The fall of the Aztec capital in 1521, during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Fall of Tenochtitlan
Fact of the Day
Highwayman Benjamin Child used his ill-gotten gains to discharge all the debtors in Salisbury jail. He was hanged in 1722.
Quote of the Day
"Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word.
"
~ Friedrich Steinbrecher (German Officer)
On This Day
1169 The Normans landed at Bannow Bay, Leinster, starting the Norman invasion of Ireland.
1328 Parliament ratified the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognised Scotland as an independent country and brought to an end the First War of Scottish Independence.
1707 Exactly 379 years after Scotland was confirmed in its independence, the Acts of Union came into force, joining Scotland with England.
1840 The world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was first issued.
1851 Queen Victoria opened the much-anticipated Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, showcasing the best on offer in industry and culture.
1873 The explorer and missionary David Livingstone died in Zambia aged 60, from malaria and internal bleeding caused by dysentery.
1915 The luxury Cunard liner RMS Lusitania departed from New York City, bound for Liverpool, on what would be her final journey. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May.
1931 The then world's tallest building, the Empire State Building in New York, opened.
1967 Musician and heart-throb Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu.
1997 The Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, won 418 seats in a landslide victory over the John Major's Tories.