A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.

Mercury (mythology)Ancient RomeCircus MaximusAventine HillPalatine

Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.

Liu BeiShu HanHan dynasty

Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.

Valentinian IIGaulFranksArbogast (general)Vienne

King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.

AuthariTheodelindaBavariaGaribald I of BavariaCatholicism

The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople.

Constantine VIILeo VI the WiseByzantine EmpireEuthymius I of ConstantinopleConstantinople

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.

Pope Innocent IVPapal bullAd extirpandaHeresy in ChristianityMedieval Inquisition

Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.

InsurgencyAnabaptistThomas MüntzerBattle of FrankenhausenGerman Peasants' War

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.

Anne BoleynJury

Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.

Mary, Queen of ScotsJames Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).

Johannes KeplerKepler's laws of planetary motionMarch 8

The Treaty of Westphalia is signed.

Peace of Westphalia

James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.

James PuckleMachine gun

Robert Walpole effectively became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Robert WalpoleUnited Kingdom

American Revolution: The Fifth Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.

American RevolutionFifth Virginia ConventionContinental CongressLee ResolutionUnited States Declaration of Independence

French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.

French RevolutionMaximilien RobespierreSelf-denying Ordinance (French Revolution)

War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.

War of the First CoalitionKingdom of Sardinia

Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.

Diego Marín Aguilera

War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.

War of the First CoalitionNapoleonMilan

King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.

George III of the United KingdomJames Hadfield

Paraguay declares independence from Spain.

Paraguay

Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Friends HospitalPhiladelphia

Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.

Francis BailyBaily's beadsAnnular eclipse

Serfdom is abolished in the Habsburg Galicia, as a result of the 1848 revolutions. The rest of monarchy followed later in the year.

SerfdomHabsburg Galicia1848 revolutions

Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily.

Two SiciliesPalermoSicily

The Bloody Island massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry.

Bloody Island massacreLake County, California

The Arana-Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina.

Arana-Southern TreatyGreat BritainArgentina

The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.

Australian gold rushes

Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.

Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden

President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.

President of the United StatesAbraham LincolnUnited States Department of Agriculture

American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate Army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.

Battle of New MarketVirginiaVirginia Military InstituteConfederate States of AmericaUnion (American Civil War)