Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and his brother William III, Duke of Luxembourg, agree to negotiate the Division of Altenburg, in hopes of peacefully splitting lands in Thuringia which they had inherited from their father's cousin, Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.


date: September 17

text: September 17 – Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia, and his sons Grgur, Stefan and Lazar sign a charter confirming the sovereignty and privileges of the Republic of Ragusa, located in what is now Croatia.


text: Rai Sahra becomes the first Sultan of Multan as Qutb-ud-Din Mahmud.


text: Stephen II remains sole ruler of Moldavia.


date: April 8

text: April 8 – At West Java in what is now Indonesia, the Sultanate of Cirebon establishes its capital at Dukuh Alang-alang and Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang is designated as the Sultan.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – The Battle of Suzdal takes place 120 mi from Moscow when Ulugh Muhammad of the Khanate of Kazan attacks Nizhny Novgorod, part of the Grand Principality of Moscow. The Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow is captured in battle as a prisoner of war and held for ransom until the payment of 200,000 rubles is completed in November.


date: September 5

text: September 5 – In Switzerland, troops from the Canton of Zürich launch a new attack on Brugg in the Canton of Aargau, but their raid is detected before they can reach the city and the Zurich troops are repelled. The troops then pillage surrounding villages.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – Negotiations between the Saxon brothers Frederick and William on the division of Thuringia break down after Frederick asserts that he will claim western Thuringia and will only allow William to inherit the Margraviate of Meissen.


date: September 29

text: September 29 – In Normandy, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York of England's House of Plantagenet, completes his five-year term as Lieutenant-general of British-occupied France and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset takes his place. He returns to England on October 20.


date: October 6

text: October 6 – A battle is fought at Erlenbach in Switzerland as troops from the canton of Zurich defeat a group of wine thieves. The battle takes place a year after the first battle of Erlenbach that had been waged on October 13, 1444.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – At the Battle of Mokra, Albanian forces under the command of the rebel Skanderbeg, with 3,500 soldiers, defeat the more than 9,000 Ottoman troops led by Firuz Pasha. Firuz is killed in battle along with 1,500 of his men. Pope Eugene IV raises a hymn of praise, that Christendom has been provided with a new defender, after he hears of the battle).


date: December 25

text: December 25 – In northeastern Africa, the Battle of Gomit is fought between the Ethiopian Empire (whose troops are led by the Emperor Zara Yaqob ) and the Adal Sultanate, whose invading army is led by the Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The Sultan charges toward the Emperor, who kills him with his spear. The Adal troops flee and many are killed by the pursuing Ethiopian troops. Badlay's son, Muhammad ibn Badlay, survives and becomes the new Sultan.


text: Vlad II Dracul, aided by a crusaders' fleet from Burgundy, attacks Giurgiu, and massacres the Ottoman garrison after their surrender.


text: Portuguese explorer Dinis Dias discovers the Cap-Vert, on the western coast of Africa.


text: The Portuguese set up their first trading post (Feitoria) in Africa, on the island of Arguin.


date: January 19

text: January 19 – In Poland, the Duchy of Oświęcim, ruled jointly since 1434 by the three sons of the late Duke Casimir of the Piast dynasty, is divided between the three brothers. Wenceslaus I, the eldest, receives the Duchy of Zator, Przemysław becomes ruler of Toszek and Jan IV, the youngest of the brothers, receives the capital, Oświęcim, along with the towns of Kęty and Żywiec.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – King Henry VI of England marries Margaret of Anjou, daughter of René of Anjou, the former King of Naples, at a ceremony at Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire.


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Stjepan Tomaš Kotromanić of the House of Kotromanić is granted recognition by the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Eugene IV as King Tomaš of Bosnia.


date: May 30

text: May 30 – At a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the coronation of Margaret of Anjou as Queen consort of England takes place before John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury.


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Annibale I Bentivoglio, the ruler of the semi-independent Lordship of Bologna since 1443, is assassinated by the rival Canneschi family, with the support of Pope Eugene IV.


date: August 7

text: August 7 – A papal bull is issued by Pope Eugene IV declaring that the Chaldean Christians and the Maronites of Cyprus are in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.


date: September 12

text: September 12 – In a royal wedding at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, King Christoffer III of Denmark (who also rules Sweden and Norway) marries Dorothea of Brandenburg, daughter of John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg. After King Christoffer's death in 1448, Dorothea marries King Christian I of Denmark in 1449.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Queen consort Dorothea is crowned as "Queen of the Union of the Three Kingdoms" (kronet som unionsdronning af de tre kongeriger) in a ceremony at Copenhagen two days after her marriage to King Christoffer, who levies a series of taxes to pay for the expense.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss-born priest (d. 1510)


date: April 4

text: April 4 – Wiguleus Fröschl of Marzoll, Bishop of Passau (1500–1517) (d. 1517)


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin, English baron (d. 1479)


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1511)


date: December 11

text: December 11 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1496)


text: probable – Nicolas Chuquet, French mathematician


text: approximate – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (d. 1510)


text: date unknown – Albert Brudzewski, Polish astronomer (d. 1497)


date: January 1

text: January 1 – In northern India, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah becomes the new Sultan of Delhi upon the death of his father, Muhammad Shah IV.


text: January 19 – Antonio Correr, Venetian cardinal (b. 1359)


date: February 19

text: February 19 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)


date: March 8

text: March 8 – The Amir Isfahan of Baghdad (born Ispend bin Yusuf) dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by Fulad Mirza. The ruler of the adjacent Qara Qoyunlu Empire, Jahan Shah, then mobilizes an army at Tabriz to invade and take control of Baghdad.


date: April 7

text: April 7 – In southern Germany, the number of Duchies of Bavaria is reduced from three to two when Bavaria-Ingolstadt is reunited with Bavaria-Landshut, under the rule of Heinrich the Rich following the death of Ludwig the Hunchback of Ingolstadt. The Duchy of Bavaria-Munich, ruled by Albert III the Pious remains the only other duchy in Bavaria.


text: April 7 – Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria, German noble (b. 1403)


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (b. 1392)


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Leonel Power, English composer


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer (b. 1377)


date: August 16

text: August 16 – Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France, daughter of the late King James I of Scotland and wife of the Dauphin Louis, son of King Charles VII of France, dies from an illness contracted a week earlier. On her deathbed, she accuses a court official, Jamet de Tillay, of having slandered her reputation and causing her death.


text: date unknown – Olug Moxammat of Kazan, Khan of Kazan


date: May 2

text: May 2 – (5 Safar 849 AH) Sultan Muhammad of the Timurid Empire in Iran arrives in Isfahan and forces out a disloyal governor, Sa'adat, then declares an amnesty on taxes, stages a feast and celebration, and appoints Shah Ala' al-Din Naqib as the new governor.


date: June 6

text: June 6 – John Hunyadi is proclaimed regent of Hungary during the minority of King Ladislaus the Posthumous, with the title Regni Gubernator. His election is primarily promoted by the lesser nobility, but Hunyadi has by this time become one of the richest barons of the kingdom. His domains cover an area exceeding 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres). Hunyadi is one of the few contemporaneous barons who has spent a significant part of their revenues to finance the wars against the Ottomans, thus bearing a large share of the cost of fighting for many years.


date: June 21

text: June 21 – Lidköping gets its charter, and thus qualifies as one of the now defunct Cities of Sweden.


