On This Day in History – December 11
Major Events 1282 – Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed Llywelyn’s death during conflict with English forces marks the effective end of independent Welsh rule.…
Major Events 1282 – Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed Llywelyn’s death during conflict with English forces marks the effective end of independent Welsh rule.…
Major Events 1520 – Martin Luther burns the papal bull Exsurge Domine After being threatened with excommunication, Luther publicly burns the decree condemning his teachings. This symbolic act intensifies the…
Major Events 536 – Belisarius enters Rome The Byzantine general Belisarius captures Rome from the Ostrogoths during Justinian I’s campaign to reconquer the former Western Roman territories. The victory marks…
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…