On This Day In History Archive

AncientPages.com - On 20 May 1520, the Massacre in the Great Temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan took place as one of several incidents in the Spanish conquest of

AncientPages.com - On May 18, 1565, the Great Siege of Malta began, during which Ottoman forces attempted to conquer the islands but failed. The Siege of Malta, 1565

AncientPages.com - On May 16, 1863, the Battle of Champion Hill was fought. It was the largest, bloodiest, and most significant action of Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign. Thirty-two thousand advancing

AncientPages.com - On May 14, 1787, fifty-five State delegates from every state - except Rhode Island - met in Philadelphia to convene a Federal Convention (Constitutional Convention). The

AncientPages.com - On May 12, 1820,' Florence Nightingale known as Lady with the Lamp' -was born. She was a great person, widely acknowledged as the pioneer of modern nursing;

AncientPages.com - On 10th May, 28 BC, a sunspot was observed by astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty and was described as a

AncientPages.com - On May 8, 1846, the first battle of the Mexican War was fought at Palo Alto. The Battle of Palo Alto was the first critical engagement

AncientPages.com - The city of Rome had not been sacked for several centuries, but on May 6, 1527, it suffered the worst assault it had ever known, far

AncientPages.com - One of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses took place on May 4, 1471. It was the Battle of Tewkesbury, a historic riverside town in Gloucestershire. The

AncientPages.com - On May 2, 1611, the King James Bible was published for the first time,. It was England's authorized version of the Bible, translated from the original

AncientPages.com - Walpurgis Night is a traditional holiday celebrated on April 30 in northern Europe and Scandinavia. This holiday symbolizes spring and has very ancient roots. It came to

AncientPages.com - Two pilots Vladimir Kokkinaki and Mikhail Gordienko took off on a mission to fly between Moscow and America in the shortest possible time. The plane developed for

AncientPages.com - On April 26, 1900, seismologist Charles Richter was born near Hamilton, Ohio, USA. Richter became involved in earthquake engineering by promoting good earthquake building codes and proper

AncientPages.com - On April 24, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Earth, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the Hubble Space Telescope. This image of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope

AncientPages.com - On April 22, 1509, Henry VIII took the crown as the ruler of all England. Henry VIII is best known for his six wives, whose fate

AncientPages.com - On April 20, 1535, an atmospheric optical phenomenon known as the "Sun Dog" was observed over Stockholm. The painting that depicts the event was named "Weather Sun") (in Swedish: Vädersol)  and

AncientPages.com - On the evening of April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren instructed Paul Revere, a Boston silversmith, to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts to warn Sam Adams and John

AncientPages.com - The Battle of Rain (also called the Battle of the River Lech or Battle of Lech) was fought on April 15, 1632, during the Thirty Years’ War. The forces involved in this

AncientPages.com - On April 11, 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the most outstanding military leaders in history, abdicated the throne and was banished to

AncientPages.com - On April 6, 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was drafted and sent to Pope John XXII as a letter. The document, written in Latin, declares Scotland's independence and

AncientPages.com - On April 4, 1581, Francis Drake was knighted after completing his world circumnavigation. Queen Elizabeth herself knighted him. He is documented as the second person in history