date: December 14

text: December 14 – King Henry VI summons the English Parliament to assemble at Cambridge on February 10.


date: December 24

text: December 24 – Edmund Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset, is appointed as last Governor of English-occupied France.


date: March 6

text: March 6 – The Battle of Ragaz marks the last military conflict of the Old Zurich War between the Swiss Confederacy and the Habsburgs, as 1,200 soldiers of the Confederation defeat the Austrian army, commanded by Hans von Rechberg and Wolfhart V. von Brandis, the Habsburg bailiff of Feldkirch. Among other things, the banners of the lords of Brandis are lost to the confederates and later transferred to the church in Sarnen. According to contemporary accounts, around 900 men from the Habsburg army and around 100 men from the Swiss army fell in the battle.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – After a siege of seven months, Baghdad is captured by the Sultan Jahan Shah of Qara Qoyunlu, whose forces move into what is now Iraq.


date: June 12

text: June 12 – An armistice between Duchy of Austria and the Swiss Confederation comes into force, ending the Old Zurich War.


date: August 24

text: August 24 – After many years of fruitless negotiations between Christopher of Bavaria and Erik of Pomerania, a Swedish war march to Gotland is launched in the early summer of 1446. King Christopher comes with a force to the island and on an open field in Västergarn with crossbowmen at gunpoint behind each monarch's back; regular peace negotiations take place.


date: August

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


date: September 27

text: September 27 – Battle of Otonetë: Skanderbeg defeats the Ottomans.


date: October 11

text: October 11 – In what is now the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Mahmud Khalji, Sultan of Malwa attempts to cross the Banas River to invade Mandalgarh in what is now the state of Rajasthan, but he and his armies are driven back by the forces of the Rana Kumbhakaran Singh, ruler of the Kingdom of Mewar.


date: October

text: October – Murad II, who recently became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire after his son Mehmed II was forced by the Janissaries to abdicate, invades Attica, forcing Constantine XI to return Thebes to the duchy of Athens, and remove the tribute imposed in 1444. Murad II imposes his own tribute.


date: November 13

text: November 13 – In Italy, Sante Bentivoglio, who had recently been "working in the wool industry in Florence under another name" becomes the ruler of Bologna at age 20 when he is named as guardian of the young child of the recently-assassinated Annibale I Bentivoglio


date: December 10

text: December 10 – After hesitating for several weeks, Sultan Murad II, of the Ottoman Empire, destroys the Hexamilion wall, in an assault that includes cannons. Murad and the Ottoman governor of Thessaly, Turakhan Beg, ravage the Peloponnese Peninsula at will, with the Sultan devastating the northern shore, while Glarentza and Turakhan raid in the interior. The Despotate of the Morea is turned into an Ottoman vassal state.


text: In Italy, the siege of Cremona, by the condottieri troops of Francesco Piccinino and Luigi dal Verme, is raised after the arrival of Scaramuccia da Forlì.


text: Another league is formed to counter the House of Sforza.


text: Portuguese navigator Álvaro Fernandes reaches the mouth of the Casamance River in Senegal.


date: March 21

text: March 21 – In the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, the Electors of Cologne, Trier, Mainz, and the Palatinate, along with representatives of the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, assemble at Frankfurt-am-Main and create a mutual defense alliance to resist Pope Eugene IV.


date: October 5

text: October 5 – The compromise proposed by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III with Pope Eugene IV is publicly endorsed by the Elector of Mainz, the Elector of Brandenburg, the Margrave of Ansbach, the Margrave Jakob I of Baden, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, the Archbishop of Salzburg, the and the Bishops of Augsburg, Chiemsee, Bamberg, Passau, Constanz and Chur.


date: October 9

text: October 9 – The hangul alphabet is proclaimed in Korea, by King Sejong the Great. The Hunmin Jeongeum, published during the year, is considered the start of this brand new scientific writing system.


text: The Blarney Stone is set into a tower of Blarney Castle in Blarney, County Cork in Ireland.


text: The Precious Belt Bridge in China is fully reconstructed.


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Vasily II, the Grand Prince of Moscow and ruler of much of Russia, is kidnapped from Trinity Monastery the Kremlin by allies of his cousin, Dmitry Shemyaka. Four days later (February 16), the conspirators tear out the eyes of Grand Prince Vasily and send him into exile at Uglich with his wife.


date: June 26

text: June 26 – Gilles de Bretagne, the brother of Francois I, Duke of Brittany, is arrested after allowing agents of King Charles VII of France to enter his home, Château du Guildo. He is eventually murdered while in custody at La Harduinaie.


text: Nuno Tristão is killed by natives on the coast of Senegal.


date: December 23

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: December 23 – On their way back to England after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the 37 pilgrims on the ship Cog Anne are killed when the vessel strikes a rock near the port of Modon in Greece.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – An earthquake occurs in Moscow but causes little damage


date: April 7

text: April 7 – In England, Thomas de Ashton and Edmund de Trafford, both knights of Lancashire, are granted special dispensation by King Henry VI to use their research in alchemy to transmute substances into precious metals.


date: July 28

text: July 28 – The compilation of the Alfonsine Ordinances, the first codification of the laws of the Kingdom of Portugal, is completed by Rui Fernandes of Almada and given to Dom Pedro de Coimbra, the regent for King Afonso V.


date: April 18

text: April 18 – Ippolita Maria Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1484)


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Frederick I of Liegnitz, Duke of Chojnów and Strzelin from 1453 (d. 1488)


text: May 3 – Margaret of York, duchess consort of Burgundy by marriage to Charles the Bold (d. 1503)


date: August 14

text: August 14 – Andrey Bolshoy, Russian royal (d. 1493)


date: December 26

text: December 26 – Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry, French noble (d. 1472)


text: date unknown – Edmund de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, English politician (d. 1508)


text: Alexander Agricola, Flemish composer (d. 1506)


text: William Grocyn, English scholar (d. 1519)


text: Pietro Perugino, Italian painter (d. 1524)


date: January 2

text: January 2 – (5th waxing of Tabodwe 807 ME) At the city of Taungoo in what is now Myanmar, 14-year-old Minkhaung I becomes the new Viceroy of Toungoo, a semi-independent vassal state of the Kingdom of Ava, ruled by King Narapati I of Ava. Minkhaung's ascension comes hours after the sudden death of his father, the Viceroy Tarabya.


date: January 15

text: January 15 – On his 14th birthday, Afonso V is acclaimed as King of Portugal, with full power to govern the kingdom, although his uncle, Pedro, Duke of Coimbra continues to operate as regent. Afonso had succeeded to the throne in 1438 upon the death of his father, King Duarte I.


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)


date: April 28

text: April 28 – Queen Soheon of Joseon, Queen consort of King Sejong of Korea, dies 27 years after her husband first ascended the throne. King Sejong spends the remaining four years of his life in mourning and becomes a vegetarian.


date: May 9

text: May 9 – Mary of Enghien, Queen of Naples (b. 1367)


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Ambroise de Loré, Baron of Ivry (b. 1396)


text: May 24 – In what is now the state of Karnataka in India, Prince Mallikarjuna Raya becomes the new Emperor of Vijayanagara upon the death of his father, Deva Raya II, and takes the name of Emperor Deva Raya III.


