Major Events 1660 – The first female actor appears on an English stage After centuries of male-only performers, Margaret Hughes becomes the first woman to legally perform on the public…

  Major Events 43 BCE – Cicero is assassinated The Roman statesman, philosopher, and orator is killed on the orders of Mark Antony. Cicero’s writings on rhetoric, politics, and ethics…

Major Events 1240 – The Mongols sack Kiev Batu Khan’s forces capture and devastate the city of Kiev, then one of Eastern Europe’s major cultural and political centers. The Mongol…

Major Events 1492 – Christopher Columbus reaches Hispaniola On his first voyage across the Atlantic, Columbus lands on the island now shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. His arrival…

Major Events 771 – Charlemagne becomes sole King of the Franks After the death of his brother Carloman I, Charlemagne becomes the sole ruler of the Frankish kingdom. This consolidation…

Major Events 1800 – The Battle of Hohenlinden French forces under General Moreau defeat the Austrian army in Bavaria. The victory helps end the War of the Second Coalition and…

Major Events 1804 – Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French In a dramatic ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte takes the crown from Pope Pius VII…

Major Events 800 – Charlemagne judges Leo III in Rome After surviving an assassination attempt, Pope Leo III faces a tribunal led by Charlemagne. The emperor’s political influence becomes undeniable,…