The past leaves a trace.

Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

Georges Claude was a French engineer and inventor. He is noted for his early work on the industrial liquefaction of air, for the invention and commercialization of neon lighting, and for a large experiment on generating energy by pumping cold seawater up from the depths. He has been considered by some to be "the Edison of France". The Claude process for manufacturing ammonia was named for him.

Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.

Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the modern province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron named Antonio Barezzi.

Birth of Francis II of France

Born: Francis II of France (died 1560).

Francis II was King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in 1560.

The Italian Duchy of Mirandola surrenders to the Pope.

The Italian Duchy of Mirandola surrenders to the Pope.

The siege of Mirandola took place from 2 January to 19 January 1511 as a part of Pope Julius II's campaign to keep France from dominating northern Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai. At that time Mirandola was the capital of the Duchy of Mirandola in the Italian region of Emilia. The fortress was defended by 400 French infantrymen commanded by Alessandro Trivulzio, 100 soldiers from Ferrara, and 70 Mirandola soldiers. The siege was conducted by Julius after he had broken away from the League of Cambrai and entered into a treaty with Venice.

Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.

Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.

The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving different factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.

Death of García I

Died: García I, king of León.

Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general…

Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She'er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.

Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the…

Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.

Gratian was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of Augustus as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in 375. He nominally shared the government with his infant half-brother Valentinian II, who was also acclaimed emperor in Pannonia on Valentinian's death. The East was ruled by his uncle Valens, who was later succeeded by Theodosius I.