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February 3

February 3

February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 331 days remaining, (332 in leap years). In the Northern hemisphere, there are 88 days in winter (in a non-leap year). We are considered halfway through winter on February 3.

Events


- 1451 - Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Mehmed II.
- 1488 - Bartholomeu Diaz of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, becoming the first known European to travel this far south.
- 1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
- 1783 - American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independence.
- 1787 - Shays' Rebellion is crushed, ending an uprising that would prompt negotiations that would result in the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.
- 1809 - Illinois Territory is created.
- 1815 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded (Switzerland).
- 1867 - Prince Mutsuhito becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan.
- 1870 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.
- 1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebel is assassinated in Frankfort, Kentucky. Former-Secretary of State Caleb Powers was later found guilty in a conspiracy to kill Goebel.
- 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income tax.
- 1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
- 1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long).
- 1931 - The Napier earthquake, New Zealand's worst natural disaster, kills 258.
- 1941 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- 1944 - United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
- 1947 - Percival Prattis becomes the first African American news correspondent allowed in the United States House and Senate press gallery.
- 1951 - Dick Button wins the American figure skating championship for the fourth consecutive time.
- 1952 - The earliest known tropical storm makes landfall in South Florida.
- 1957 - Senegalese political party Democratic Rally merges into the Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS).
- 1959 - The Day The Music Died: A plane crash kills rock-and-roll performers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
- 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
- 1967 - Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia, is hanged in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne.
- 1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.
- 1972 - The first Winter Olympics to be held in Asia open in Sapporo, Japan.
- 1984 - Space Shuttle Challenger First untethered spacewalk.
- 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
- 1989 - After a stroke, P.W. Botha resigns party leadership and the presidency of South Africa.
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
- 1998 - Cavalese cable-car disaster: a United States Military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
- 1999 - In Jammu & Kashmir the political party Democratic Janata Dal (Jammu and Kashmir) is revived.
- 2002 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.
- 2008 - Super Bowl XLII will take place from the new Arizona Cardinals stadium currently under construction in Glendale, Arizona.

Births


- 1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon, queen of Charles V of France (d. 1378)
- 1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
- 1690 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (d. 1755)
- 1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
- 1754 - George Crabbe, English poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
- 1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
- 1811 - Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
- 1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (d. 1910)
- 1830 - Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
- 1842 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (d. 1881)
- 1859 - Hugo Junkers, German industrialist and aircraft designer (d. 1935)
- 1862 - James Clark McReynolds, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1946)
- 1874 - Gertrude Stein, American writer and patron of the arts (d. 1946)
- 1887 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet (d. 1914)
- 1893 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Norman Rockwell, American artist, illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1898 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
- 1899 - Lao She, Chinese writer (d. 1966)
- 1904 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (d. 1975)
- 1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
- 1907 - James Michener, American author (d. 1997)
- 1909 - Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
- 1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor
- 1918 - Joey Bishop, American comedian and actor
- 1918 - Helen Stephens, American runner
- 1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician
- 1925 - John Fiedler, American voice actor
- 1926 - Shelley Berman, American comedian
- 1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer
- 1930 - Gillian Ayres, English painter
- 1932 - Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1933 - Paul Sarbanes, U.S. Senator
- 1938 - Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1939 - Michael Cimino, American film director
- 1940 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
- 1941 - Neil Bogart, music company executive (d. 1982)
- 1943 - Blythe Danner, American actress
- 1945 - Bob Griese, American football player
- 1947 - Paul Auster, American novelist
- 1947 - Dave Davies, British musician (The Kinks)
- 1948 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timor politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1950 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
- 1950 - Pamela Franklin, American actress
- 1952 - Fred Lynn, baseball player
- 1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
- 1955 - Kirsty Wark, British broadcast journalist
- 1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- 1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician (Sonic Youth)
- 1958 - N. Gregory Mankiw, American economist
- 1959 - Thomas Calabro, American actor
- 1960 - Kerry Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1961 - Keith Gordon, American actor and director
- 1965 - Maura Tierney, American actress
- 1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
- 1971 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999)
- 1972 - Mart Poom, Estonian soccer player
- 1974 - Miriam Yeung, Hong Kong actress and singer
- 1976 - Isla Fisher, Australian actress

Deaths


- 619 - Laurence of Canterbury, second Archbishop of Canterbury
- 699 - Saint Werburgh
- 1014 - King Sweyn I of Denmark
- 1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
- 1399 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
- 1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
- 1451 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
- 1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
- 1566 - George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
- 1619 - Henry Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham, English conspirator (b. 1564)
- 1802 - Pedro Rodríguez, Conde de Campomanes, Spanish statesman and writer (b. 1723)
- 1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
- 1889 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
- 1924 - Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
- 1956 - Émile Borel, French mathematician, politician, statesman, and resistance figher (b. 1871)
- 1959 - Killed in a private plane crash:
  - The Big Bopper, American singer (b. 1930)
  - Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
  - Ritchie Valens, American singer (b. 1941)
- 1960 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
- 1964 - Sir Albert Richardson, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
- 1989 - John Cassavetes, American actor, director, and writer (b. 1929)
- 1991 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1996 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1926)
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer (b. 1959)
- 2000 - Richard Kleindienst, American politician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Lana Clarkson, American actress (murdered) (b. 1962)
- 2003 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (b. 1926)
- 2005 - Corrado Cardinal Bafile, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1903)
- 2005 - Ernst Mayr, German-born biologist (b. 1904)
- 2005 - Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances