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Henry Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, English nobleman (b. 1425)


date: December 28

text: December 28 – Antipope Clement VIII


text: date unknown – Nuno Tristão, Portuguese explorer


date: January 4

text: January 4 – Barnaba Adorno becomes the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa when his cousin Raffaele Adorno steps down after slightly less than four years in office. Baranaba holds the office for only a few weeks before being forced by the Adorno family's rivals, the Campofregoso family to flee the Doge's Palace on January 29.


date: January 30

text: January 30 – Giano di Campofregoso is elected as the new Doge of Genoa the day after his family forces Barnaba Adorno out of the city.


date: February 11

text: February 11 – The English Parliament is opened by King Henry VI for a three week session that closes on March 3.


date: February 27

text: February 27 – Vasily II returns as Grand Prince of Moscow after being recalled from exile by Dmitry Shemyaka, who had blinded him the year before. Shemyaka still attempts to control the Principality of Moscow.


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Dmitry Shemyaka flees Moscow from the supporters of Vasily II.


date: April 20

text: April 20 – Abdal-Latif Mirza, son of the recently-crowned Timurid Emperor Ulugh Beg, is defeated in battle at Nishapur by his cousin Ala al-Dawla Mirza, another claimant to the Timurid throne, shortly after Abdal-Latif had captured the city of Damghan and al-Dawla had conquered Mashad.

source_section: Events › April – June


date: July 13

text: July 13 – At Suceava (now in Romania) Stefan II, Voivode of Moldavia since 1434, is killed in a coup d'état by his nephew, Roman II.

source_section: Events › July – September


date: October 11

text: October 11 – In the Battle of Bosco Marengo in Italy, the army the Ambrosian Republic of Milan defeats the 3,000-member force of the Duchy of Orléans, killing half of their troops while losing only 500 of its 3,700 men.

source_section: Events › October – December


date: November 16

text: November 16 – In the War of the Milanese Succession, Francesco Sforza, leader of the forces of the Ambrosian Republic of Milan, overwhelms the city of Piacenza after a siege that began on October 1. According to a contemporary account, Piacenza "endured every evil" from the Milanese over the next 50 days. Cristoforo da Soldo comments that "as for the ravaging of the land that was plundered, it would take a great pile of paper to write down the many cruelties. All the churches were robbed.. virgins, married women, widows, and nuns, all of them were shamed, abused and wrongly molested."


date: December 7

text: December 7 –Vlad II Dracul, ruler of Wallachia, and his eldest son Mircea are assassinated outside of Bucharest. Vladislav II succeeds him, with the assistance of John Hunyadi, beginning the Albanian–Venetian War.


text: The Siege of Soest, Germany, occurs, in the course of the Soest Feud.


text: Franzes I, Duke of Brittany, reverses the policy of his father, the late Duke Yann the Wise and allows the Caquin minority to have certain rights of trade within specified areas in the bishopric of Vannes.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – The papal conclave opens at the Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome with 18 of the 24 living members of the College of Cardinals arriving to select a new Pope With 12 votes necessary for the require two-thirds needed for an election, Cardinal Prospero Colonna receives 10 and Cardinal Domenico Capranica gets 8.


date: March 6

text: March 6 – On the fourth vote of the papal conclave, Prospero Colonna is still unable to gain more than 10 votes, and Cardinal Capranica addresses the group, warning that Rome would be under attack from the King of Aragon. At the intervention of Cardinal Giovanni Berardi, the cardinals begin voting for a compromise candidate, Tommaso Parentucelli, who wins 12 votes. Parentucelli then takes the regnal name of Pope Nicholas V, the 208th Bishop of Rome and Pope.


date: March 19

text: March 19 – The coronation of Tommaso Parentucelli as Pope Nicholas V takes place in Rome. The crown is placed upon his head by Cardinal Prospero Colonna, who had come within two votes of being selected as the Pope on March 5.


date: April 22

text: April 22 – (5 Safar 851 AH) Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar becomes the new leader of the tariqa (order) of Süleymancılar among adherents of Sufism in what is now Turkey.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – In a royal wedding at the cathedral in Madrigal de las Altas Torres in the Kingdom of Castile (now in Spain) Princess Isabella of Portugal, cousin of King Afonso VI, marries King Juan II of Castile.


text: Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is founded by the 1st Dalai Lama at its original location in Shigatse, Tibet.


text: Iizasa Ienao founds Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, the earliest historically verifiable Japanese koryū martial art, that will still be extant in modern times.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – A major fire destroys the centre of Valencia.


date: May 6

text: May 6 – In a royal wedding at Lisbon, King Afonso V of Portugal is married to his first cousin, Princess Isabel of Coimbra, when both of them are 15 years old. Isabel is the daughter of Afonso's uncle, Dom Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, who continues to serve as the regent for King Afonso.


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Kazimieras Jogailaitis, Grand Duke of Lithuania since 1440, is crowned King of Poland as Casimir IV Jagiellon, bringing an end to an interregnum that had existed since 1444 when Casimir's brother King Wladyslaw III had left Poland to fight in a Crusade against the Ottoman Turks.


date: August 14

text: August 14 – As competition begins over who will inherit the right to rule the Duchy of Milan, members of the University of Pavia proclaim the Golden Ambrosian Republic (Aurea Repubblica Ambrosiana), ruled by a 12-member council, the Capitani della Libertà (Captains of Liberty), led by professor Giorgio Lampugnano.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Roman II seizes the throne of Moldavia after killing his uncle, Stephen II, and makes plans to enlist his other uncle, Petru as co-ruler.


date: December 16

text: December 16 – Lodovico di Campofregoso becomes the Doge of the Republic of Genoa, succeeding his older brother, Giano I, who had taken office "for life


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1504)


date: February 4

text: February 4 – Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (d. 1500)


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Catherine of Genoa, Italian author and nurse (d. 1510)


date: April 17

text: April 17 – Baptista Mantuanus, poet and Carmelite (d. 1516)


date: June 27

text: June 27 – Jean IV de Rieux, Breton noble and Marshal (d. 1518)


date: July 5

text: July 5 – Costanzo I Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1483)


date: September 10

text: September 10 – Paolo da San Leocadio, Italian painter in Spain (d. 1520)


date: October 30

text: October 30 – Lucas Watzenrode, Prince-Bishop of Warmia (d. 1512)


date: December 3

text: December 3 – Bayezid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1512)


date: December 9

text: December 9 – Chenghua Emperor of China (d. 1487)


date: December 15

text: December 15 – Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1508)


text: Philippe de Commines, Flemish historian (d. 1511)


text: Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, Italian sculptor (d. 1522)


text: Catherine of Genoa, Catholic mystic (d. 1510)


date: February 20

text: February 20 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, uncle and heir apparent of King Henry VI of England, is arrested on a charge of treason. He dies from a stroke three days later while imprisoned at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk Richard of York becomes next in line for the throne.


date: February 23

text: February 23 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Colette of Corbie, French abbess and saint in the Catholic Church (b. 1381)


date: March 13

text: March 13 – Shah Rukh Mirza, ruler of Persia and Transoxonia (b. 1377)


text: March 13 – At Herat, Ulugh Beg (born Mirza Muhammad Taraghay) becomes the new ruler of the Timurid Empire upon the death of his father Sharukh Mirza, who had reigned for 42 years. The Empire is in decline but still controls most of what is now Afghanistan as well as parts of Iraq and Pakistan.


