Construction of town walls in Celje (in today’s Slovenia) were started in 1450 and finished in 1473 In the year 1473, Leonardo da Vinci signs his drawing Landscape with a river, described as the first example of a pure landscape depiction in European art (Aug 5), Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan, invades the territory of the neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco, the city walls and defensive moat are built in Celje, Duchy of Styria, extreme heat causes the Danube to dry out in parts of Europe - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, painted ca 1495-1498 In the year 1497, Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World (May 10), Vasco da Gama’s fleet departs from Lisbon, beginning his expedition to India (Jul 8), King of Denmark defeats Sten Sture the Elder at the Battle of Rotebro in Sweden (Sep 28), the Dominican church Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, containing the mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, is completed – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

“Last Of Gas Lamps Of London”, painting by Guneet Kaur (2017) In the year 1417, King Henry V of England begins using English in correspondence, marking the beginning of the restoration of English as an official language for the first time since the Norman Conquest some 350 years earlier (Aug 12), Henry V of England captures Caen, Normandy, which remains in English hands until 1450 (Sep 20), the use of street lighting is first recorded in London when the mayor orders lanterns with lights to be hung out on the winter evenings between Hallowtide and Candlemas – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492), Queen of England (1464-1470 and 1471-1483) In the year 1464, Edward IV of England marries Elizabeth Woodville, keeping the marriage a secret for five months (May 1), England and Scotland sign a 15-year-truce (Jun 11), Christian I of Denmark and Norway is no more king of Sweden (Jun 23), and Charles VIII of Sweden is re-elected to the throne of Sweden (Aug 9), Tenguella, the founder of the Empire of Great Fulo in Western Africa, becomes chief of the Fula people, still one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans. A painting by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, picture credit Tijmen Stam In the year 1429, Joan of Arc enters Orléans with a relief expedition, the Battle of Orleans becoming the watershed of the Hundred Years' War between France and England (Apr 29), the last English siege fortification at Orléans falls as Joan of Arc becomes the hero of the battle by returning, wounded, to lead the final charge (May 7), fire destroys the city of Turku in Finland, Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand is completed - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1469, King Edward IV of England is taken prisoner after the Battle of Edgecote Moor (Jul 26), Edward is released and resumes the throne (Sep), Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Castile, thus unifying Spain (Oct 19), Moctezuma I dies and is succeeded by Axayacatl as the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan - and all these fine people were born: 1469-0213 Elia Levita* Hebrew grammarian/scholar/poet - Neustadt, Holy Roman Empire (1549/79) Continue reading

The Nantes Cathedral, completed 457 years later, in 1891 In the year 1434, the foundation stone of Nantes Cathedral in France is laid (Apr 14), miner Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson begins a rebellion against King Eric of Pomerania (Jun), eventually leading the king to lose his power in Sweden (Aug 16), the Medici family rises to prominence in Florence, Portuguese traders deliver their first cargo of African slaves to Lisbon - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1402, Welsh rebels defeat the English on the England/Wales border (Jun 22), the English Parliament passes penal Laws against Wales (Sep), Northern English nobles defeat a Scottish raiding army and capture their leader (Sep 14), the University of Würzburg is founded, the colonization of the Canary Islands marks the beginning of the Spanish Empire - and all these fine people were born: 1402-0206 Louis I* the Landgrave of Hesse - Spangenberg (1458/55) Continue reading

A letterpress machine from 1811 at the Deutsches Museum in Münich, Germany, not much different from the Gutenberg Press of 1454. Photo credit Andrew Plumb In the year 1454, the Thirteen Years' War begins as the citizens of Toruń rebel against the Teutonic Knights (Feb 2), Richard Plantagenet becomes Protector for King Henry VI of England who is in a catatonic state (Mar 27), King Henry regains his sanity (Dec), Isaac Zarfati, a French living in Ottoman Empire, sends a circular letter to several places in the Holy Roman Empire, urging the abused Jews there to come and live in the Ottoman Empire instead, the press of Johannes Gutenberg produces the first printed documents bearing a date - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1441, King’s College in Cambridge is founded (Feb 12), Christopher of Bavaria becomes the King of Sweden (Sep 13), the Peace of Cremona ends the war between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan (Nov 20), the Maya civilization splits into warring city-states, the first black African slaves are brought to Europe at Lagos in Kingdom of Portugal - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1485, the first outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins (Aug 5), King Henry VII of England is crowned, becoming the first monarch of the House of Tudor (Oct 30), Leonardo da Vinci starts producing a number of designs for flying machines, Leon Battista Alberti’s De Re Aedificatoria (published posthumously) becomes the first printed work on architecture - and all these fine people were born: 1485-xxxx Giovanni da Verrazzano* Florentine explorer of North America - Val di Greve, Republic of Florence (1528/c. Continue reading

