Historical Fact of the Day

[King Jan III Sobieski]

Please feel free to post a historical fact of the day. Just keep it clean, please. I don't want to have another of my threads closed because of spammers. Thank you...

[King Jan III Sobieski]

Tomorrow (June 17th) is the 313th anniversary of the John III Sobieski's passing.

John III Sobieski (Polish: Jan III Sobieski) (17 August 1629 - 17 June 1696) was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilisation, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and Khmelnytsky Uprising. Popular among his subjects, he was also a brilliant military commander, most famous for the victory over the Turks in the 1683 Battle of Vienna. For his victories over the Ottoman Empire, he was dubbed by the Turks the "Lion of Lechistan."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_III_Sobieski

[Ice]

June 16th, 1918


Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

[Ice]

Come on guys... contribute

June 17th:
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bunker Hill
1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic

[Megas Methuselah]

June 18

1815 - Battle of Waterloo

Poor Napoleon. I was really rooting for him, too.

[Noddy The Beefy Egg]

1792: Poland is gone forever

And be sure to visit my unified polish-lithuanian AAR for kingdoms

P.S. and isnt singer neil sedaka polish because his last name looked polish?

[King Kurt]

Today the 19th June

240 -BC- Eratosthenes estimates circumference of Earth

1566 Birth of James VI of Scotland. Upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, he ascended the English throne as James I

1586 - English colonists sailed away from Roanoke Island, NC, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in America.

1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln outlined his Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in U.S. territories.

1953: Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of passing nuclear weapons information to the Soviet Union, are executed.

1978: Botham bowls into cricket history
Cricketing star Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.

Now that is a good mix

[King Jan III Sobieski]

June 19th:

1179 – The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle changes the tide of the civil wars.

1269 – King Louis IX of France orders all Jews found in public without an identifying yellow badge to be fined ten livres of silver.

1306 – The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven.

1586 – English colonists leave Roanoke Island, N.C., after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in America.

[Megas Methuselah]

June 19th (Yes, I'm 4 hours late. Shuddup.)

1816 - Battle of Seven Oaks, part of the Company Wars in Rupert's Land, modern-day central/western Canada

A band of armed Métis had recovered stolen pemmican from the Hudson's Bay Company, and were on the move to sell it to their employers, the North West Company (an act which was forbidden by the HBC). Robert Semple, governor of the Red River Colony, a colony established by leading shareholders of the HBC, gathered some HBC men and colonists to intercept the Métis. This party, including Semple, was almost completely annihilated by the Métis, who themselves suffered minimal casualties.

[Ibrahim]

21st june: pluto's moons were named Nix and Hydra in 2006.

not much-it seems to be a quiet day

[King Jan III Sobieski]

I know it occurs on a different date each year, but since today is Father's Day in the U.S.:

"The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5, 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South of Fairmont. The church still exists under the name of Central United Methodist Church." [Wikipedia]

[Quintus.JC]

22nd June: 2226 years ago on the same day the battle of Raphia was fought between Ptolemy Philopator and Antiochus the Great; with the Egyptians eventually emerged victorious because of their superior native Egyptian phalanx which routed their Seleucid counterparts. The result of this battle bore little historical significance, apart from being a playable historical battle in the award-winning PC game Rome: Total War.

Very interesting thread idea btw.

[Noncommunist]

Operation Barbarossa started 68 years ago.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Please, there is Wikipedia for this. Which is where people probably get the info to post it here. I personally check Wikipedia everyday in case I can use the anniversary of the historical event to utter something witty and knowledgeable during the day when something related comes up

But yes, Barbarossa is a major event indeed. Any Russian knows his day by heart and it is a national day of mourning in Russia. Not as official, but nevertheless no events with any celebratory connotations are held during this day. Last year, for instance, a school in my city that I used to go to was going to have the graduation on June 22, but it was postponed.

[King Jan III Sobieski]

June 22 is the anniversary of the Battle of Raphia.

It is also the one-month anniversary of my having become unemployed.

[rotorgun]

On this day, 22 June in 431, the Council of Ephesus met to discuss the divine nature of the Christ. Nestorius, the bishop of Constantinople claimed that Christ had a dual nature, both sinner and divine, which was denounced as heresy. Although it is called the First Council of Ephesus, it is often referred to as the 3rd Ecumenical Council; the 1st is known as the Council of Nicaea, held in 325; the 2nd took place in 381 in Constantinople.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Ephesus

[King Kurt]

On this day - 1986 - in Mexico City - a small Argentinian footballer robbed England of their World Cup destiny. Yes Maradona and "the Hand of God" cheated our gallant English football team of a place in the World Cup semi finals - and as Argentina went on to win the competition he robbed us of the trophy as well. Admittingly he also scored the best goal in World Cup history in the same game, but we have never forgiven him - still, we still have the Falklands, so we do have the last laugh.

[Sarmatian]

On this day - 1986 - in Mexico City - a small Argentinian footballer robbed England of their World Cup destiny. Yes Maradona and "the Hand of God" cheated our gallant English football team of a place in the World Cup semi finals - and as Argentina went on to win the competition he robbed us of the trophy as well. Admittingly he also scored the best goal in World Cup history in the same game, but we have never forgiven him - still, we still have the Falklands, so we do have the last laugh.

