477 A series of earthquakes begin that plague Greece, Thrace, the Aegean, and Anatolia for about six months
1316 Battle of Ardscull/Skerries: King Edward Bruce of Ireland defeats the English
1316 Battle of Caerphilly Castle: Llywelyn Bren initiates a Welch revolt against England in a surprise attack to capture the castle
1340 King Edward III of England proclaims himself King of France, a claim that has not dropped until 1800.
1500 Vicente Yáñez Pinzón discovers Brazil
1531 Earthquake at Lisbon: c. 30,000 die
1564 Battle of Ula: Lithuania defeats the Russians
1565 Battle of Talikota: the Deccan Sultanate defeats the Vijayanagara Empire, initiating Islamic domination of India1654 Capitulation of Taborda: the Dutch cede Recife, Brazil, to Portugal
1666 France declares war on England
1699 Venice, Poland & Austria conclude peace with Turkey
1699 Treaty of Carlowitz: Ends the Austro-Ottoman War (1683-1697), confirming Turkish loss of Hungary
1736 Second abdication of Stanislaus I Leszczynski as King of Poland & Grand Duke of Lithuania (1704-1709, 1733-1736)
1748 England, Netherlands, Austria, & Sardinia conclude an anti-French alliance
1763 British surrender Mangalore to Tippoo Sahib after a protracted siege
1788 The "First Fleet": Capt Arthur Phillip founds a penal colony at Sydney, Australia
1799 French establish the puppet "Parthenopean Republic" in Naples, amid executions, looting, & rape
1808 Australia's "Rum Rebellion": Armed colonists unseat Gov. William Bligh (of Bounty fame), and install a provisional government
1827 Peru secedes from Gran Colombia in protest against "tyranny" of Simón Bolívar
1841 Britain declares Hong Kong its sovereign territory.
1859 Screw Frigate 'Brooklyn' commissioned under Capt. David G. Farragut
1861 Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede
1862 Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a Union offensive
1863 Joe Hooker assumes command of the Army of the Potomac from Ambrose Burnside
1863 The 54th Massachusetts Infantry is formed
1885 Khartoum: Mahdist troops overwhelm the Sudanese-Egyptian garrison
1887 Battle of Dogali: The Tigrinos defeat the Italians
1890 Intrepid New York World reporter Nellie Bly completes around the world trip in 72 days
1897 Battle of Bida: British defeat the Asante
1911 Glenn Curtiss tests the first successful seaplane, San Diego
1913 John Paul Jones is laid to rest in the Chapel of the US Naval Academy
1932 British submarine 'M-2' sinks in the Channel, 60 die
1934 Nazi Germany and Poland sign ten-year non-aggression pact
1939 Franco's Spanish Nationalists capture Barcelona
1942 Bataan: Fil-American troops consolidate Bagac-Orion line
1942 Malaya: Japanese make major inroads into the Johore Line.
1942 Marines land in Northern Ireland - 1st US troops to reach Europe
1943 'Wahoo' (SS-238) sinks the Japanese transport 'Buyo Maru' and then surfaces to shoot survivors, who were mostly Indian prisoners-of-war
1944 Argentina severs diplomatic relations with Germany and Japan.
1944 Liberia declares war on Germany and Japan
1944 US bombers raid the Marshalls.
1945 Japanese government orders an end to offensives operations in China.
1948 Executive Order 9981: Truman orders Segregation in the Armed Forces ended
1950 India becomes a republic within the British Commonwealth, converts the Victoria Cross to the Param Vir Chakra, 14 of the 21 of which awards have been posthumous
1956 USSR returns the Porkkala military base to Finland
1957 India annexes Kashmir, promising a plebiscite, which has yet to take place
1960 USS 'John S. McCain' (DL-3) rescues crew of 'Shinwa Maru', East China Sea.
1992 Russia announces it will no longer target US cities with nuclear weapons.
1995 The Cenepa War: a skirmish between Peruvian & Ecuadorian troops in a disputed zone initiates a 22-day border conflict, ends Feb 17
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