date: March 31

text: March 31 – Robert Long, English politician (b. 1390)


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)


date: July 9

text: July 9 – Gruffudd Vychan, Welsh knight (b. 1390)


date: August 5

text: August 5 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English nobleman and military commander (b. 1395)


date: August 9

text: August 9 – Konrad IV the Elder, Polish priest (b. 1380)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – The Milanese War of Succession begins in Italy when Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan since 1412, dies from natural causes. In that Visconti had no male heir, he had bequeathed the Duchy to King Afonso V, ruler of the Kingdom of Naples (in Italy) and the Crown of Aragon (in Spain), as well as his son-in-law Francesco I Sforza and Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Tommaso Bellacci, Italian Roman Catholic professed member of the Third Order of Saint Francis (b. 1370)


date: November 21

text: November 21 – Biagio Molino, Roman Catholic patriarch (b. 1380)


date: December

text: December – Vlad II Dracul, Prince of Wallachia, and his son Mircea II


date: May 3

text: May 3 – The Treaty of Prenzlau is signed between in Germany by the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania, both principalities within the Holy Roman Empire. The treaty partitions the disputed territory of the Uckermark, with Brandenburg receiving the southern part and Pomerania the northern part, with rights for Brandenburg to receive the north if Pomerania's ruling house should become extinct.


date: June 20

text: June 20 – The Regency period of Sweden ends with the election by Swedish nobles of Karl Knutsson Bonde as King Karl VIII.


date: October 4

text: October 4 – Peace between Albania and Venice is established, bringing an end to the Albanian–Venetian War.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – The Republic of Venice offers a reward to anyone who is successful in assassinating the Albanian rebel leader Skanderbeg, with a pension of 100 gold ducats per month as a reward.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – The English garrison at Le Mans in France surrenders to the French Army.


date: March 19

text: March 19 – The Battle of Río Verde is fought as the 600-member cavalry of the Crown of Castile, is retreating from an attack led by Juan de Saavedra, against invaders from the Emirate of Granada, led by the Sultan Yusuf V. The 1,500 Granadan cavalry overwhelm the Castilians and massacre all but five of the 600 soldiers, while taking Saavedra as a prisoner of war. [https://www.google.ae/books/edition/The_Last_Crusade_in_the_West/V6IAAwAAQBAJ?hl=ar&gbpv=1&dq=r%C3%ADo+verde+1448&pg=PA88&printsec=frontcover]


date: May 14

text: May 14 – The Siege of Svetigrad is started by the Ottoman Sultan Murad II against an Albanian fortress at Svetigrad, now Kodžadžik in North Macedonia. After two and a half months, the siege is successful in capturing the fortress.


date: June 27

text: June 27 – Venice sends Andrea Venier to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire in an attempt to have the Ottomans invade Albania. Afterwards, Venier is sent to meet with Skanderbeg to ask him to cease hostilities.


date: July 23

text: July 23 – The League of Lezhë, made up of the armies of various Albanian principalities, defeats the forces of the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire at the battle of Scutari.


date: July 29

text: July 29 – The War in Gotland begins in Scandinavia as an army from Sweden, commanded by Generals Magnus Gren and Birger Trolle, invades the island of Gotland, at the time ruled by Denmark. The invasion is repelled by Erik of Pomerania, ruler of the island and the former King of Sweden and Denmark.


date: July 31

text: July 31 – The Siege of Svetigrad ends after 10 weeks as the defenders surrender to the Ottomans. The reason for giving up is the lack of a safe water supply, either because it was contaminated from a dead animal in the castle well, or because the Ottomans were able to locate and cut off the castles source of water.


date: August 14

text: August 14 – At the Battle of Oranik, Albanian forces led by Skanderbeg defeat the armies of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.


date: September 3

text: September 3 – Prince George of Poděbrady, leader of the Hussites in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) captures Prague after leading 9,000 of his troops from Kutná Hora.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – At the Battle of Caravaggio, the armies of the Ambrosian Republic of Milan, led by Francesco Sforza, defeat those of the Republic of Venice, commanded by Micheletto Attendolo.


date: September 16

text: September 16 – General Thomas Kantakouzenos of the Serbian Despotate recaptures Srebrenica and Višegrad from the Kingdom of Bosnia. led by King Stephen Thomas of Bosnia.


date: October 20

text: October 20 – After three days of fighting at the Battle of Kosovo, Hungarian forces under John Hunyadi are defeated by the larger Ottoman force commanded by the Sultan Murad II


date: October

text: October – Vlad the Impaler becomes reigning Prince of Wallachia for two months, before being deposed in November by Vladislav II of Wallachia.


date: November

text: November - In Vietnam, a rebellion led by chieftains in Tuyên Quang against King Lê Nhân Tông of the Lê dynasty was defeated.


date: December 4

text: December 4 – Swedish troops attack Gotland again and climb the walls of the city's capital, Visby, making a surprise attack. Eric of Pomerania flees to the fortress of Visborg.


text: Scottish army, led by Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormond, was victorious against the English Army in the Battle of Sark.


date: February 17

text: February 17 – The Concordat of Vienna is signed between the Holy Roman Empire


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Under an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich III, the city council of Basel in Switzerland votes to expel all persons attending the Council of Basel, a group of clerics opposed to the Roman Catholic Pope.


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Karl VIII is crowned as King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral the day after being publicly hailed as king at Mora Stones.


date: July 25

text: July 25 – The Council of Basel, opposed to the Pope at Rome, moves to Lausanne and holds its first session, presided over by the antipope Felix V.


date: December 15

text: December 15 – Jonas, a Russian bishop, is installed by the Council of Russian Bishops in Moscow, as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus. The event marks the independence of the Russian Orthodox Church because the election of Jonas is made without the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as this is without the consent of the Patriarch of Constantinople, it signifies the beginning of an effectively independent church structure in the Grand Duchy of Moscow.


date: December 20

text: December 20 – Pope Nicholas V appoints Rudolf of Diepholt, Bishop of Utrecht, as cardinal.


text: The Vatican Library is founded by Pope Nicholas V.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – The militia of francs-archers, the first regular infantry in France, is created by the ordonnance of Montil-lès-Tours during the reign of King Charles VII, directing that in each parish, the person most skilled in the use of archery would be exempt from certain obligations in return for perfecting his skills on a weekly basis and being ready to be summoned for combat.


text: After a long episode of drought, flood, locust infestation and famine in Ming dynasty China since the year 1434, these natural afflictions finally wane, and agriculture and commerce return to a state of normality.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Queens' College, Cambridge is founded by Margaret of Anjou.


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Catherine Karlsdotter, daughter of Karl Ormsson Gumsehuvud and wife of King Karl VIII of Sweden, is crowned as Queen consort of Sweden.


