On This Day In History Archive

AncientPages.com - On December 17, 1790, the Sun Stone (Stone of the Five Eras), sometimes called the Aztec calendar stone, was rediscovered during repairs in Mexico City. The

AncientPages.com - On December 15, 1612, Simon Marius (1573 - 1624), a mathematician and astronomer, independently rediscovered the "Nebula in the Girdle of Andromeda," actually the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

AncientPages.com - On December 13, 1577, Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth with a five-ship flotilla on the dangerous path that killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan 50 years earlier.

AncientPages.com - On December 11, 1792, King Louis XVI of France was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. Louis XVI (also known as Louis Capet)

AncientPages.com - On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is considered the world’s

AncientPages.com - On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a surprise military strike against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack was

AncientPages.com - On December 5, 771, Charlemagne became the King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman. Charlemagne, son of King Pepin the Short, succeeded

AncientPages.com - On December 3, 1872, a translation from Babylonian cuneiform tablets of the Chaldean account of the deluge was read by George Smith (1840 - 1876), an English

AncientPages.com - On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks disobeyed an order to give up her seat in the black section of the bus to a white passenger. She

AncientPages.com - On November 30, 1853, the Battle of Sinop (Sinope) took place at Sinop, a sea port in northern Anatolia, when a squadron of Imperial Russian warships struck and defeated

AncientPages.com - On Nov. 28, 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait. The strait was later named The Strait of

AncientPages.com - On November 27, 1701, Anders Celsius, a Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (1701-1744), was born. He invented the centigrade (Celsius) temperature scale commonly used in Europe and founded

AncientPages.com - On November 24, 1996, Sorley MacLean, one of the most distinguished poets, died. Sorley MacLean, (in Gaelic: Somhairle Macgill-Eain) will be remembered as one of the greatest

AncientPages.com - On November 22, 1307, a Papal Bull, the so-called “Pastoralis Praeeminentiae” was issued by Pope Clement V to all Christian monarchs. Monarchs of Christendom were given

AncientPages.com - On November 19, 1703, "the man in the iron mask" died in the Bastille in Paris, France. He was buried under name "Marchioly," and his age was

AncientPages.com - On November 17, 1810, Sweden declared war on its ally, the United Kingdom. On this day, the Anglo-Swedish War begins, but according to sources, no fighting

AncientPages.com - On November 15, 1280, Albertus Magnus known as Albert The Great or "Universal Doctor - died. He was born ca. 1200 and educated at the University

AncientPages.com - On November 13, 1093, died Malcolm III, King of Scots from 1058 to 1093. He was nicknamed Canmore (in Scottish Gaelic: "Great Chief," Malcolm ruled for 35

AncientPages.com - On November 11, 1805, the battle of Durnstein took place in the Wachau valley, on the river Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from Vienna, Austria. It

AncientPages.com - On 9 November 1729, the Treaty of Seville was signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain, concluding the Anglo-Spanish War (1727). Preliminary discussions had already taken place

AncientPages.com - On November 7, 1492, the Ensisheim meteorite was observed to fall in a wheat field outside the walled town of Ensisheim in then Alsace, Further Austria