Video: 'MacBeth - Scottish History - The Last Highland King'
(Friday, August 15, 1057) — Macbeth, King of Scots, was killed today at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, the eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain. Continue reading King Macbeth killed at Battle of Lumphanan 960 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 15 1057)
Video: 'John Cabot - Mini Biography'
(Saturday, June 24, 1497) — The first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place today as explorer John Cabot spotted land, somewhere between Halifax and southern Labrador in present-day Canada. Continue reading First recorded sighting of North America by a European 520 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 24 1497)
Video: 'C-SPAN Cities Tour - Virginia Beach: History of Cape Henry'
(Sunday, April 26, 1607) — English colonists went ashore today at present-day Cape Henry, Virginia, on an expedition to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere. Continue reading English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia 410 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 26 1607)
Video: 'How America Got Its Name'
(Sunday, April 25, 1507) — A world map produced today by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term “America,” in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. Continue reading First map bearing the name ‘America’ produced 510 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 25 1507)
Video: 'Documentary | Henry VIII - The Most Iconic King of English History'
(Friday, January 28, 1547) — England’s King Henry VIII, best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled, died today at the age of 55 in the Palace of Whitehall; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI. Continue reading England’s King Henry VIII dies 470 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 28 1547)
Video: 'BBC The Normans. Conquest'
(Thursday, September 28, 1066; during the Norman conquest of England) — An army of Norman, Breton and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy (later styled as William the Conqueror) landed at Pevensey Bay today, launching an invasion and occupation of England.
Video: '2nd September 1666: Great Fire of London breaks out in Pudding Lane'
(Sunday, September 2, 1666, a little after midnight local time) — A large fire broke out in the City of London today in the house of a baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge, destroying more than 13,000 buildings including Old St Paul’s Cathedral, over the next three days. Only six verified deaths were recorded.
Video: 'The Execution of Anne Boleyn'
(Friday, May 19, 1536) — Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was beheaded today after being convicted of adultery.
Video: 'William Shakespeare - Mini Biography'
(Tuesday, April 23, 1616) — William Shakespeare, an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist, died today in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, at the age of 52.
Video: 'Teach Astronomy - Galileo and the Church'
(Monday, February 26, 1616) — Astronomer Galileo Galilei met today with a Roman Inquisition official, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, who ordered him to abandon the “heretical” concept of heliocentrism, which held that the earth revolved around the sun, instead of the other way around.