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Nannina de' Medici, Florentine member of the de' Medici family (d. 1493)


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Marie of Savoy, Countess of Saint-Pol, Luxembourgish noble (d. 1475)


date: July 14

text: July 14 – Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1508)


date: September 7

text: September 7 – Henry, Count of Württemberg-Montbéliard (1473–1482) (d. 1519)


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Władysław II of Płock, Polish noble (d. 1462)


date: November 4

text: November 4 – King Alphonso II of Naples (d. 1495)


date: December 12

text: December 12 – John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, English Earl (d. 1473)


text: Suor Barbara Ragnoni, Italian painter (d. 1533)


text: Baeda Maryam of Ethiopia (d. 1478)


text: Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1473)


date: January 6

text: January 6 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, dies at his palace, the Kärnan, in Helsingborg (now in Sweden) with no designated heir, leaving all three kingdoms with vacant thrones. Brothers Bengt Jönsson Oxenstierna and Nils Jönsson Oxenstierna are selected to serve as co-regents of Sweden.


text: January 6 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1418)


date: February 23

text: February 23 – Petru III becomes Prince of Moldavia for a third time when Prince Roman II dies.


date: June 9

text: June 9 – The regency of Portugal ends as Dom Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, as King Afonso V, now 16, dismisses his uncle who had served as regent for almost 10 years after the death of King Duarte in 1738. Influenced by Afonso de Braganza, King Afonso begins nullification of all of the decrees made in his name by Dom Pedro.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny, English baroness (b. 1415)


date: September 1

text: September 1 – After his betrothal to Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen Dowager and widow of King Christoffer III (who died in January), German Count Christian of Oldenburg, is elected by the Danish nobility to become the new monarch, King Christian I of Denmark.


date: September 23

text: September 23 – Adolph I, Duke of Cleves (b. 1373)


date: September 30

text: September 30 – Leonardo III Tocco becomes the new ruler of Epirus upon the death of his father Carlo II Tocco.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – The Hungarian commander Ciubăr Vodă briefly becomes Prince of Moldavia after the death of Petru III, and governs until Alexăndrel of Moldavia takes the throne in December.


date: October 12

text: October 12 – Zhu Quan, Prince of Ning, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (b. 1378)


text: October 31 – John VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1390)


date: October

text: October – Carlo II Tocco, ruler of Epirus


text: Roman II flees to Poland, when an army sent by John Hunyadi, and led by Csupor de Monoszló, comes to put Petru III on the throne of Moldavia. Petru dies suddenly, and Csupor takes on the throne for two months, as Ciubăr Vodă.


date: January 2

text: January 2 – King Henry VI of England summons the members of parliament, directing them to assemble on February 12 at Westminster.


date: February 12

text: February 12 –The English Parliament is opened by King Henry VI at Westminster for a five month session.


date: July 16

text: July 16 – The English Parliament closes and King Henry VI gives royal assent to numerous acts passed during its five-month session. Becoming law are the Importation Act, a 7-year ban on the import of Netherlands merchandise from Holland, Zeeland and Brabant, and the Distress Act, making it a felony "for any Welsh or Lancashire man to take other men, their goods or chattels, under colour of distress, where they have no cause."


date: August 3

text: August 3 – The Emperor Yingzong designates his younger brother, Zhu Qiyu, to administer the Chinese Empire.


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Hundred Years' War: English forces capture Fougères in Brittany.


date: May 14

text: May 14 – Second Siege of Sfetigrad (1449): The Albanian garrison surrenders and the Ottomans seize the fortress.


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Battle of Alfarrobeira: King Afonso V of Portugal defeats the forces of Peter, Duke of Coimbra.


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Erik of Pomerania, formerly the King of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, hands over possession of the island of Gotland to the Swedish invaders.


date: July 6

text: July 6 – The Ambrosian Republic of Milan defeats the armies of the Swiss canton of Uri at the Battle of Castione in what is now Switzerland.


date: July 20

text: July 20 – News arrives at the imperial court of the Emperor Yingzong of China of a Mongol invasion from the north, led by the Khagan Esen Taishi. Yingzong orders the dispatch of 45,000 soldiers from the Beijing garrison, led by four generals, to advance to Datong and Xuanfu to guard the border.


date: July

text: July – Hundred Years' War: The French invade Normandy.


date: August 1

text: August 1 – After getting word that the Mongols had launched a large-scale invasion at Datong, China's Emperor Yingzong decides to personally lead the Beijing garrison into war, despite the protests of his War Minister Kuang Ye.


date: August 13

text: August 13 – First Margrave War: Margrave Albrecht takes Lichtenau Fortress from Nuremberg.


date: September 1

text: September 1 – Battle of Tumu Fortress: The Oirat Mongols defeat the Ming dynasty army, and capture the Emperor Xingzong of China on September 3. The Emperor is officially deposed, while his brother Zhu Qiyu ascends as the Jingtai Emperor the next year.


date: October 29

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


text: October – Bogdan II of Moldavia enters the country with troops from John Hunyadi, and takes the throne after Alexăndrel flees.


date: May

text: May – An English privateering fleet led by Robert Wennington challenges ships of the Hanseatic League.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Mary of Guelders arrives in Scotland at Leith after being escorted from the Duchy of Burgundy to Scotland following her selection by Lord Crichton


date: January 6

text: January 6 – Constantine XI Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mistra; he will be the last in a line of rulers that can be traced to the founding of Rome.


date: April 7

text: April 7 – The last Antipope, Felix V, abdicates.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – Pope Nicholas V is elected by the Council of Basel.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – The Council of Basel dissolves itself.


date: July 3

text: July 3 – King James II of Scotland marries Mary of Guelders at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Karl Knutsson, reigning as King Karl VIII of Sweden, is crowned as King Karl I of Norway in a ceremony at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.


date: February

text: February – Alexăndrel seizes the throne of Moldavia, with the support of the boyars.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – The Pas de la Bergère tournament, later the subject of a poem by Louis de Beauvau, finishes after six days at Tarascon on the island of Jarnègues at the estate of the Duke René of Anjou.


date: October 12

text: October 12 – Prince Alexăndrel is replaced as Prince of Moldavia by Bogdan II.


date: December 15

text: December 15 – The Ottoman Empire Sultan Mehmed II marries Sittişah Hatun, daughter of Suleiman of Dulkadir, in an elaborate ceremony at Edirne, followed by three months of celebrations.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian statesman (d. 1492)


date: January 17

text: January 17 – Osanna of Mantua, Italian Dominican tertiary (d. 1505)


date: February 7

text: February 7 – Adriana of Nassau-Siegen, consort of Count Philip I of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1477)


date: April 27

text: April 27 – Asakura Ujikage, 8th head of the Asakura clan of Japan (d. 1486)


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Bona of Savoy, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1503)


date: September 20

text: September 20 – Philipp I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg, German noble (d. 1500)


date: October 21

text: October 21 – George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III of England (d. 1478)


date: November 11

text: November 11 – Catherine of Poděbrady, Hungarian Queen (d. 1464)


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Sidonie of Poděbrady, Bohemian princess, duchess consort of Saxony (d. 1510)


date: December 6

text: December 6 – Dorotea Gonzaga, Italian noble (d. 1467)


text: Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (d. 1513)


text: Ilham Ghali khan of Kazan Khanate, (d. 1490)


text: Srimanta Sankardeva, Assamese scholar and religious figure (d. c. 1568)


text: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian artist (d. 1494)


date: January 4

text: January 4 – Cecilia of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (b. c.1405)


date: January 21

text: January 21 – Giovanni Berardi, Archbishop of Taranto (b. 1380)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Islamic scholar (b. 1372)


date: March

text: March – Dolce dell'Anguillara, Italian condottiero (b. 1401)


date: May 20

text: May 20 (at the Battle of Alfarrobeira)


date: May

text: May – Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, Lord of the Isles


