This Day In European History

15th August

Events
778: The Battle of Roncesvalles; Charlemagne's rearguard is slaughtered by Basque troops.
1456: The date of the hand written 'dating note' in the first book ever printed by movable type; the exact printing date is unknown.
1534: Ignatius de Loyola founds The Society of Jesuits.
1760: Frederick the Great wins a remarkable victory against Austria at Liegnitz.
1987: Caning is officially banned in Britain's state schools.

Births
1688: King Frederick William I of Prussia.
1769: Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor.
1856: Keir Hardie, British politician.
1875: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer.
1888: T. E. Lawrence 'of Arabia', British soldier.
1892: Louis-Victor, French physicist.

Deaths
423: Roman Emperor Honorius.
1038: Stephen I, first King of Hungary.
1057: King Macbeth of Scotland.
1118: Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus.
1621: John Barclay, Scottish poet.
1666: Adam Schall von Bell, Jesuit astronomer, executed in China.

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