This Day In European History
16th May
Events1532: Thomas More, the Lord Chancellor of England, resigns in protest at King Henry VIII obtaining power over the church (see yesterday).
1696: The first recorded use of an envelope for sending letters, in England.
1703: St. Petersburg is founded by Peter the Great.
1770: The Dauphin (later Louis XVI) of France marries Marie Antoinette.
1795: The Dutch Republic is reformed under the influence of Revolutionary France as the Batavian Republic.
1796: Lombardy is declared a republic, albeit under French rule.
1803: Britain and France go to war over French influence in Europe, considered the start of the Napoleonic Wars.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte is declared Emperor of France.
1811: The Battle of Albuera between the French and an allied force of British, Spanish and Portuguese. The latter win.
1920: Joan of Arc is made a saint.
Births
1718: Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian philosopher and mathematician.
Deaths
1620: William Adams, English navigator and first of his nationality to live in Japan.
