670 years ago today
Battle of Poitiers: The Black Prince Captures the King of France
On September 19, 1356, Edward the Black Prince of England led an outnumbered Anglo-Gascon army of roughly 6,000 to a stunning victory over a French force three times its size at Poitiers. The battle was the second great English triumph of the Hundred Years' War — following Crécy in 1346 — and this time the stakes were even higher: King John II of France was captured on the field, dragged from the chaos as the French line collapsed. Edward received his royal prisoner with ostentatious chivalric courtesy, reportedly serving John dinner personally and refusing to dine at the same table out of respect for his captive's dignity. The ransom demanded for John's release — three million gold écus — was so staggering that France would spend years in financial crisis trying to raise it. The battle confirmed English tactical superiority with the longbow and established the Black Prince as the greatest military celebrity of his age.
This day, across time
- 634 CEEventArab Forces Capture Damascus
- 1356FeaturedBattle of Poitiers: The Black Prince Captures the King of France
- 1676EventJamestown Burned in Bacon's Rebellion
- 1777EventFirst Battle of Saratoga
- 1796EventWashington's Farewell Address Published
- 1802BornLajos Kossuth
- 1867BornArthur Rackham
- 1881EventPresident James Garfield Dies
- 1893EventNew Zealand Grants Women the Vote
- 1922BornEmil Zátopek
- 1934BornBrian Epstein
- 1935DiedKonstantin Tsiolkovsky
- 1985EventMexico City Earthquake Kills Thousands
- 1985DiedItalo Calvino
Alive in 1356
OverlapSame years; not influence
Ibn Battutaturned 52 this year
Ibn Khaldunturned 24 this year
On This Day in History
8 EventsArab Forces Capture Damascus
The Rashidun Caliphate captures Damascus from the Byzantine Empire, marking one of the most significant early Islamic conquests. The city became a key administrative center of the new Islamic world and later the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate.
Battle of Poitiers
The Black Prince's English army defeats a vastly larger French force and captures King John II of France. The victory and the enormous ransom demanded plunged France into deep financial crisis and political instability.
Jamestown Burned in Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon's rebel forces torch Jamestown, Virginia — the capital of the colony and the first permanent English settlement in America. Bacon's Rebellion was one of the earliest large-scale uprisings against colonial authority in North America.
First Battle of Saratoga
American forces under General Horatio Gates fight British General Burgoyne to a costly draw at Freeman's Farm in New York. The campaign would culminate in a decisive American victory at the Second Battle of Saratoga three weeks later — the turning point of the Revolution.
Washington's Farewell Address Published
George Washington's Farewell Address is published in the Philadelphia American Daily Advertiser, warning against political factions, permanent alliances with foreign nations, and the threat of regional divisions. It remains one of the most cited documents in American political history.
President James Garfield Dies
President James A. Garfield dies of blood poisoning in Elberon, New Jersey, 79 days after being shot by assassin Charles Guiteau in Washington D.C. Ironically, modern surgeons believe that had his doctors used antiseptic technique, Garfield likely would have survived the bullet wound.
New Zealand Grants Women the Vote
New Zealand becomes the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the right to vote in national elections, after a campaign led by Kate Sheppard. It remains a landmark moment in the global suffrage movement.
Mexico City Earthquake Kills Thousands
A catastrophic magnitude-8.1 earthquake strikes Mexico City, collapsing hundreds of buildings and killing an estimated 9,500 people. The government's slow response galvanized Mexican civil society and is widely credited with accelerating the country's democratic transition.
Born on This Day
Emil Zátopek
Czech Olympic Distance Runner
The "Czech Locomotive" is considered one of the greatest runners in history. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics he won gold in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon — having never run a marathon before entering the race. His unconventional, grimacing style of running shocked observers, but his results silenced critics.
Brian Epstein
Manager of The Beatles
The Liverpool record store owner who discovered The Beatles in the Cavern Club in 1961, transformed their image from leather-jacketed rockers to suited professionals, and negotiated their record deal with EMI. He is widely credited as the fifth Beatle whose business acumen enabled their global conquest.
Arthur Rackham
English Illustrator
The definitive illustrator of the Edwardian golden age of book illustration, whose atmospheric, fantastical artwork for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland shaped how generations visualized fairy tales and fantasy.
Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian Revolutionary Leader
The fiery orator and political leader who led Hungary's revolution against Habsburg rule in 1848–49, briefly declaring an independent Hungarian republic and serving as governor-president. After the revolution's defeat he lived in exile for decades, championing liberal nationalism across Europe.
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James A. Garfield
20th President of the United States
Garfield died 79 days after being shot, his death prolonged and possibly caused by his own doctors' repeated probing of his wound with unsterilized instruments. He had been president for only six months when the assassin struck at a Washington train station.
Italo Calvino
Italian Novelist & Fabulist
One of the most inventive Italian prose writers of the 20th century, whose playful, structurally daring novels — If on a winter's night a traveler, Invisible Cities, The Baron in the Trees — placed him alongside Borges and García Márquez as a master of literary imagination.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Russian Rocket Scientist
The self-taught father of theoretical astronautics died in Kaluga, Russia, at age 78. He had spent his life in provincial obscurity developing the equations that would eventually send humans to space — most of his work was vindicated only after his death.
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