The Battle of Cannae
An unprecedented force of 86,000 men fought against Hannibal’s Carthaginian army on 2 August 216 BC.
Mathew Lyons
The Murder of an Emperor
Atahualpa, the last true emperor of the Incas, was killed on 26 July 1533.
Amelia Earhart goes Missing
The aviator’s plane disappeared on a circumnavigation of the world on 2 July 1937.
Birth of a Trailblazer
Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar, was born on 10 June 1893.
Vikings Attack Lindisfarne
The monks at the church of St Cuthbert were taken by surprise on 8 June 793.
A Tyrant goes on Trial
Charges were brought against Peter von Hagenbach at the ‘first international war crimes trial’, held on 9 May 1474.
Death of an Occultist
Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, died on 8 May 1891.
Death of a Medieval Lover
Peter Abelard, lover of Heloise, died on 21 April 1142.
Inventor of Jigsaw Puzzle Dies
John Spilsbury, the engraver behind the ‘dissected’ map, died on 3 April 1769.
Fall of Africa’s Greatest Empire
The Battle of Tondibi, which resulted in the defeat of the Songhay army, took place on 13 March 1591.