In the year 1499, Polydore Vergil completes De inventoribus rerum, the first modern history of inventions (Aug), Vasco da Gama returns to Lisboa after his first voyage (to India) (Sep 18), the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I is forced to grant the Swiss de facto independence in the Treaty of Basel (Sep 22), the Rebellion of the Alpujarras begins in the Kingdom of Granada, incited by the forced conversions to Catholicism of the Muslims living there (Dec 18) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, Finland In the year 1475, Krim becomes a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire (Jun 1) , Edward IV of England lands in Calais to support the Duchy of Burgundy against France (Jul 4), George of Bavaria marries the Polish princess Hedwig Jagiellon, thus creating a strong alliance against the Ottoman Empire (Nov 14), building of the Olavinlinna Castle in eastern Finland near the Russian border begins - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The New Town Hall in Prague, the site of the First Defenestration of Prague In the year 1419, Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, which brings Normandy under the control of England (Jan 19), the first Defenestration of Prague occurs in Bohemia, leading later to the Hussite Wars (Jul 30), Madeira Islands are discovered by the Portuguese, the University of Rostock is established - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Harlech Castle, built between 1282 and 1289 onto a rocky knoll by the Irish Sea in northern Wales In the year 1409, the Welsh surrender Harlech Castle to the English (Jan 1), the controversial ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, the Council of Pisa, opens (Mar 25) and deposes popes (Jun 5), the University of Leipzig opens (Dec 2), the University of Aix-Marseille is founded as University of Province (Dec 9), admiral of the Ming empire fleet from China deposes the king of Sri Lanka - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The Bulgarian Empire 681–1018 and 1185–1396/1422. Picture credit CC BY-SA 3.0, Link In the year 1422, the ninth month old Henry VI becomes King of England (Aug 31), Treaty of Melno establishes the Prussian–Lithuanian border and it remains unchanged until World War I (Sep 27), Henry VI is proclaimed King of France (Oct 21), Ottoman forces overrun the last domains of Constantine II of Bulgaria, thus ending the Bulgarian Empire - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1439, Władysław III’s army defeats the Hussite movement in Poland (May 4), Eric of Pomerania, King of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, is declared deposed in Sweden where Karl Knutsson Bonde continues to serve as Regent (Sep 29-Oct 1), Plymouth becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament (Nov 12), Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press, Strasbourg Cathedral is completed - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1489, the Queen of Cyprus sells her kingdom to the Republic of Venice (Mar 14), Arthur Tudor is named Prince of Wales (Nov 29), typhus first appears in Europe, Johannes Widmann publishes his mercantile book containing the first printed use of plus and minus signs (in order to indicate trading surpluses or shortages) - and all these fine people were born: 1489-xxxx Margareta von Melen* (b Vasa) second cousin of King Gustav Vasa - Sweden (1541/c. Continue reading

A page from The Mentelin Bible In the year 1466, Karl Knutsson is asked to be the King of Sweden, again (Nov 1), the Kingdom of Georgia collapses into anarchy, the first printed German language Bible is produced, Louis XI of France introduces silk weaving to Lyon, the first known shop specialising in eyeglasses opens in Strasbourg - and all these fine people were born: 1466-xxxx Moctezuma II* a.k.a. Montezuma, 9th and the most famous ruler of the Aztec Empire/son of Axayacatl - (1520/c. Continue reading

In the year 1479, Ferdinand II ascends the throne of Aragon, and rules together with his wife Isabella I over most of the Iberian peninsula (Jan 20), Christopher Columbus marries Felipa Perestrelo Moniz, and receives as dowry her late father’s maps and papers (May 13), Munich Frauenkirche is completed - and all these fine people were born: 1479-0313 Lazarus Spengler* leader of the Protestant Reformation in Nuremberg/hymnwriter - Nuremberg, Germany (1534/55) Continue reading