- Saint Blaise Roman Catholics visit churches to have their throats blessed.
- Boy Scout Sunday
- Feast day of Saint Werburgh
- Japan - the festival of Setsubun before spring
- Mozambique - Heroes' Day
- United States - Four Chaplains Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050203.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 2 - February 4 - January 3 - March 3 -- listing of all days February 03 ko:2월 3일 ms:3 Februari ja:2月3日 simple:February 3 th:3 กุมภาพันธ์



Leap year

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing an extra day or month in order to keep the calendar year in sync with an astronomical or seasonal year. Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. Leap years (which keep the calendar in sync with the year) should not be confused with leap seconds (which keep clock time in sync with the day).

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, adds a 29th day to February in all years evenly divisible by 4, except for century years (those ending in -00), which receive the extra day only if they are evenly divisible by 400. Thus 1996 was a leap year whereas 1999 was not, and 1600, 2000 and 2400 are leap years but 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not. The reasoning behind this rule is as follows:
- The Gregorian calendar is designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter (celebrated on the Sunday after the 14th day of the Moon that falls on or after 21 March) remains correct with respect to the vernal equinox.
- The vernal equinox year is currently about 365.242375 days long.
- The Gregorian leap year rule gives an average year length of 365.2425 days. This difference of a little over 0.0001 days means that in around 8,000 years, the calendar will be about one day behind where it should be. But in 8,000 years' time the length of the vernal equinox year will have changed by an amount we can't accurately predict (see below). So the Gregorian leap year rule does a good enough job. Image:Gregoriancalendarleap.png

Which day is the leap day?

The Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a lunar calendar (though from the 5th century BC it no longer followed the real moon) and named its days after three of the phases of the moon: the new moon (calends, hence "calendar"), the first quarter (nones) and the full moon (ides). Days were counted down (inclusively) to the next named day, so 24 February was ante diem sextum calendas martii ("the sixth day before the calends of March"). Since 45 BC, February in a leap year had two days called "the sixth day before the calends of March". The extra day was originally the second of these, but since the third century it was the first. Hence the term bissextile day for 24 February in a bissextile year. Where this custom is followed, anniversaries after the inserted day are moved in leap years. For example, the former feast day of Saint Matthias, 24 February in ordinary years, would be 25 February in leap years. This historical nicety is, however, in the process of being discarded: The European Union declared that, starting in 2000, 29 February rather than 24 February would be leap day, and the Roman Catholic Church also now uses 29 February as leap day. The only tangible difference is felt in countries that celebrate feast days.

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4. This rule gives an average year length of 365.25 days. The excess of about 0.0076 days with respect to the vernal equinox year means that the vernal equinox moves a day earlier in the calendar every 130 years or so.

Revised Julian Calendar

The Revised Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4, except for years divisible by 100 that do not leave a remainder of 200 or 600 when divided by 900. This rule agrees with the rule for the Gregorian calendar until 2799. The first year that dates in the Revised Julian calendar will not agree with the those in the Gregorian calendar will be 2800, because it will be a leap year in the Gregorian calendar but not in the Revised Julian calendar. This rule gives an average year length of 365.242222… days. This is a very good approximation to the mean tropical year, but because the vernal equinox tropical year is slightly longer, the Revised Julian calendar does not do as good a job as the Gregorian calendar of keeping the vernal equinox on or close to 21 March.

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so a leap year has an extra month, often called an embolismic month after the Greek word for it. In the Chinese calendar the leap month is added according to a complicated rule, which ensures that month 11 is always the month that contains the northern winter solstice. The intercalary month takes the same number as the preceding month; for example, if it follows the second month then it is simply called "leap second month".

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar is also lunisolar with an embolistic month. In the Hebrew calendar the extra month is called Adar Alef (first Adar) and is added before Adar, which then becomes Adar Sheni (second Adar). According to the Metonic cycle, this is done seven times every nineteen years, specifically, in years, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. In addition, the Hebrew calendar has postponement rules that postpone the start of the year by one or two days. The year before the postponement gets one or two extra days, and the year whose start is postponed loses one or two days. These postponement rules reduce the number of different combinations of year length and starting day of the week from 28 to 14, and regulate the location of certain religious holidays in relation to the Sabbath.

