Historical Events In December - 20
Monday, 16 February 2026
0069 General Vespasianus occupies Rome 

0069 Aulus Vitellius, Roman commandant of Rhine and 7th emperor, murdered. 

0217 Pope Zephyrinus. 

0860 King Ethelbald of Wessex 

0910 Alfonso III de Great, king of Asturias, dies 

1046 Synod of Sutri: German king Henry III removes Popes Gregory VI 

1073 Domingo, Spanish monastery founder/abbot/saint, dies. 

1192 Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna 

1355 Stefanus IX Uros IV Dusan, king (1331-46)/Serbia (1346-55), dies 

1448 Pope Nicolaas V named Utrechts bishop Rudolf of Diepholt, cardinal. 

1494 Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet. 

1522 Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta. 

1524 Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician. 

1539 Paul Melissus [Paul Schede], German poet/composer 

1539 Johannes Lupi, Flemish composer 

1579 John Fletcher, Elizabethan dramatist (Phylaster) (baptized). 

1585 English fleet and earl Robert Dudley van Leicester reach Vlissingen. 

1594 Giovanni Battista Gagliano, composer. 

1600 Ottario Rinuccini/Giulio Caccini's opera "Euridice" published 

1606 Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown. 

1606 Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown Va. 

1606 Christoph Schultze, composer. 

1626 Emperor Ferdinand II/Transylvanian monarch Gabor Betlen signs Peace of Pressburg 

1629 Pieter de Hoogh, Dutch painter 

1632 Nicolas Antoine, French cath pastor who converted to Judaism, executed 

1659 Francois Fagel, Dutch lawyer/statesman 

1661 Corporation Act enforced in England 

1669 inaugural jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection and sentenced to flogging, branding and slavery 

1669 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection and sentenced to flogging, branding and slavery. 

1676 John Galle, Flemish engraver/printer, dies at 76. 

1679 Johan Maurits, count of Nassau-Siegen, dies at 75 

1688 Prince Willem III's troops pull into London. 

1694 Frederik van Brandenburg flees Schweiben 

1699 Peter the Great ordered Russian New Year changed-Sept 1 to Jan 1 

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