Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.

Dong ZhuoLuoyang

Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.

Byzantine EmperorBasiliscusMonophysitismChristological

Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.

Siege of Rome (537-38)BelisariusHunsSlavsArchery

Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.

Battle of LegnicaMongol Empire

Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.

Mongol invasions of VietnamYuan dynastyTrần dynastyBattle of Bạch Đằng (1288)

Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.

Old Swiss ConfederacyArchduchy of AustriaBattle of Näfels

Henry V is crowned King of England.

Henry V of EnglandKingdom of England

Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.

Christopher of BavariaKalmar Union

The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.

Treaty of Lodi

St John's College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.

St John's College, CambridgeLady Margaret Beaufort

The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.

Walter RaleighRoanoke IslandNorth CarolinaRoanoke Colony

Eighty Years' War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.

Eighty Years' WarSpanish EmpireDutch RepublicTreaty of Antwerp (1609)

Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the "Expulsion of the Moriscos".

Philip III of SpainExpulsion of the Moriscos

Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La SalleMississippi RiverLouisiana (New France)

American War of Independence: Battle of the Saintes begins.

American War of IndependenceBattle of the Saintes

On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.

PhonautographÉdouard-Léon Scott de MartinvilleHistory of sound recording

American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.

American Civil WarRobert E. LeeArmy of Northern VirginiaUlysses S. GrantAppomattox Courthouse, Virginia

The U.S. Congress passes the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act.

United States CongressPayne-Aldrich Tariff Act

Mexican Revolution: One of the world's first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.

Mexican RevolutionAction of 9 April 1914

World War I: The Battle of Verdun: German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.

World War IBattle of Verdun

World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.

Battle of Arras (1917)Canadian CorpsVimy Ridge

World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.

Battle of the Lys (1918)Portuguese Expeditionary CorpsSpring OffensiveFlanders

The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.

BessarabiaUnion of Bessarabia with RomaniaKingdom of Romania

The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.

Kamikaze (1937 aircraft)Croydon Airport

Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall.

Marian AndersonLincoln MemorialDaughters of the American RevolutionConstitution Hall

World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

World War IIOperation WeserübungNazi Germany

Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.

Vidkun Quisling

World War II: The Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March: United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island's east coast.

Battle of BataanBataan Death MarchBataan PeninsulaImperial Japanese NavyTrincomalee

Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, anti-Nazi dissident and spy, by the Nazi regime.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force

German cruiser Admiral ScheerRoyal Air Force