Hindu Calendar

In the Hindu calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar, the embolismic month is called adhika maas (extra month). It is the month in which the sun is in the same sign of the stellar zodiac on two consecutive dark moons.

Iranian calendar

The Iranian calendar also has a single intercalated day once in every four years, but every 33 years or so the leap years will be five years apart instead of four years apart. The system used is more accurate and more complicated, and is based on the time of the March equinox as observed from Teheran. The 33-year period is not completely regular; every so often the 33-year cycle will be broken by a cycle of 29 or 37 years.

Long term leap year rules

The accumulated difference between the Gregorian calendar and the vernal equinoctial year amounts to 1 day in about 8,000 years. This suggests that the calendar needs to be improved by another refinement to the leap year rule: perhaps by avoiding leap years in years divisible by 8,000. (The most common such proposal is to avoid leap years in years divisible by 4,000 [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22gregorian+calendar%22+error+%22leap+year%22+4000]. This is based on the difference between the Gregorian calendar and the mean tropical year. Others claim, erroneously, that the Gregorian calendar itself already contains a refinement of this kind [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mleapyr.html].) However, there is little point in planning a calendar so far ahead because over a timescale of tens of thousands of years the number of days in a year will change for a number of reasons, most notably: #Precession of the equinoxes moves the position of the vernal equinox with respect to perihelion and so changes the length of the vernal equinoctial year. #Tidal acceleration from the sun and moon slows the rotation of the earth, making the day longer. In particular, the second component of change depends on such things as post-glacial rebound and sea level rise due to climate change. We can't predict these changes accurately enough to be able to make a calendar that will be accurate to a day in tens of thousands of years.

Marriage proposal

There is a tradition, said to go back to Saint Patrick and Saint Bridget in 5th century Ireland, whereby women may only make marriage proposals in leap years.

Saint Patrick and the leap year

:Saint Patrick, having driven the frogs out of the bogs was walking along the shores of Lough Neagh, when he was accosted by Saint Bridget in tears, and was told that a mutiny had broken out in the nunnery over which she presided, the ladies claiming the right of popping the question. :Saint Patrick said he would concede them the right every seventh year, when Saint Bridget threw her arms round his neck, and exclaimed, "Arrah, Pathrick, jewel, I daurn't go back to the girls wid such a proposal. Make it one year in four." Saint Patrick replied, "Bridget, acushla, squeeze me that way again, an' I'll give ye leap-year, the longest of the lot." Saint Bridget, upon this, popped the question to St Patrick himself, who, of course, could not marry: so he patched up the difficulty as best he could with a kiss and a silk gown. (Source: Evans, Ivor H, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988) According to a 1288 law in Scotland, fines were levied if the proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to a silk gown to soften the blow. Because men felt that put them at too great a risk, the tradition was in some places tightened to restricting female proposals to 29 February.

Birthdays

A person who was born on 29 February may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are many instances in children's literature where a person's claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out be based on counting their leap-year birthdays. A similar device is used in the plot of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance. Category:Calendars Category:Units of time als:Schaltjahr ko:윤년 ja:閏年 simple:Leap year th:ปีอธิกสุรทิน

Winter solstice

on the day of the northern winter solstice]] In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun. This causes the sun to appear at its farthest below the celestial equator when viewed from the northern hemisphere . Solstice is a Latin borrowing and means "sun stand", referring to the appearance that the sun's noontime elevation change stops its progress, either northerly or southerly. The day of the winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice usually falls on December 21/December 22, which is the southern hemisphere's summer solstice. At this time, the sun appears over the Tropic of Capricorn, roughly 23.5 degrees South of the earth's equator. In the southern hemisphere, winter solstice falls on June 21/June 22, which is the northern hemisphere's summer solstice. At this time, the sun appears over the Tropic of Cancer. Since the winter solstice, summer solstice, vernal equinox, and autumnal equinox were probably observed for the first time by people in the northern hemisphere, these naming conventions originally corresponded to the northern hemisphere's seasons. In most reckonings, the winter solstice is midwinter. In Ireland's calendar, the solstices and equinoxes all occur at about midpoint in each season. For example, winter begins on November 1, and ends on January 31. The passage and chamber of Newgrange, a tomb in Ireland, are illuminated by the winter solstice sunrise. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn from the 19th to the 23rd of December. The winter solstice is the time when the Germanic festival of Yule was celebrated; it is celebrated today as a Neopagan Sabbat. Many cultures celebrate or celebrated a holiday near (within a few days) the winter solstice; examples of these include Yalda, Saturnalia, Christmas, Karachun, Hanukkah, Festivus, Kwanzaa, and HumanLight. In her fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin calls the solstice celebration "The Festival of Sunreturn". (See also List of winter festivals). The first civilization to celebrate the winter solstice were the Ancient Persians, deriving from their Zorastorian religion. Refer to Yalda

Dongzhi in Chinese calendar

Dongzhi (冬至) is a solar term begins when Sun lies between the celestial longitude of 270° and 285°. It sometimes refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270°. It usually begins around December 22, and ends around January 6. In the Chinese calendar, the winter solstice is called dōng zhì (冬至, "winter's extreme") and is traditionally regarded as one of the year's most important solar terms, comparable to Chinese New Year. Rather confusingly, the character zhi; may also mean "arrival" in other contexts, but it is clear that the Chinese consider "winter's arrival" (lidong, literally "establishment of winter") to be a separate solar term which falls on or around November 7 instead.

