In the year 1449, the last in a line of rulers that can be traced to the founding of Rome, Constantine XI Palaiologos, is crowned Byzantine Emperor (Jan 6), the French recapture Rouen from the English (Oct 29), Karl Knutsson Bonde becomes the King of Norway (Nov 20) - and all these fine people were born: 1449-0101 Lorenzo de Medici* statesman/patron of Renaissance culture in Italy - Florence, Republic of Florence (1492/43) Continue reading

In the year 1451, Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is succeeded by his son, Mehmed II (Feb 18), the French capture Bayonne, the last English stronghold in Goyenne in Southern France (Aug 20), the University of Glasgow is founded, the Great Peacemaker along with Jigonhsasee and Hiawatha, found the Iroquois Confederacy, comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca - and all these fine people were born: 1451-0114 Franchinus Gaffurius* music theorist/composer - Lodi, Italy (1522/71) Continue reading

In the year 1430, the Ottoman Empire captures Thessalonica after an eight-year siege (Mar 29), Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians, while leading an army to relieve Compiègne (May 23), Bratislava Castle is converted to a fortress, optical methods are first used in the creation of art - and all these fine people were born: 1430-0323 Margaret of Anjou* Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI - Pont-à-Mousson, Lorraine, France (1482/52) Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_9839” align=“alignleft” width=“379”]Eton College Entrance[/caption] The Prussian Confederation is formed (Feb 21), Christopher of Bavaria is elected King of Denmark (Apr 9), the French serial killer Gilles de Rais - once a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc - is hanged in Nantes (Oct 26), Eton College is founded - and all these fine people were born: 1440-xxxx Sten Sture the Elder* statesman/regent of Sweden - Sweden (1503/c. 63) 1440-0122 Ivan III of Russia* known as “Ivan the Great” and the “gatherer of the Russian lands” - Moscow, GD of Moscow (1505/65) 1440-0213 Hartmann Schedel* physician/historian/one of the first cartographers to use the printing press invented in 1447 - Nuremberg, Germany (1514/74) 1441 Individual post 1442-0428 King Edward IV of England*- Rouen, Normandy (1483/40) 1442-0703 Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado* 後土御門天皇 - Japan (1500/58) 1443-0629 Anthony Browne* knight - Parish, Surrey, England (1506/63) 1443-0909 Muhammad Jaunpuri* - Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India (1505/61) 1443-1205 Pope Julius II* (b Giuliano della Rovere) chose his papal name in emulation of Julius Caesar - Albisola, Republic of Genoa (1513/69) 1444-xxxx Donato Bramante* Italian architect (St. Continue reading

In the year 1420, King Charles VI of France acknowledges Henry V of England as his heir, and virtual ruler of most of France (May 21), construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral begins (Aug 7), Beijing is officially designated as the capital of the Ming Dynasty (Oct 28), construction begins of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing - and all these fine people were born: 1420-xxxx Tomás de Torquemada* Grand Inquisitor – Torquemada(? Continue reading

In the year 1493, Christopher Columbus returns to Spain from his first trip to Americas (Mar 15), Ottoman forces defeat those of the Kingdom of Croatia in southern Croatia (Sep 9), Christopher Columbus sets off for his second voyage (Sep 29) and lands on the coast of the island of Borinquen (today’s Puerto Rico), and renames it San Juan (Nov 19), Leonardo da Vinci draws first known helicopter - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1410, the first of the Yongle Emperor’s against the Mongols is launched (Mar 25), Polish and Lithunian forces defeat the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Tannenberg (Jul 15), construction of the church Heiliggeistkirche in Heidelberg begins in Germany, the Prague Astronomical Clock is built at the Old Town Hall, construction begins on Castle Woerden in the Netherlands - and all these fine people were born: 1410-0130 William Calthorpe* knight/High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk - England (1494/84) 1410-0801 Jan IV of Nassau* Count of Nassau, Dietz and Dillenburg - Dillenburg, Germany (1475/64) 1411-0921 Richard of York* claimant to the English throne - Kings Langley, Hertfordshire (1460/49) 1412-0106 Joan of Arc* “The Maid of Orleans” - Domrémy, Kingdom of France (1431/c. Continue reading

