The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.

Rashidun CaliphateAssassination of Ali

Charlemagne dies of pleurisy in Aachen as the first Holy Roman Emperor. He is succeeded by his son Louis the Pious as king of the Frankish Empire.

CharlemagnePleurisyAachenHoly Roman EmperorLouis the Pious

Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Al-MustakfiMu'izz al-DawlaBuyid dynastyAl-MutiAbbasid Caliphate

Robert de Comines, the Earl of Northumbria, is killed while attempting to subdue rebels in Durham, England. This leads to the Harrying of the North by William the Conqueror.

Robert de CominesEarl of NorthumbriaDurham, EnglandHarrying of the NorthWilliam the Conqueror

Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.

Walk to CanossaExcommunicationHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

King Charles VI of France is nearly killed when several dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball.

Charles VI of FranceBal des ArdentsMasquerade ball

The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.

Diet of WormsMay 25

Henry VIII dies. His nine-year-old son, Edward VI, becomes king.

Henry VIII of EnglandEdward VI of England

Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.

Warsaw ConfederationFreedom of religion

Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.

Thomas Warner (explorer)Saint Kitts

The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.

Russian Academy of SciencesSt. PetersburgPeter the Great

Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.

Horace WalpoleSerendipity

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.

Jane AustenPride and PrejudiceUnited Kingdom

A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.

Russian EmpireFabian Gottlieb von BellingshausenMikhail Petrovich LazarevAntarctic

The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.

Battle of AliwalIndiaSir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet

Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.

Northwestern UniversityIllinois

A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

Panama Canal Railway

Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.

Franco-Prussian WarSiege of Paris (1870-71)

Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.

Yale Daily NewsStudent newspaperUnited States

Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).

East PeckhamSpeed limitShilling (British coin)

The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

Carnegie Institution for ScienceAndrew Carnegie

Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.

Portuguese Republican PartyMunicipal Library Elevator CoupJoão Franco

United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.

CubaGuantanamo Bay Naval BaseSpanish-American War

An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.

United States CongressUnited States Coast Guard

Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.

Finnish Civil WarRed Guards (Finland)HelsinkiSenate of Finland

Foundation of the Spanish Legion.

Spanish Legion

Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.

Knickerbocker StormKnickerbocker Theatre (Washington, D.C.)

Japanese forces attack Shanghai.

January 28 Incident

The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.

PakistanNeologismChoudhry Rahmat AliIndian MuslimsPakistan Movement

Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.

IcelandAbortion