External links


- [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/badseasons.html The seasons begin at the time of the solstice or equinox] (from the Bad Astronomer)
- [http://landscaping.about.com/cs/winterlandscaping1/a/holly_trees.htm Winter Solstice] (in Celtic mythology)
- [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_170b.html Solstice does not signal season's start?] (from The Straight Dope)
- [http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/seasondate.htm Solstice Dates and Times] Dongzhi Category:Spherical astronomy Category:Celestial mechanics Category:Winter holidays ko:동지 ja:冬至 th:เหมายัน

February 3

February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 331 days remaining, (332 in leap years). In the Northern hemisphere, there are 88 days in winter (in a non-leap year). We are considered halfway through winter on February 3.

Events


- 1451 - Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Mehmed II.
- 1488 - Bartholomeu Diaz of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, becoming the first known European to travel this far south.
- 1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
- 1783 - American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independence.
- 1787 - Shays' Rebellion is crushed, ending an uprising that would prompt negotiations that would result in the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.
- 1809 - Illinois Territory is created.
- 1815 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded (Switzerland).
- 1867 - Prince Mutsuhito becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan.
- 1870 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.
- 1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebel is assassinated in Frankfort, Kentucky. Former-Secretary of State Caleb Powers was later found guilty in a conspiracy to kill Goebel.
- 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income tax.
- 1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
- 1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long).
- 1931 - The Napier earthquake, New Zealand's worst natural disaster, kills 258.
- 1941 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- 1944 - United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
- 1947 - Percival Prattis becomes the first African American news correspondent allowed in the United States House and Senate press gallery.
- 1951 - Dick Button wins the American figure skating championship for the fourth consecutive time.
- 1952 - The earliest known tropical storm makes landfall in South Florida.
- 1957 - Senegalese political party Democratic Rally merges into the Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS).
- 1959 - The Day The Music Died: A plane crash kills rock-and-roll performers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
- 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
- 1967 - Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia, is hanged in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne.
- 1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.
- 1972 - The first Winter Olympics to be held in Asia open in Sapporo, Japan.
- 1984 - Space Shuttle Challenger First untethered spacewalk.
- 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
- 1989 - After a stroke, P.W. Botha resigns party leadership and the presidency of South Africa.
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
- 1998 - Cavalese cable-car disaster: a United States Military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
- 1999 - In Jammu & Kashmir the political party Democratic Janata Dal (Jammu and Kashmir) is revived.
- 2002 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.
- 2008 - Super Bowl XLII will take place from the new Arizona Cardinals stadium currently under construction in Glendale, Arizona.

Births


- 1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon, queen of Charles V of France (d. 1378)
- 1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
- 1690 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (d. 1755)
- 1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
- 1754 - George Crabbe, English poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
- 1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
- 1811 - Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
- 1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (d. 1910)
- 1830 - Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
- 1842 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (d. 1881)
- 1859 - Hugo Junkers, German industrialist and aircraft designer (d. 1935)
- 1862 - James Clark McReynolds, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1946)
- 1874 - Gertrude Stein, American writer and patron of the arts (d. 1946)
- 1887 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet (d. 1914)
- 1893 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Norman Rockwell, American artist, illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1898 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
- 1899 - Lao She, Chinese writer (d. 1966)
- 1904 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (d. 1975)
- 1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
- 1907 - James Michener, American author (d. 1997)
- 1909 - Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
- 1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor
- 1918 - Joey Bishop, American comedian and actor
- 1918 - Helen Stephens, American runner
- 1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician
- 1925 - John Fiedler, American voice actor
- 1926 - Shelley Berman, American comedian
- 1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer
- 1930 - Gillian Ayres, English painter
- 1932 - Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1933 - Paul Sarbanes, U.S. Senator
- 1938 - Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1939 - Michael Cimino, American film director
- 1940 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
- 1941 - Neil Bogart, music company executive (d. 1982)
- 1943 - Blythe Danner, American actress
- 1945 - Bob Griese, American football player
- 1947 - Paul Auster, American novelist
- 1947 - Dave Davies, British musician (The Kinks)
- 1948 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timor politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1950 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
- 1950 - Pamela Franklin, American actress
- 1952 - Fred Lynn, baseball player
- 1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
- 1955 - Kirsty Wark, British broadcast journalist
- 1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- 1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician (Sonic Youth)
- 1958 - N. Gregory Mankiw, American economist
- 1959 - Thomas Calabro, American actor
- 1960 - Kerry Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1961 - Keith Gordon, American actor and director
- 1965 - Maura Tierney, American actress
- 1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
- 1971 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999)
- 1972 - Mart Poom, Estonian soccer player
- 1974 - Miriam Yeung, Hong Kong actress and singer
- 1976 - Isla Fisher, Australian actress