In the year 1400, Henry IV of England executes Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury, and the Baron de Despencer for their attempt to have Richard II restored as king (Jan) who then soon dies in captivity (Feb 14), the English occupy Edinburgh, but fail to capture Edinburgh Castle (Aug), the Mississippian Culture starts to decline, the Kingdom of Kongo begins, remaining mostly independent for nearly 500 years - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1500, the last year of the 15th century, Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral officially discovers Brazil, and claims the land for the Kingdom of Portugal (Apr 22), Portuguese navigator Diogo Dias discovers Madagascar (Aug 10), France and Spain agree to divide the Kingdom of Naples between them in the Treaty of Granada (Nov 11), Europe’s population is estimated at 56.7 million people - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

First regular post service in Germany connects Mechelen and Innsbruck, Catholic missionaries arrive in the African Kingdom of Kongo, Chinese scholar and printer Hua Sui invents bronze-metal movable type printing in China, Leonardo da Vinci develops an oil lamp, merchants carrying coffee from Yemen to Mecca present the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking - and all these fine people were born: 1490-10xx Olaus Magnus* Archbishop of Uppsala - Skeninge, Sweden (1557/66) 1491-0628 Henry VIII of England* - Greenwich, Kent, England (1547/55) 1491-1023 Ignatius of Loyola* - Azpeitia, Basque, Spain (1556/64) 1491-1231 Jacques Cartier* explorer for France/the first European to map the river Saint Lawrence and its shores which he named “The Country of Canadas” after the Iroquoian names for the area - Saint-Malo, Duchy of Brittany (1557/65) 1492-xxx Jürgen Wullenwever* merchant/burgomaster of Lübeck - Hamburg, Germany (1537/c. Continue reading

In the year 1470, Charles II of Sweden, having served three terms as King of Sweden, dies (May 15), the Ottomans capture Euboea (today’s Evia) (Jul 12), Henry VI of England is released from the Tower of London, and is restored to the throne (Oct 3), between this year and 1700, 8888 witches are tried in the Swiss Confederation, and of them 5417 are executed, Johann Heynlin introduces the printing press into France, Sir George Ripley dedicates his book _The Compound of Alchemy _to the King Edward IV of England - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_3453” align=“alignleft” width=“378”]Fort Qaitbey at Alexandria[/caption] Treaty of Toledo is signed where Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize the African conquests of Afonso, and Afonso cedes the Canary Islands to Spain (Mar 6), the Ottomans attack the city of Otranto in Italy, and behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam (Aug 12), Spain initiates the Spanish Inquisition, to last for three decades and involving around 150,000 prosecutions (Sep 27), the last remains of the Lighthouse of Alexandria disappear as the defensive fortress Citadel of Qaitbey is built on its site - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The cannons of the Tower of London are fired on the city of London, now mostly in Yorkist hands (Jul 4), and the Tower ends up surrendering (Jul 19), Wars of the Roses between Lancastrians and Yorkists go on in England until 1487, Portuguese navigator Pedro de Sintra reaches the coast of modern-day Sierra Leone - and all these fine people were born: 1460-xxx Vasco da Gama* or 1469 Portuguese explorer - Sines, Kingdom of Portugal (1524/64? Continue reading

In the year 1450, French troops defeat an English army trying to relieve Caen in northwestern France (Apr), Charles VIII of Sweden loses the Norwegian throne to Christian I of Denmark (May 13), Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy, surrenders to the French (Aug 12), the University of Barcelona is founded (Nov 3), Johannes Gutenberg sets up his movable type printing press as a commercial operation in Mainz - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Pick one year or decade between 1401 and 1500! If you have ancestors born during this century that you know of, you can have them added in the list by simply leaving a comment in the box below the year or decade in question. 1400s - 1410s - 1420s - 1430s - 1440s - 1450s - 1460s - 1470s - 1480s - 1490s Here individual years will be few and far between unless we will get plenty of requests from genealogists. Continue reading