| 1582 | | 4 Oct:
The Gregorian calendar is introduced. The next day is October 15th.Britannica UFL |
|
| 1608 | | 2 Oct:
Hans Lippershey demonstrates, and applies for a patent for, the first refracting telescope, the forerunner of the modern optical telescope.W I R E D SciHi |
|
| 1614 | | 11 Oct:
Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General of the Dutch Republic for exclusive trading rights in the Nieuw-Nederland colony.SCW ND-Coins |
|
| 1618 | | 23 May:
The Thirty Years War, a series of wars fought by European nations for various reasons, is initiated when the Holy Roman Emperor attempts to force Catholicism on most of Europe, and ends with the Peace of Westphalia.OSU CT |
|
| 1624 | |
| 1648 | | 24 Oct:
The Thirty Years War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia.LoC Avalon |
|
| 1654 | |
| 1664 | | 27 Aug:
Four English warships arrive in Nieuw-Amsterdam to claim the colony under the orders of James, Duke of York.13 WDL |
|
| | 31 Aug:
Peter Stuyvesant, governor of Nieuw-Nederland, refuses to accept the terms of surrender to the British.SotS |
|
| |
| 1673 | |
| 1674 | |
| 1689 | | 17 May:
King William's War; England declares war on France which lasts until the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick.HoMA MB |
|
| 1697 | | 20 Sep:
The Treaty of Ryswick settles the Nine Years War and ends hostilities in America, although that wouldn't happen for another two months.Jacobite theMet |
|
| 1816 | |
The previous year, Mt. Tambora erupted producing so much ash and gas the sunlight was blocked from warming the earth causing the "Year Without Summer".USGS |
|
| 1884 | | 13 Oct:
The Greenwich meridian is officially adopted globally as the prime meridian, the imaginary north-south line where the longitude is 0 degrees.W I R E D MAA |
|
| | 1 Nov:
Greenwich Mean Time is adopted universally when the International Meridian Conference meets in Washington, DC.GMT OFA |
|
| 1906 | | 3 Nov:
The distress signal S.O.S. becomes the worldwide standard at the 2nd International Radiotelegraphic Convention.SIMag GA&C |
|
| 1917 | | 15 Oct:
Mata Hari is executed for spying. PBS |
|
| 1918 | | Feb:
The Spanish Flu pandemic kills at least 3% of the World's population.VLib npr |
|
| 1939 | |
| 1945 | | 7 May:
Germany unconditionally surrenders, effectively ending World War II in Western Europe. Soviet surrender terms were signed the next day.DoD USHMM |
|
| |
| |
| | 24 Oct:
The United Nations is established.UN USState |
|
| 1949 | | 4 Apr:
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is founded.USNA Avalon |
|
| 1954 | | 29 Sep:
The CERN Convention is entered into force.CERN SA |
|
| 2003 | | 19 Mar:
The U. S., along with coalition forces, begins its "shock and awe" campaign against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.npr NT |
|
| 2005 | | 14 Jan:
The Huygens probe successfully lands on Saturn's largest moon Titan - the only landing to take place in the outer Solar System and the furthest from Earth.esa NASA |
|
Netherlands