Deaths


- 619 - Laurence of Canterbury, second Archbishop of Canterbury
- 699 - Saint Werburgh
- 1014 - King Sweyn I of Denmark
- 1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
- 1399 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
- 1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
- 1451 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
- 1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
- 1566 - George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
- 1619 - Henry Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham, English conspirator (b. 1564)
- 1802 - Pedro Rodríguez, Conde de Campomanes, Spanish statesman and writer (b. 1723)
- 1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
- 1889 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
- 1924 - Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
- 1956 - Émile Borel, French mathematician, politician, statesman, and resistance figher (b. 1871)
- 1959 - Killed in a private plane crash:
  - The Big Bopper, American singer (b. 1930)
  - Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
  - Ritchie Valens, American singer (b. 1941)
- 1960 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
- 1964 - Sir Albert Richardson, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
- 1989 - John Cassavetes, American actor, director, and writer (b. 1929)
- 1991 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1996 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1926)
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer (b. 1959)
- 2000 - Richard Kleindienst, American politician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Lana Clarkson, American actress (murdered) (b. 1962)
- 2003 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (b. 1926)
- 2005 - Corrado Cardinal Bafile, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1903)
- 2005 - Ernst Mayr, German-born biologist (b. 1904)
- 2005 - Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances


- Saint Blaise Roman Catholics visit churches to have their throats blessed.
- Boy Scout Sunday
- Feast day of Saint Werburgh
- Japan - the festival of Setsubun before spring
- Mozambique - Heroes' Day
- United States - Four Chaplains Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050203.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 2 - February 4 - January 3 - March 3 -- listing of all days February 03 ko:2월 3일 ms:3 Februari ja:2月3日 simple:February 3 th:3 กุมภาพันธ์

1451

Events


- February 3 - Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Mehmed II.
- April 11 - Celje acquires market-town status and town rights by orders from the Celje count Frederic II.
- June 30 - French troops under the Comte de Dunois invade Guyenne and capture Bordeaux
- August 20 - The French capture Bayonne, the last English stronghold in Guyenne
- Foundation of the University of Glasgow
- Nicholas of Cusa invents concave lens spectacles to treat myopia
- Roger van der Weyden paints his Last Judgement

Births


- January 14 - Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer (died 1522)
- April 22 - Queen Isabella of Castile (died 1504)
- May 2 - René II, Duke of Lorraine (died 1508)
- October 30 - Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (died 1506)
- Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (died 1501)
- Isabella Neville, Duchess of Clarence (died 1476)
- King James III of Scotland (died 1488)

Deaths


- February 3 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (born 1404)
- July 11 - Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman
- November 7 - Count Amadeus VIII of Savoy (born 1383)
- 'Abd-Allah, Timurid Empire ruler
- John Lydgate, English Bendictine monk and writer (born 1370)

Marriages


- February 14 - Louis XI of France Category:1451 ko:1451년

Sultan

A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings.

Muslim monarch ruling under the terms of shariah

The title carries moral weight and religious authority, as the ruler's role was defined in the Qur'an. The sultan however was not a religious teacher himself. In the Byzantine Empire and the traditional spheres of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a comparable unity of church and state in the person of the ruler is termed Caesaropapism. The last Western ruler with comparable authority was Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, though formally (if not in practice) the British monarch represents a similar union of church and state, being both the head of state and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England; in practice, the Queen is merely the titular leader of church and state; this status is also under question as Charles, Prince of Wales has indicated he intends to rule as 'defender of the faiths' rather than 'defender of the faith'. The first to carry the title of 'Sultan' was the Turkmen chief Mahmud of Ghazni (ruled 998 - 1030). Later, 'Sultan' became the usual title of rulers of Seljuk and Ottoman Turks and Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers in Egypt. The spiritual validation of the title was well illustrated by the fact that it was the shadow caliph in Cairo that bestowed the title "sultan" on Murad I, the third ruler of the Ottoman Empire in 1383. The earlier leaders had been beys. At later stages, lesser rulers assumed the styling "sultan", as was the case for the earlier leaders of today's royal family of Morocco. Today, only the Sultan of Oman, the Sultan of Brunei, and some titular sultans in the southern Philippines, Java, and in the former Malay States which are now part of Malaysia still use the title. The sultan's domain is properly called a sultanate. A feminine form, used by Westerners, is Sultana or Sultanah; the very styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans. In a similar usage, the wife of a German Field-Marshal might be styled Feldmarschallin. Among those modern hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law, the term is gradually being replaced by 'king'.

