Napoleon is crowned King of Italy in Milan (1805), and Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers (1538). Born on this day: John Wayne, Isadora Duncan and Miles Davis. Died: Martin Heidegger, Sydney Pollack and Abdelkader.
27 events, 63 births and 62 deaths on this date.
Napoleon took the title of King of Italy in Milan's cathedral, placing the Iron Crown of Lombardy on his own head. The ceremony showed how far his ambitions reached beyond France.
Jacques-Louis David · Public domainThe French RevolutionHear the story in ChunksThe city council of Geneva banished the Protestant reformer John Calvin and his supporters after disputes over church discipline. Calvin spent the next three years in exile in Strasbourg before being invited back.
Modi was sworn in as India's 15th prime minister, leading the BJP to its first outright parliamentary majority since 1984. He had previously served as chief minister of Gujarat, and he would go on to become one of India's longest-serving prime ministers.
Prime Minister's Office · GODL-India
The Senate failed by a single vote to convict President Andrew Johnson, so he kept office after the House had impeached him over his clashes with Congress. The result left him in the White House for the rest of his term, which ended in early 1869.
Mathew Brady, Retouched by Mmxx · Public domain
Edmund I was stabbed to death while breaking up a brawl in a Pucklechurch hall, a violent end to his reign. His brother Eadred took the throne until Edmund's young sons were old enough to rule.
The Church of England handed the original handwritten text of William Bradford's history back to Massachusetts. Bradford wrote it about the Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony and its first years.
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Known as Duke, Wayne became one of Hollywood's biggest box-office draws, especially in Westerns and war films. His breakthrough came with John Ford's Stagecoach in 1939, and he won an Oscar for True Grit in 1969.
Unknown photographer · Public domain
Isadora Duncan was an American dancer and choreographer who helped pioneer modern dance. She built her career in Western Europe, the United States and Soviet Russia, and wrote an autobiography.
Public domain
Miles Davis was an American trumpeter and bandleader who moved jazz through bebop, cool jazz and modal playing. His 1959 album Kind of Blue is still among the best-selling jazz records ever made.
Tom Palumbo from New York City, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
German philosopher whose book Being and Time (1927) reshaped how thinkers approached human existence and the question of what it means to be. His career was also marked by his support for Nazism during his time as rector of Freiburg University.
Willy Pragher · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sydney Pollack was an American director, producer and actor best known for Out of Africa, which won him Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. He also acted in films such as Tootsie and Eyes Wide Shut.
Arthur from Westchester County north of NYC, USA, at Arthur@NYCArthur.com · CC BY-SA 2.0
Algerian religious and military leader who resisted the French invasion for seventeen years, later remembered for protecting Christians in Damascus during the 1860 massacre. He died in Damascus, where he had spent his later years writing.
Ange Tissier · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android