That's divine retribution for the victory in the finals you stole 1966

[Quintus.JC]

23/24 June 1314: Battle of Bannockburn

Sensational victory for Robert the Bruce and Scotland which effectively ended the First War of Scottish Independence. The battle features most prominent use of the schiltrom formation by the Scottish pikemen, the English knights fail to make an impression on the pikes without archers' support. With Edward II fleeing the battle turned into a rout, with devastating result for the English army.

[rotorgun]

23/24 June 1314: Battle of Bannockburn

Sensational victory for Robert the Bruce and Scotland which effectively ended the First War of Scottish Independence. The battle features most prominent use of the schiltrom formation by the Scottish pikemen, the English knights fail to make an impression on the pikes without archers' support. With Edward II fleeing the battle turned into a rout, with devastating result for the English army.

Thus it was once more proved that horses are often smarter than their riders, as any horseman with any brains should know that a horse just won't commit suicide by impaling itself on a pike!

[King Kurt]

23/24 June 1314: Battle of Bannockburn

Sensational victory for Robert the Bruce and Scotland which effectively ended the First War of Scottish Independence. The battle features most prominent use of the schiltrom formation by the Scottish pikemen, the English knights fail to make an impression on the pikes without archers' support. With Edward II fleeing the battle turned into a rout, with devastating result for the English army.

Ah yes - Bannockburn - where we let the Scots win for once to encourage a false sense of security!!!

[KrooK]

TO GUY WHO WROTE ABOUT 1792

POLAND
1. EXIST,
2. EXISTED
3. WILL BE EXIST

WHICH IS OUT OF DISCUSSION

[Quintus.JC]

Thus it was once more proved that horses are often smarter than their riders, as any horseman with any brains should know that a horse just won't commit suicide by impaling itself on a pike!

I've always wondered about that; whether do the horsemen really charge into forest of pikes and stakes in a suicidal attack knowing that they would be killed? Historically stakes and pikes only deterred enemy cavalry from attacking head-on, but claimed few casualties. Most horsemen retreated to find another way or dismounted, those that were foolish enough to charge often met a grisly end. At the battle of Nicopolis the Ottoman supposedly used stakes to great effect in countering the French cavalry forces, but I still don't have this pike wall and schiltrom formation completely figured out.

Ah yes - Bannockburn - where we let the Scots win for once to encourage a false sense of security!!!

Well, both Wars of Scottish Independence ended in eventual triumph for the Scots and Scotland remained independent from English rule until the Stuarts, so I wouldn't exactly say false security. Anyhow the English were always in an advantageous position; their army more numerous, better trained and equiped, also more experienced in most cases. Bravery and courage did the Scots little good until the right leader came along, but in the end they did enough.

[Sarmatian]

I've always wondered about that; whether do the horsemen really charge into forest of pikes and stakes in a suicidal attack knowing that they would be killed? Historically stakes and pikes only deterred enemy cavalry from attacking head-on, but claimed few casualties. Most horsemen retreated to find another way or dismounted, those that were foolish enough to charge often met a grisly end. At the battle of Nicopolis the Ottoman supposedly used stakes to great effect in countering the French cavalry forces, but I still don't have this pike wall and schiltrom formation completely figured out.

It forced the French knights to dismount, yes but they didn't charge against the spikes, if that's what you meant, I'm not sure I got it right.

The whole point of pike or spear wall is to present what looks as unmovable object. Horses, even when trained as war horses, tend to slow down or try to go around it, because it is not in their nature hit with full speed into something they perceive as a solid object. On the other end of the spectrum, with the pike/spear infantry, they need to hold their ground even though there is a lot of armoured men on armoured horses with something long and pointy rolling down towards them at high speed. It isn't in the nature of men hold their ground in such case. Your instinct would tell you to run or move. It depends a lot on morale and training. Troops with low morale and poor training will instinctively try to move and thus create gaps. In the worst case they would turn around and run. Of course anything that weakens the cohesion of the group will only make it worse for infantry. Because the horses don't see it no longer as a solid object, they would be less inclined to slow down or try to move around it, and it would bring on infantry the strength of the full charge.

It depends on the lot of things really, training, morale, quality of weapons and armour...

[King Kurt]

June 25th - a bit quiet today - Little Big Horn where the price of Custer's vanity came home to roost, the start of the Korean war - you know the one we have been waiting over 50 years to finish - and a few famous people born - Lord Mountbatten and George Orwell to name but a few.

[lenin96]

25th of June: The battle of Vezeronce, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S.S.R and Colombia and Independance day in Mozambique.

Edit: It's also National Catfish Day in the U.S.

[KrooK]

25.06.1998 - Windows 98 release

[King Jan III Sobieski]

25 June 1876 - The death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

[King Kurt]

26/6/09 - the death of Michael Jackson - the boy who always seemed 14 dies aged 50. A modern day enigma - fantastic music but a tragic man who more than any one paid the price of celebrity

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I first couldn't believe that Michael Jackson is dead. He was a great musician!

Anyway..

June 26

1483 - Richard III usurped himself to the English throne.

1794 - The French defeated an Austrian army at the Battle of Fleurus.

1819 - The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr.

1925 - Charlie Chaplin's comedy, "The Gold Rush," premiered in Hollywood.

1945 - The U.N. Charter was signed by 50 nations in San Francisco, CA.

1963 - U.S. President John Kennedy announced "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) at the Berlin Wall.

2000 - The Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics Corp. jointly announced that they had created a working draft of the human genome.