Princely and aristocratic titles

In the Ottoman dynastic system, every close relative, male and female, of the ruling Padishah (in the west also known as Great Sultan), was styled Sultan, either before or after the name, so equivalent to a western prince of the blood. In certain muslim states, Sultan was also an aristocratic title, as in the Tartar Astrakhan Khanate

Military rank

In a number of post-caliphal states under Mongol of Turkic rule, there was a feudal type of military hierarchy, often decimal (mainly in larger empires), using originally princely titles (Khan, Malik, Amir) as mere rank denominations. In the Persian empire, the rank of Sultan was roughly equivalent to a western Captain, socially in the fifth rank class, styled 'Ali Jah

Former sultans and sultanates

Middle East & Central Asia


- Ghaznavid Sultanate
- Sultans of Great Seljuk
- Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm
- Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the Osmanli
- Ayyubid Sultans of Damascus
- Ayyubid Sultans of Egypt
- Mamluk Sultans of Egypt
- Qu'aiti and Kathiri sultans in Hadhramaut (Yemen)
- Sultans of Nejd in Arabia
- Sultans of the Hejaz in Arabia

Hami

This was the authentical style, commonly rendered as sultan, of the Islmaic monarchs of the ruling house of Oman, in both its realms:
- Oman — Sultan of Oman, on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, still an independent sultanate, since 1784, two years before the imamate lost temporal power in 1786 (assumed the formal style of Sultan in 1861)
- Sultanate of Zanzibar two incumbents (from the Omani dynasty) since the de faco separation from Oman in 1806, the last assumed the style Sultan in 1861 at the formal separation under British auspices; since 1964 union with Tanganyika part of Tanzania)

East Africa


- Comoros sultanates
- in Kenya
- Northern Somali sultanates

Southeast Asia


- Sultanate of Malacca, Malaysia
- Sultanate of Aceh, Indonesia
- Sultanate of Maguindanao, Philippines
- Sultanate of Ternate, Indonesia
- Sultanate of Tidore, Indonesia
- Sultanate of Mataram, Java, Indonesia
- Sultanate of Sulu, Philippines

India


- Bahmani Sultanate
- Sultanate of Bengal
- Deccan sultanates: Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar
- Sultanate of Delhi
- Sultanate of Gujarat
- Sultanate of Jaunpur
- Sultanate of Kandesh
- Maldives Sultanate
- Sultanate of Malwa
- Sultanate of Mysore

Contemporary sultanates


- Brunei
- Indonesia — Sultan of Yogyakarta is governor of that province
- Malaysia
  - Note: Sultan is the title of seven (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Terengganu) of the nine rulers of the Malay states. The head of state for all Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is selected from among the Rulers, but is usually styled "King" in foreign countries. Political power, however, lies with Prime Minister. See also: Malay titles
- Philippines — Sultanate of Sulu

See also


- Emir (Amir)
- Atabeg
- Bey
- Caliph
- Datu
- Ilkhan, Khan
- Malik
- Padishah
- Shah
- Sultan of Sultans

Sources and References


- [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Persia/persia-glossary.htm| RoyalArk - here the Persian Empire]
- [ WorldStatesmen] Category:Arabic words Category:Heads of state Category:Islam Category:Military ranks Category:Monarchy Category:Noble titles Category:Positions of authority Category:Titles ko:술탄 ja:スルターン

