Today In History

[Jay Byrd]

1814   Napoleon's Marshal Nicholas Oudinot is pushed back at Barsur-Aube by the Emperor's allied enemies shortly before his abdication.

1827   The first Mardi-Gras celebration is held in New Orleans. - On this date in 1827 a group of masked and costumed students danced through the streets of New Orleans, La, marking the beginning of the city's famous Mardi Gras.  See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.KeDR8KBM.dpuf

[Jay Byrd]

1519   Hernando Cortez lands in what will become Mexico. - See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.2T3RN8PP.dpuf

[Rowan MacD]

1190: Massacre of the Jews at York
In one of the most shameful events in English history, an angry mob besieged Jewish residents of York in Clifford's Tower. Rather than be killed by their attackers, many of the Jews took their own lives, and some perished in the fire that followed. Those that survived the disaster were massacred.


Note: when visiting York in 2010; we climbed the hill to have a look at the tower.   I photographed the historical marker next to the tower at the top of the steps, and the other marker at the bottom.  I don't remember either one mentioning this event. 

[Jay Byrd]

1413         Henry IV of England is succeed by his son Henry V.

[Jay Byrd]

1657         France and England form an alliance against Spain.
1743         Handel's Messiah is performed for the first time in London.
1775         American revolutionary hero Patrick Henry, while addressing the House of Burgesses, declares "give me liberty, or give me death!"

[Jay Byrd]

1208         King John of England opposes Innocent III on his nomination for archbishop of Canterbury.
1603         Queen Elizabeth I dies which will bring into power James VI of Scotland.
1663         Charles II of England awards lands known as Carolina in North America to eight members of the nobility who      assisted in his restoration.
1664         In London, Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island.
1720         The banking houses of Paris close in the wake of financial crisis.
1721         In Germany, the supremely talented Johann Sebastian Bach publishes the Six Brandenburg Concertos.
1765         Britain passes the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private   buildings.

[Dinobabe]

I love these, thank you!

[Jay Byrd]

 708         Constantine begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
1634         Lord Baltimore founds the Catholic colony of Maryland.
1655         Puritans jail Governor Stone after a military victory over Catholic forces in the colony of Maryland.
1668         The first horse race in America takes place.
1776         The Continental Congress authorizes a medal for General George Washington.
1807         British Parliament abolishes the slave trade.

[Jay Byrd]

March 26th

1517         The famous Flemish composer Heinrich Issac dies.
1799         Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa, Palestine.
1804         Congress orders the removal of Indians east of the Mississippi River to Louisiana.
1804         The territory of New Orleans is organized in the Louisiana Purchase.
1827         German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven dies in Vienna. He had been deaf for the later part of his life, but said on his death bed "I shall hear in heaven."

[Jay Byrd]

March 27

1350       While besieging Gibraltar, Alfonso XI of Castile dies of the black death.
1512       Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sights Florida.
1802       The Treaty of Amiens is signed, ending the French Revolutionary War.

[Jay Byrd]

March, 30


1492         King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sign a decree expelling all Jews from Spain.
1840         "Beau" Brummell, the English dandy and former favorite of the prince regent, dies in a French lunatic asylum for paupers.

[Jay Byrd]

March 31

1282         The great massacre of the French in Sicily The Sicilian Vespers comes to an end.
1547         In France, Francis–king since 1515–dies and is succeeded by his son Henry II.
1776         Abigail Adams writes to husband John that women are "determined to foment a rebellion" if the new Declaration of Independence fails to guarantee their rights.
1779         Russia and Turkey sign a treaty by which they promise to take no military action in the Crimea.
1790         In Paris, France, Maximilien Robespierre is elected president of the Jacobin Club.
1836         The first monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is published in London.

[Rowan MacD]

    On this date in 1204; Eleanor of Aquitaine died.   
    Eleanor was one of the most powerful women of High Medieval Europe.
    As Countess of Poitou, Queen of France and later Queen of England as the wife of Henry II; she influenced politics, sponsored the Courtly Love movement, and even went on crusade with her husband.

[Jay Byrd]

April 1

On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

[Jay Byrd]

April 2


1513                Ponce de Leon discovers Florida
1796         Haitian revolt leader Toussaint L'Ouverture takes command of French forces at Santo Domingo.
1801         The British navy defeats the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen.