History
Ancient
1184 BC Troy Captured- The Greeks united under the command of Agamemnon to
attack Troy on Asia minor. The Trojans were besieged for a lengthy period before
submitting to the Greeks.
1070 BC Collapse of Assyria- The Assyrian Empire collapsed under the assault of
Aramaeans and Babylonians. The Assyrian Empire reasserted itself under the reign of
Assurdan II.
395 - 387 BC Corinthian War - With the help of the Persians, Athens and other Greek
city-states organized to challenge Sparta once again. In the course of the war, both sides
won victories, but Sparta finally negotiated a peace with the Persians which was known
as the 'King's Peace' which ended the war.
371 BC Battle At Leuctra -Sparta was defeated at the Battle of Leuctra by Epaeminondas
of Thebes. This defeat shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility and ended Sparta's
hegemony over Greece.
300 BC Euclid Publishes Elements-The Greek mathmatician Euclid living in Alexandria,
published a 13 volume work called Elements. It laid out for the first time the principals of
geometry.
753 BC Rome Founded- According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. Its
traditional founder was Romulus, said to be the son of a princess of Alba Longa. In truth,
we know little about the actual founding of the city. The first settlement in Rome most
likely took place on Palatine Hill near the Tiber River.
483 BC Buddha - In 483 B.C. Gautama Buddha died. He was the founder of Buddhism.
Shortly after his death, 500 disciples met to further refine his doctrine and code of
discipline.
240 BC Archemides Shows Value Of Pi- Archemides the Greek mathmatician was the
first to determine the value of pi. He also successfully calculated the area of a circle.
44 BC Caesar Assassinated- Despite Caesar's many accomplishments and general
popularity, there remained a group of disaffected citizens. Most were former Antony
supporters who had been pardoned and given positions of responsibility by Caesar. The
ringleader of what became a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar was Longinus Caius
Cassius. He was joined by Marcus Junius Brutus. A meeting of the Senate was called for
the 15th (the Ides) of March to discuss the Parthian War. Caesar had been warned not to
attend the session, but went anyway. The moment Caesar took his seat, the conspirators
surrounded him. They began to petition him to recall from banishment a certain Cimber.
When Caesar arose, they attacked him with knives. It is said that Caesar tried to defend
himself, but when he saw Brutus among the attackers he cried out 'Et Tu, Brutus' and
succumbed. The death of Caesar was followed by a power struggle between Mark
Antony and Julius Octavian.
European
337 AD Constantine The Great Dies And Empire Divides- In 337 A.D., Constantine died.
He left his empire to his sons. The empire soon found itself divided with the Western
Roman Empire governed from Rome by Constans and the Eastern Roman Empire
governed by Constantius II.
500 AD Arthur's Victory Over Saxons-The legendary Arthur won a battle against the
Saxons at Mound Badon in Dorset, in Southern England. This slowed the Saxon conquest
of England.
503 - 557 AD Persian-Roman Wars- Between 503 and 557 A.D.,three successive wars -interrupted by periods of peace -- are fought between the Persian Empire and the Eastern
Roman Empire. All have the same basic cause -- an inability to define the borders and the
relationship between the two empires. In 567 a 'definitive' peace was reached. Under its
terms, Rome agreed to pay the Persians 30,000 pieces of gold annually. The borders
between the empire were reaffirmed, Christian worship was to be protected in the Persian
Empire, and regulation of trade and diplomatic relations were laid out.
630 AD Mecca Falls - Muhammad- Muhammed organized the commonwealth of Islam
in and around Mecca. A series of battles was fought between Mecca and Medina. Under
the Treaty of Hudaybiya, Muhammad's followers were finally given the right to
undertake pilgrimages to Mecca. But when this right was denied them, they took control
of the city.
800 AD Charlemagne- Emperor Of The West- Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the
West by Pope Leo III on December 25th -- Christmas Day -- in St. Peters Church. Pope
Leo allowed Charlemagne to clear himself of a series of charges. The coronation of
Charlemagne represented an irrevocable breach between Constantinople and Rome.
1066 AD Battle Of Hasting- At the Battle of Hastings, the Norman, William the
Conqueror defeated Harold II, King of England. The victory led to the complete
domination of England by the Normans. On December 25th, William was crowned King
of England at Westminster Abbey.