Mehmed II

Mehmed II, Mehmet II, or Muhammed II, (also known as el-Fatih, "the Conqueror", in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmed) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was first the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. He was also the first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of Caesar of the Roman Empire (supreme ruler of all Christians), besides such usual titles as king, sultan (ruler of a Muslim state), Khan (ruler of Turks), etc. He was born in Edirne (Adrianople, Jedreno), then a capital city of the Ottoman State, on March 30, 1432; his mother Huma Hatun was a daughter of Abd`Allah of Hum (a province encompassing SE part of modern day Bosnia and Hercegovina, NW part of Crna Gora / Montenegro and SW part of Serbia), Huma meaning a girl/woman from Hum. When Mehmed was 11 years old, as per the custom of Ottoman rulers before his time, he was sent to Amasya to govern and thus gain experience. During his first reign, seeing the upcoming Battle of Varna, Mehmed sent for his father, Murad II, asking him to claim the throne again to fight the enemy, only to be refused. Enraged at his father, who had long since retired to a contemplative life in southwestern Anatolia, Mehmed wrote: "If you are the sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the sultan I hereby order you to come and lead my armies." It was upon this letter that Murad II led the Ottoman army in the Battle of Varna in 1444. It is also said that Murad's return was forced by Chandarli Khalil Pasha, the prime minister (sadrazam or grand vizier) of the time, who was not very fond of Mehmed's rule, since Mehmed's teacher (lala) was influential on him and did not like Chandarli. Chandarli was later executed by Mehmed during the siege of Istanbul on the grounds that he had been bribed by or had somehow helped the defenders. Two years after reclaiming the throne in 1451, Mehmed brought an end to the Byzantine Empire by capturing Constantinople in 1453 (during the well-known Siege of Constantinople), and other Byzantine cities left in Anatolia and the Balkans. During the siege of Constantinople he promised his men "the women and boys of the city." Upon is conquest, he ordered the 14 year old son of the Grand Duke Lucas Notaras be brought to him for his personal pleasure. When the father refused to render his son to such a fate he had them both decapitated on the spot. (Steven Runciman, The Fall of Constantinople 1453. Cambridge University Press) The invasion of Constantinople and successful campaigns against small kingdoms in the Balkans, Crimea, and Turkic territories in Anatolia bestowed immense glory and prestige on the country and the Ottoman State started to be recognized as an empire for the first time. However, Mehmed's advance toward the heart of Europe was stopped by the unsuccessful Siege of Nándorfehérvár in 1456, and in 1475, the Ottomans suffered their worst-ever defeat to that day, at the Battle of Vaslui, in Moldavia. His reign, mostly known for his capture of Constantinople, is also well known for the unusual tolerance with which he treated his subjects, especially among the conquered Byzantines. Within the vanquished city he established a millet or an autonomous religious community, and he appointed the former Patriarch as essentially governor of the city. However, his authority extended only unto the Orthodox Christians of the city, and this excluded the Genoese and Venetian settlements in the suburbs, and excluded the coming Muslim and Jewish settlers entirely. This method allowed for an indirect rule of the Christian Byzantines and allowed the occupants to feel relatively autonomous even as Mehmed began the Turkish remodeling of the city, eventually turning it into the Turkish capital, which it remained until the 1920s. Mehmed thought of himself as the heir to the throne of the Roman Empire - which, technically, he was after capturing Constantinople - and, as a result, adopted the title "Kayser-i-Rüm" (Roman Caesar) and invaded Italy in 1480. The intent of his invasion was to capture Rome and reunite the Roman Empire for the first time since 751, and, at first, looked like he might be able to do it with the easy capture of Otranto in 1480. However, a rebellion in Albania later in 1480 cut into his military links, allowing a massive force led by the Pope to defeat and evict his army in 1481. Administratively, Mehmed was better at continuing the old Byzantine ways, as he gathered Italian humanists and Greek scholars at his court, kept the Byzantine Church functioning, ordered the patriarch to translate the Christian faith into Turkish and called Gentile Bellini from Venice to paint his portrait. He is also recognized as the first sultan to codify criminal and constitutional law long before Suleyman the Magnificent (also "the Lawmaker" or "Kanuni") and he thus established the classical image of the autocratic Ottoman sultan (padishah). After the fall of Constantinople, he founded many universities and colleges in the city, some of which are still active. It is claimed that he spoke about seven languages when he was 21 years old (the age he conquered Istanbul), and there are claims that the prophet of Islam praised him with a prophetic quote. Some sources claim that he was murdered by poison given by a Jewish doctor. His tomb is located at Fatih Mosque in Istanbul. Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is named after him.

References


- The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 – Steven Runciman, Cambridge University Press 1990 Mehmed II Mehmed II Category:Sultans of the Ottoman Empire Category:East-West Schism ja:メフメト2世

1488

Events


- February 3 - Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, at the tip of Africa becoming the first known European to travel this far south.
- September 9 - Anne of Brittany becomes Duchess of Brittany at the age of 11
- Battle of St.Aubin-du-Cormier. Troops loyal to King Charles VIII of France defeat rebel forces led by the Dukes of Orleans and Brittany in the main engagement of the Mad War.
- James IV succeeds his father James III as King of Scotland.
- Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford takes possession of Cardiff Castle.
- Michelangelo Buonarroti becomes apprentice to Domenico Ghirlandaio.
- City of Bikaner in western India founded by Rao Bika.

Births


- January 6 - Helius Eobanus Hessus, German Latin poet (died 1540)
- March 19 - Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden (d. 1544)
- Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
- Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier
- Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter (died 1534)
- Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator (died 1568)
- Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (died 1563)
- Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (died 1523)
- Rabbi Yosef Karo, Jewish scholar (died 1575)
- Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (died 1552)
- Oswald Myconius, Swiss religious reformer (died 1552)
- Jan Tarnowski, Polish nobleman (died 1561)
- Saint Thomas of Villanueva, Spanish bishop (died 1555)
- Gustav Trolle, Archbishop of Uppsala (died 1533)

Deaths


- June 11 - King James III of Scotland
- July 18 - Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (born 1432)
- September 9 - Francis II, Duke of Brittany (fell from a horse) (born 1433)
- John II, Duke of Bourbon (born 1426)
- Iizasa Ienao, Japanese swordsman
- Andrea del Verrocchio, Italian sculptor

See also


- The numbers 14 88 are sometimes used as a code to express a racist message. Category:1488 ko:1488년 simple:1488

