May 1028 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king. 1294 – Temür, Khagan of the Mongols, is enthroned as Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World. 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
April 201303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet, under heavy fire from the shore, at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City). 1752 – Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
August 28475 – The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna. 489 – Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy. 632 – Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, dies, with her cause of death being a controversial topic among the Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. 663 – Silla–Tang armies crush the Baekje restoration attempt and force Yamato Japan to withdraw from Korea in the Battle of Baekgang.
November 18326 – The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated by Pope Sylvester I. 401 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy. 1095 – The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land. 1105 – Maginulfo is elected Antipope Sylvester IV in opposition to Pope Paschal II. 1210 – Pope Innocent III excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV for invading the Kingdom of Sicily after promising to recognize papal control over it.
January 1January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. TOC 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1. 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year. 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.
March 291430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice. 1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses. 1549 – The city of Salvador, Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded. 1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629. 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm's Royal Opera 13 days earlier.
June 29226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of Wei. 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway, leading to his excommunication by the Catholic Church and civil war. 1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll. 1457 – The Dutch city of Dordrecht is devastated by fire 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island.
November 6447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers. 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is deposed on charges of an armed rebellion against Otto. 1217 – The Charter of the Forest is sealed at St Paul's Cathedral, London by King Henry III, acting under the regency of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke which re-establishes for free men rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs.
August 3070 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. 1282 – Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. 1363 – The five-week Battle of Lake Poyang begins, in which the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders (Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang) meet to decide who will supplant the Yuan dynasty. 1420 – A 9.4 MS-strong earthquake shakes Chile's Atacama Region causing tsunamis in Chile as well as Hawaii and Japan. 1464 – Pope Paul II succeeds Pope Pius II as the 211th pope.
March 3473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi. 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.