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Polissena Sforza, Lady of Rimini (b. 1428)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Louis IV, Elector Palatine (b. 1424)


date: October 27

text: October 27 – Ulugh Beg, Timurid ruler and astronomer (b. 1394)


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brzeg-Legnica and Cieszyn, German princess (b. 1403)


date: November 19

text: November 19 – Kunigunde of Sternberg, first spouse of the King George of Podebrady (b. 1425)


date: December 24

text: December 24 – Walter Bower, Scottish chronicler (b. 1385)


text: Peter, Duke of Coimbra (b. 1392)


text: Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches


text: Change of emperor from Han Chongdi to Han Zhidi of the Chinese Han dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Antoninus Augustus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar become Roman Consuls.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Arrian becomes archon in Athens.


text: Marcus Aurelius marries Faustina the Younger, the daughter of Antoninus Pius.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (d. 211)


text: Han Chongdi, Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty (b. 143)


date: January 19

text: January 19 – The Jingtai Era begins in China under the Emperor Daizong, and the Zhengtong Era ends after 14 years.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – The 17th English Parliament of King Henry VI closes. Royal assent is given to several acts, including a seven-year prohibition of importation of products from the Dutch provinces of Holland, Zealand and Brabant "until English cloth may be sold there."


date: August 29

text: August 29 – The Treaty of Bergen is signed by officials of Norway and Sweden to reunite the two kingdoms under the rule of King Christian I. Both Norway and Sweden retain self-government and their own governing bodies.


date: September 5

text: September 5 – Three months after the close of the last session, King Henry VI summons the members of the English Parliament to assemble at Westminster on November 6.


date: September 8

text: September 8 – Pietro di Campofregoso is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa following the abdication of his cousin, Lodovico di Campofregoso.


date: November 6

text: November 6 – The 18th parliament of King Henry VI of England opens. Commons elects William Oldhall as its speaker.


date: February 26

text: February 26 – Francesco Sforza enters Milan after a siege, becoming Duke of the city-state, and founding a dynasty that will rule Milan for a century.


date: March 11

text: March 11 – The First Margrave War comes to an end in Germany as Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, is defeated by Nuremberg troops at the battle of Pillenreuther Reiher.


date: March 15

text: March 15 – English commander Thomas Kyriell and 2,500 soldiers land at Cherbourg in English-occupied France, where they join another 1,800 English troops recruited by the Duke of Somerset from the garrisons at Bayeux, Caen and Vire.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – The Battle of Formigny takes place as French troops under the Comte de Clermont defeat an English army under Sir Thomas Kyriel and Sir Matthew Gough, which was attempting to relieve Caen


date: May 8

text: May 8 – Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI of England.


date: May 9

text: May 9 – Abdal-Latif Mirza, a Timurid dynasty monarch, is assassinated.


date: June 5

text: June 5 – French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege Caen in English-occupied Normandy in France, attacking the fortress commanded by Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Battle of Solefields (Sevenoaks): Jack Cade's rebels are driven from London by loyal troops.


date: June 20

text: June 20 – The First Margrave War between Nuremberg and Brandenburg ends with the signing of a peace treaty at Bamberg. Under the treaty, Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, is forced to return all lands that he had captured from Nuremberg.


date: July 6

text: July 6 – Caen surrenders to the French.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – The surviving rebels who had participated in Jack Cade's rebellion in England are pardoned by King Henry VI. Cade himself, who had adoped the alias "John Mortimer", is pardoned under that name until his identity is discovered. Cade himself is killed by Alexander Iden on July 12, after resisting arrest for treason. His corpse is given a mock trial at Newgate Prison and the body beheaded, then dragged through the streets of London and quartered, with the limbs being sent throughout the county of Kent, where the rebellion had started.


date: August 12

text: August 12 – Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy, surrenders to the French.


date: September 19

text: September 19 – China's Emperor Yingzong returns to Beijing after having been held as a prisoner of war by the Mongols since September 1, 1449. Upon returning, he is held under house arrest in the Forbidden City along with his wife, the Empress Qian, on orders of his younger brother Emperor Daizong.


date: November 23

text: November 23 – First Siege of Krujë: Albanian troops are victorious, forcing an Ottoman army of approximately 100,000 men to retreat from Albania.


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Colonization of Terceira Island by Portugal begins as Dom Henrique, om Navigador


text: Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu, "Old mountain"), a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level, is believed to be under construction.


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Charles VIII of Sweden, also serving as Carl I of Norway, is declared deposed from the latter throne, in favor of Christian I of Denmark.


date: January 19

section: Economy & Finance

text: January 19 – King James II of Scotland gives royal assent to numerous acts passed by the Scottish Parliament in 1449, including the Leases Act 1449 ("Of takis of landis for termes and takis of wedset (mortgaged) landis eftir the oute quyting of the lande"), the Coinage Act, the Parties Summoned to King's Council Act and the Statute Law Revision Act ("Persons chosyn of the thre estatis til examyn the actis of parliamentis and general counsallis").


text: Johannes Gutenberg has set up his movable type printing press, as a commercial operation in Mainz, by this date.


date: October 5

section: Health & Medicine

text: October 5 – Jews are expelled from Lower Bavaria, by order of Duke Ludwig IX.


date: December 23

text: December 23 – In Rome, the collapse of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, a bridge over the Via Giulia and the subsequent stampede combine to kill more than 300 people, most of whom were on a pilgrimage to the Holy See.


date: February 7

text: February 7 – John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, marries Lady Margaret Beaufort.


date: March 25

text: March 25 – Francesco I Sforza becomes the Duke of Milan, restoring the Duchy of Milan and bringing an end to the Golden Ambrosian Republic that had governed Milan.


date: August 2

text: August 2 – The coronation of Christian I of Denmark as King of Norway takes place at Trondheim.


date: November 3

text: November 3 – The University of Barcelona is founded by the grant of King Alfonso V of Aragon.


text: A religious sacrifice of over a hundred children is performed around this time, outside of the ancient city of Chan Chan (near modern Trujillo), on the north coast of Peru.


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Yejong of Joseon, Joseon King (d. 1469)


date: May 18

text: May 18 – Piero Soderini, Florentine statesman (d. 1513)


date: June 22

text: June 22 – Eleanor of Naples, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1493)


date: July 25

text: July 25 – Jakob Wimpfeling, Renaissance humanist (d. 1528)


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (d. 1524)


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Ursula of Brandenburg, Duchess of Münsterberg-Oels and Countess of Glatz (d. 1508)


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont, Prince of Savoy (d. 1486)


text: Gaspar Corte-Real, Portuguese explorer (d. 1501)


text: Bartolomeo Montagna, Italian painter (d. 1523)


text: Heinrich Isaac, Franco-Flemish composer (d. 1517)


text: Juan de la Cosa, Spanish navigator and cartographer (d. 1510)


text: Hieronymus Bosch, Dutch painter (d. 1516)


text: Josquin des Prez, Dutch composer (d. 1521)


text: Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād, Persian leader of the Herat school


date: January 9

text: January 9 – Adam Moleyns, English courtier and Bishop of Chichester


date: February 9

text: February 9 – Agnès Sorel, mistress of Charles VII of France (b. c. 1422)


date: April 8

text: April 8 – Sejong the Great of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1397)


text: April 8 – At the Korean capital of Hanseong, Munjong of Joseon becomes the new King of Korea upon the death of his father, Sejong the Great.


