Today in History ~ July 23 Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia         photo by Arnold Newman 1958 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum’s treasury. 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France. 1829 – In the United States, William […]

Today in History July 22 Happy Birthday Alex Trebek, with his wife Jean Currican Trebek 1456 – Ottoman wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade: John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire 1587 – Roanoke Colony: A second group of English settlers arrives on Roanoke Island off North […]

Today in History July 19 Musicians in the Orchestra, 1872, oil on canvas,  by Edgar Degas AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in […]

Today in History July 18 The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world’s first jet fighter aircraft. Click to watch and hear its jet engines. 390 BC – Roman-Gaulic Wars: Battle of the Allia – a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome 64 – Great Fire of Rome begins […]

Today in History July 17 The cover of Punch magazine volume 1, published in London in 1841. 1054 – Emperor Henry III crowns his son Henry IV king 1203 – Siege of Constantinople begins during the fourth Crusade, Crusaders aboad a Venetian fleet attack the city 1762 – Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon […]

Today in History July 16 The first atomic explsion 463 – Start of Lunar Cycle of Hilarius 622 – Moslem Era begins-Mahomet begins flight from Mecca to Medina 1054 – Three Roman legates fracture relations between Western and Eastern Christian churches by placing invalid Papal Bull of Excommunication on altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon […]

Today in History July 15 Rembrandt’s Danae was first painted in 1636, but later extensively reworked probably in the 1640s. It is in the Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia. 1099 – The first Crusaders capture, plunder Jerusalem 1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hung, drawn and quartered in the […]

Today in History July 12 Hamilton and Burr duel in New Jersey AD 70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after six months of battle. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple. 1806 – Sixteen German imperial states leave the Holy Roman […]

Today in History July 10 Tesla 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants. 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground. 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England. 1850 – President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, […]

Today in History July 9 Anne of Cleves was Queen of England from  January 6 to July 9, 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII  Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1539. 1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. The French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, […]