Portugal

The Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; pron. IPA /) is located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, and is the westernmost country in continental Europe. Portugal is bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition, Portugal includes two archipelagos in the Atlantic, Azores (Açores) and Madeira Islands. Portugal has witnessed a constant flow of different civilizations during the past 3100 years. Iberian, Tartessian, Celtic, Phoenician and Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Germanic (Suevi and Visigoth) and Moorish cultures have all made an imprint on the country. The naming of Portugal itself reveals most of the country's early history, stemming from the Roman name Portus Cale, a possibly mixed Greek and Latin name meaning "Beautiful Port", or even mixed Celtic and Latin or mixed Phoenician and Latin. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was a major economic, political, and cultural power, its empire streching from Brazil to the Indies.

History

Lusitania

Main articles: Pre-Roman and Roman Lusitania In the early first millennium BC, several waves of Celts invaded Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with local peoples, the Iberians, forming the Celt-Iberians. Early Greek explorers named the region "Ophiussa" (Greek for "land of serpents") because the natives worshipped serpents. In 238 BC, the Carthaginians occupied the Iberian coasts. In this period several small tribes occupied the territory, the main tribes were the Lusitanians, who lived between the Douro and Tagus rivers, and the Callaeci who lived north of the Douro river among some other tribes. The Conii, influenced by Tartessos, were established in southern Portugal for a long time. The Celtici, a later wave of Celts, settled in Alentejo. In 219 BC, the first Roman troops invaded the Iberian Peninsula, driving the Carthaginians out in the Punic Wars. The Roman conquest of Portugal started from the south, where they found friendly natives, the Conii. Over decades, the Romans increased their sphere of control. But in 194 BC a rebellion began in the north, the Lusitanians successfully held off the Romans, took back land and ransacked Conistorgis, the Conii capital, because of their alliance with Rome. Viriathus, the Lusitanian leader, drove the Roman forces out. Rome sent numerous legions, but success was only achieved by bribing Lusitanian officials to kill their own leader. During this period, a process of Romanization was carried out, leading Lusitania to gain Latin Right in 73 AD.

The kingdom

Main articles: Establishment and Consolidation of the kingdom Consolidation of the kingdom, a national symbol, is known as the "Cradle of Portugal". The Battle of São Mamede took place nearby in 1128.]] In the 5th century, Germanic tribes, most notably the Suevi and the Visigoths, invaded the Iberian peninsula, set up kingdoms, and became assimilated in the Roman culture of the peninsula. An Islamic invasion took place in 711. Many of the ousted nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Asturian highlands. From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors. In 868, Count Vímara Peres reconquered and governed the region between the Minho and Douro rivers. The county became known as Portucale (i.e. Portugal), due to its most important city, Portucale (today's Porto) and founded a villa with his name - Vimaranes (today's Guimarães) where he chose to live. While a dependency of the Kingdom of León, Portugal occasionally gained de facto independence during weak Leonese reigns, but it lost its autonomy in 1071 due to one of these attempts, ending the rule of the counts of the House of Vímara Peres. Then 20 years later, Count Henry from Burgundy was appointed Count of Portugal as a payment for military services to León, and with the purpose of expanding the territory southwards. The Portuguese territory included only what is now northern Portugal, with its capital in Guimarães. Henry died and his son, Afonso Henriques took control of the county. The city of Braga, the Catholic centre of the Iberian Peninsula, faced new competition from other regions. The lords of the cities of Coimbra and Porto, together with the clergy of Braga, demanded the independence of the county. Porto Portugal traces its emergence as a nation to 24 June 1128, with the Battle of São Mamede by Afonso I. On 5 October 1143 Portugal was formally recognized. Afonso, aided by the Templar Knights, continued to conquer southern lands from the Moors. In 1250 the Portuguese Reconquista ended when it reached the southern coast of Algarve. In an era of several wars when Portugal and Castile tried to control one another, King Ferdinand was dying with no male heirs. His only child, a single daughter, married King John I of Castile who would therefore be the King of Portugal after Fernando's death. However, the impending loss of independence to Castile was not accepted by the majority of the Portuguese people, which led to the 1383-1385 Crisis. A loyalist faction led by John of Aviz (later John I), with the help of Nuno Álvares Pereira, finally defeated the Castilians in Portugal's most historic battle of Portugal, the Battle of Aljubarrota. The victorious John was then acclaimed as king by the people. In the meantime, the Black Death reached Portugal.

The Portuguese discoveries

Main articles: The discoveries and Portuguese Empire Portuguese Empire, Portugal]] In the following decades, Portugal created the conditions that would make it the pioneer in the exploration of the world, since most of the nobles had supported the King of Castile and with the victory of John I, the nobles either fled or were executed. Hence the Portuguese middle class who had supported and helped the victorious King suddenly rose up in the social ranks of Portugal, creating a new dynamic gene