date: May 2

text: May 2 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English military leader (born 1396)


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Ranuccio Farnese il Vecchio, Italian condottiero (b. c. 1390)


date: July 4

text: July 4 – James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele, English soldier and politician (b. c. 1395)


date: July 26

text: July 26 – Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick (b. 1424)


date: August 15

text: August 15 – Alberto da Sarteano, Italian Franciscan friar and papal legate (b. 1385)


date: August 27

text: August 27 – Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395)


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Louis Aleman, French cardinal


date: September 22

text: September 22 – William Tresham, English politician


date: October 1

text: October 1 – Leonello d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, Italian noble (b. 1407)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – John IV, Count of Armagnac (b. 1396)


date: January 27

text: January 27 – The Saxon Brother War between Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and William III, Landgrave of Thuringia is ended as two brothers sign a peace treaty at Naumburg.


date: March 26

text: March 26 – The Treaty of Gaeta is signed at the Italian city of Gaeta between the Kingdom of Albania


date: August 14

text: August 14 – A three-year truce is signed between Scotland and England at the Church of St Nicholas at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.


date: September 10

text: September 10 – The Ottoman Empire renews its treaty with Republic of Venice and, on September 20, a truce with the Kingdom of Hungary.


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Janos Hunyadi, Regent-Governor of the Kingdom of Hungary during the minority of the 11-year-old king, Ladislaus V, signs a peace treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich III.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Janos Hunyadi, Regent-Governor of the Kingdom of Hungary during the minority of the 11-year-old king, Ladislaus V, signs a 3-year truce with the Ottoman Empire.


date: November 28

text: November 28 – At the Korean capital, Hanseong, Hwangbo In becomes the Chief State Councillor (Yeonguijeong) of the Kingdom of Korea as leader of the governing State Council, second in status only to King Munjong, replacing Ha Yeon.


date: December 22

text: December 22 – (28 Zilhicce 855 AH) In Mamluk ruled Egypt, the Amir Asanbay al-Jamali al-Zahiri returns from a trip to the Ottoman Empire with a group of Ottoman diplomats, and the Mamluk Sultan Mehmed II hosts them at a banquet, granting them a private audience the next day. The Ottomans depart on January 17.


text: Skennenrahawi, the Great Peacemaker, a chief Mohawk people, founds the Haudenosaunee, commonly called the Iroquois Confederacy, along with Jigonhsasee and Hiawatha. The Haudenosaunee is initially a political and cultural union of five Iroquoian-speaking Native American tribes (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca) governing parts of the present-day state of New York, northern Pennsylvania, and the eastern portion of the provinces of Ontario, and Quebec.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Celje acquires market town status and town rights, by orders from Count Frederic II of Celje.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – In the Delhi Sultanate, the Afghan Lodi Dynasty succeeds the Turkish Sayyid Dynasty as the Sayyid ruler Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah flees Delhi and Bahlul Khan Lodi takes the throne.


date: May 31

text: May 31 – King Henry VI of England gives royal assent to the Attainder of John Cade Act 1450, confiscating the lands of Jack Cade, who had led a rebellion against the King in 1450. Cade is posthumously convicted of treason so that his estate will go directly to the King.


date: June 30

text: June 30 – French troops under Jean de Dunois invade Guyenne, and capture Bordeaux.


date: August 20

text: August 20 – The French capture Bayonne, the last English stronghold in Guyenne.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – After assassinating Bogdan II of Moldavia, Petru Aron takes up the throne.


date: October 28

text: October 28 – Revolt of Ghent: Ghent takes up arms against Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.


date: January 7

text: January 7 – Pope Nicholas V issues a Papal Bull to establish The University of Glasgow; classes are initially held in Glasgow Cathedral.


date: May 30

text: May 30 – (New moon (15th waning) of Nayon 813 ME) At Pegu


date: July 31

text: July 31 – Jacques Coeur, accused of poisoning Agnes Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII of France, is arrested on the orders of the king and his large fortune is confiscated.


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Louis XI marries Charlotte of Savoy.


date: January 14

text: January 14 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer (d. 1522)


date: January 29

text: January 29 – John, Prince of Portugal (d. 1451)


date: February 17

text: February 17 – Raffaello Maffei, Italian theologian (d. 1522)


date: March 5

text: March 5 – William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English earl (d. 1491)


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer (d. 1512)


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Queen Isabella I of Castile, Castillian queen regnant and first queen of a united Spain (by marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon) (d. 1504)


date: May 2

text: May 2 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)


date: May 17

text: May 17 – Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (d. 1504)


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney, English soldier, diplomat, courtier and politician (d. 1508)


date: July 10

text: July 10 – James III of Scotland (d. 1488)


date: September 5

text: September 5 – Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, elder daughter of Richard Neville (d. 1476)


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Württemberg (d. 1524)


text: Guru Jambheshwar, Rajasthani founder of the Bishnoi Panth (d. 1536)


text: Ignatius Noah of Lebanon, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch (d. 1509).


text: January 7 – Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, aka Antipope Felix V (b. 1383)


date: January 18

text: January 18 – Henry II, Count of Nassau-Siegen, Co-ruler of Nassau-Siegen (1442–1451) (b. 1414)


date: February 3

text: February 3 – Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)


text: February 3 – Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded (on February 18) by his son, Mehmed II.


date: June

text: June – Abdullah Mirza, Timurid Empire ruler


date: July 11

text: July 11 – Barbara of Cilli, Holy Roman Empress, queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia (b. 1392)


date: October

text: October – Bogdan II of Moldavia, assassinated by Petru Aron


text: Stefan Lochner, German painter (b. 1400)


text: John Lydgate, English monk and poet (b. 1370)


text: al-Mustakfi II, Abbasid Caliph


date: July 21

text: July 21 – The League of God's House signs a peace treaty with the counts of Ortenstein in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden to fund the rebuilding of Ortenstein Castle, as long as they promise never to use the castle against the League.


date: November 23

text: November 23 – The Canton of Appenzell becomes an associate member of the Swiss Confederacy. Full membership will be granted more than 50 years later in 1513.


text: Edinburgh officially becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Scotland.


date: January 19

text: January 19 – In Mongolia, Taisun Khan, the reigning khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, is killed while fleeing after a defeat at Turfan in a war with Esen Taishi. Taisun's younger brother, Agbarjin, becomes the new khagan.


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Reconquista – Battle of Los Alporchones (around the city of Lorca in Murcia): The combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile, and its subsidiary kingdom of Murcia, defeat the Emirate of Granada.


date: March 31

text: March 31 – In an attempt to end the rebellion in Ghent, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, declares war against the Ghentenaar rebels.


date: May 18

text: May 18 – The Battle of Brechin is fought in Scotland between the royalist supporters of Clan Gordon (led by Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly) and the rebels of Clan Lindsay, led by Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford. Clan Gordon wins and the Lindsays submit to the authority of King James II.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Serbian General Thomas Kantakouzenos leads troops in an invasion of the Principality of Zeta but is driven back by the Prince of Zeta, Stefan Crnojević.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – English troops under John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, land in Guyenne, in France, in order to recapture and retake most of the Guyenne province.


date: October 23

text: October 23 – The Earl of Shrewsbury and his army capture Bordeaux, capital of Gascony, after having taken back most of the province without resistance.


text: October – Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: The Ottoman governor of Thessaly, Turakhan Beg, breaks through the Hexamilion wall for the fourth time, and ravages the Peloponnese Peninsula to prevent the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea from assisting Constantinople, during the final Ottoman siege of the imperial capital.


text: Battle of Bealach nam Broig, a Scottish clan battle.


text: Portuguese navigator Diogo de Teive discovers the islands of Corvo and Flores, in the Azores.