1215 AD Magna Carta- In 1215, a group of determined barons forced King John of
England to sign the Magna Carta. Under the terms of Magna Carta, jury and protection
granted the British aristocracy the rights of trial from arbitrary acts by the King.
1229 AD Great Khan- Genghis Khan died in 1227. By that time, he had captured much of
the Persian Empire, and had led raids as far away as the Steppes of Russia. Genghis Khan
was succeeded by his third son, Ogadai. Ogadai, whose title became 'the Great Khan'
subdued the Chin dynasty in northern China, and ravaged much of Eastern Europe.
1429-Joan of Arc Frees Orleans
1450 AD Printing Press Invented- In 1450, Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing
press. The invention of the press revolutionized communication and education, allowing
the development of newspapers, as well as reasonably priced books. The first product of
the press was the Guttenberg Bible.
1492 AD Columbus Sets Sails For New World - Isabella, Queen of Spain financed the
voyage of Christopher Columbus. His goal was to find a sea route to the Orient by sailing
westward. He set sail on August 3, 1492 in his flagship the Santa Maria with 52 men
aboard. Also sailing was the smaller Pinta and Nina. On October 12th land is sighted.
1492 AD Moors Driven out of Spain -On January 2, 1492 Granada surrendered to
Isabella and Ferdinand. Granada was the last Muslim Kingdom in Spain and this marked
the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain.
1494 AD Treaty of Tordesillas - The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed which divided the
world between Portuguese and Spanish lands. The Spanish received all of the land to the
West and the Portuguese to the East. This gave Portugal Africa while Spain received all
of the new world with the exception of Brazil.
1517-Martin Luther Nail Thesis to Church
1534-England Breaks with the Church of Rome
1547-Ivan the Terrible Czar of all the Russians
1558-Elizabethan Age Begins
1588-England defeats Spanish Armada
1613-Michael Romanov Founds Russian Romanov Dynasty
1648-Treaty of Westphalia (End of Thirty Year’s War)
1642-1648-English Civil War
1685-Edict of Nantes Revoked
1690-John Locke Publishes Two Treatsies of Government
1701-1713-The War of Spanish succession breaks out when Charles II dies and names
the grandson of Louis IV, Phillip V, King of France. The Hapsburgs who coveted the
crown and had claims on the throne went to war over the succession. A grand alliance
was formed that included the England, Holland, Austria and later Brandenburg, to oppose
Louis IV and Bourbon France. The war was to last for 11 years and was fought overseas
in Italy and in the Spanish colonies.
1740-1748-The death of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI on October 20, 1740
begins a contest of succession. Maria Theresa queen of Hungary claims her right to
succeed her father. The King of Saxony, the elector of Bavaria and Spain’s Phillip V
contest that right. Thus begins the War of Austrian succession that will embroil Europe
for most of the next eight years.
1756-Maria Theresa the ruler of Austria was unwilling to accept the loss of Silesia and
she took steps to develop alliances to restore it. She accomplished a diplomatic revolution
by creating an alliance between France and Austria. Great Britain had meanwhile allied
itself with Prussia. France entered into an alliance with Sweden who then entered into an
alliance with Denmark aimed against France. Thus the stage was set for a world war. It
began when Prussia under Frederick the Great invaded Saxony. Austria, France, Russia
and Sweden then declared war on Prussia and England soon declared war on France.
1789-Start of the French Revolution
1805-Battle of Trafalgar-British defeat the French
1814-Congress of Vienna
1815-Battle of Waterloo
1815-German Confederation Established
1854-1856-Crimean War
1871-Paris Commune
1881-A bomb in St Petersburg assassinated Alexander II Czar of Russia on March 13,
1881. The Czar who had reigned for 26 years is succeeded by his 36 year old son
Aleksander III.
1890-Bismark Resigns
1905-Revolts in Russia
1914-Archduke Francis Ferdinand Assassinated (WWI 1914-1918)
1922-Mussolini Seized Power in Italy
1933-Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
1939-1945-WWII
1989-Berlin Wall Comes Down
American
1772-1786-American Revolution
1788-Constituiton ratified
1812 War Of 1812
1846 Mexican War
1861-1865-Civil War-North Wins
1863- Gettysburg
1865-Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
1917- US Enters WWI
1929- Stock Market Crash
1942-US enters WWII
1950-1953-Korean War
1962-Cuban Missile Crisis
1968-Tet Offensive In Vietnam
2001- 9/11 Attack on New York and Washington DC