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, becomes the last to be crowned in Rome.


date: May 20

text: May 20 – China's Emperor Daizhong, brother of the former emperor Yingzong, designates his son as the new heir to the throne, demoting Daizhong's son Zhu Jianshen and placing his own son, Zhu Janji, as next in line for the throne.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Pope Nicholas V issues the bull Dum Diversas, legitimising the colonial slave trade.


date: December 12

text: December 12 – Isidore of Kiev, the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, proclaims the union of the Greek and Latin churches at the Hagia Sophia in hopes of an alliance with Western Christians to prevent the loss of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.


date: February 22

text: February 22 – William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas is killed by James II of Scotland, at Stirling Castle.


date: May 2

text: May 2 – Jean Bréhal, chief of the French inquisition, reopens the case of Joan of Arc, who had been executed more than 20 years earlier for heresy and begins taking testimony from witnesses.


text: A major volcanic eruption, 1452/1453 mystery eruption, has a subsequent global cooling effect (the eruption releases more sulfate than any other event in the previous 700 years).


date: February

text: February – Alexăndrel retakes the throne of Moldavia, in his long struggle with Petru Aron.


date: April 27

text: April 27 – George of Poděbrady is elected as regent of Bohemia until King Ladislaus of Hungary reaches the age of majority.


date: July 26

text: July 26 – The University of Valence is founded in France by the Dauphin Louis, son of King Charles VII. The university lasts for 330 years until being closed during the French Revolution.


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Joanna, Princess of Portugal (d. 1490)


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512)


text: February 14 – Davide Ghirlandaio, Italian painter and mosaicist (d. 1525)


date: April 19

text: April 19 – King Frederick of Naples (d. 1504)


text: May 18 – Henry the Younger of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1492)


date: July 27

text: July 27 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1534) (approximate date)


text: July 27 – Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1508)


date: August 12

text: August 12 – Abraham Zacuto, Spanish Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian (d. 1515)


date: September 21

text: September 21 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious reformer (d. 1498)


date: October 2

text: October 2 – King Richard III of England (d. 1485)


date: December 6

text: December 6 – Antonio Mancinelli, Italian humanist pedagogue and grammarian (d. 1505)


date: December 10

text: December 10 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician (d. 1531)


text: Diogo Cão, Portuguese explorer (d. 1486)


text: Hugh Oldham, English bishop and patron of education (d. 1519)


date: February 10

text: February 10 – Švitrigaila, Grand Prince of Lithuania


text: February 10 – Michał Bolesław Zygmuntowicz (Michael Žygimantaitis), Prince of Black Ruthenia


text: February 14 – Konrad VII the White, Duke of Oleśnica


text: February 22 – William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas (b. 1425)


date: April 20

text: April 20 – Reinhard III, Count of Hanau (1451–1452) (b. 1412)


date: May 4

text: May 4 – Pope John XI of Alexandria, leader of the Coptic Christian church since 1427, dies, leaving a vacancy in the Coptic papacy.


date: May

text: May – John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury


date: September 23

text: September 23 – Pope Matthew II of Alexandria is elected as the new Patriarch of the Coptic Christian Church, succeeding Pope John XI, who died on May 4.


date: October

text: October – Nicholas Close, English bishop


text: probable – Gemistus Pletho, Greek philosopher


date: January 6

text: January 6 – Girolamo Benivieni, Italian poet


date: March 2

text: March 2 – Johannes Engel, German doctor, astronomer and astrologer


date: September 1

text: September 1 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and statesman


date: October 13

text: October 13 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, only son of Henry VI


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Giuliano de' Medici, Italian nobleman


date: November 7

text: November 7 – Filippo Beroaldo, philosopher and scholar


date: November 15

text: November 15 – Alfonso, Prince of Asturias


text: Shin Mahasilavamsa, Burmese poet

source_section: Births › Date unknown


text: Sultan-Khalil, Sultan of the Aq Qoyunlu


text: Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese naval and military commander


date: January 9

text: January 9 – Stefano Porcari, Italian nobleman and humanist politician


date: February 13

text: February 13 – Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq, Egyptian Mamluk sultan


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Orhan Çelebi, Ottoman prince


text: May 29 – Demetrios Palaiologos Metochites, Byzantine noble and ambassador


text: May 29 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor


date: June 2

text: June 2 or June 3 – Loukas Notaras, Byzantine statesman and naval commander


date: June 22

text: June 22 – Álvaro de Luna, Spanish knight and statesman


date: July 17

text: July 17 – John Talbot, 1st Viscount Lisle, English nobleman, son of the Earl of Shrewsbury


text: July 17 – John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English nobleman and military leader


date: July

text: July – Jacques de Lalaing, Burgundian knight


date: December 24

text: December 24 – John Dunstaple, English composer


text: Sophia of Lithuania, Grand Princess of Moscow

source_section: Deaths › Date unknown


text: Dmitry Shemyaka, claimant to the Principality of Moscow


text: Giovanni Giustiniani, Genoese mercenary


date: April 9

text: April 9 – Treaty of Lodi: Francesco Sforza forms a triple alliance between the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence and Kingdom of Naples.


date: June 13

text: June 13 – The canton of St. Gallen is accepted as an associate state of the Swiss Confederation.


date: October 9

text: October 9 – Thirteen Years' War: The Malbork treaty is concluded between the authorities of the Teutonic Order and the mercenary forces fighting for the Teutonic Order.


text: The Statutes of Nieszawa are enacted in Poland.


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland renounces allegiance to the Teutonic Knights and the Prussian Confederation pledges its allegiance to him.


date: March 27

text: March 27 – Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, becomes Protector for King Henry VI of England, who is in a catatonic state.


date: May 28

text: May 28 – King Casimir IV of Poland receives an oath of allegiance from the citizens of Toruń and other cities in the Chelmno area.


date: July 12

text: July 12 – Within the Duchy of Pomerania in Germany, the Hanseatic League town of Stralsund ends its resistance to the Pomeranian dukes and enters into a peace agreement.


date: July 31

text: July 31 – In France, the rebel Pierre II de Montferrand, former Governor of Baye, is beheaded, drawn and quartered after his July 14 conviction for treason. Shortly afterward, Montferrand is beheaded, then drawn and quartered.


date: September 18

text: September 18 – Thirteen Years' War – Battle of Chojnice: The Polish army is defeated by a smaller but more professional Teutonic army.


date: September 24

text: September 24 – At the Battle of Leskovac, Nikola Skobaljić, voivode of Dubočica, defeats Ottoman Turks invading Serbia.


date: October 2

text: October 2 – At the Battle of Kruševac, the Serbian Army, commanded by General Skobaljić with the assistance of troops from John Hunyadi and Đurađ Branković, destroys Ottoman invaders commanded by Feriz Beg.