The University of Copenhagen is officially inaugurated in Denmark on June 1, 1479 at a ceremony in the Church of Our Lady. The University opened with the traditional medieval faculties of theology, law, medicine and philosophy. It is Denmark's oldest university and a leading research institution.
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What Happened in June?
Deaths, raids, and battles. Examine landmark historical events that took place in June. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The University of Copenhagen is founded in Denmark on June 1, 1479. It is the country's oldest university, making it one of Northern Europe's oldest institutions of higher learning.
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, dividing the New World into Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence; establishing a new demarcation line between the two crowns, running from pole to pole, 370 leagues to the west of the Cape Verde islands.
The treaty amended papal bulls issued by Pope Alexander VI in 1493. These declarations had granted Spain an exclusive claim to the entirety of North and South America. More The New treaty granted Spain rights to lands to the west and Portugal to the east, an agreement that would later result in Portugal claiming Brazil.
Map by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (1622)
Italian explorer John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) lands in North America, possibly in Newfoundland. Labrador, or Cape Breton Island. Commissioned by England's King Henry VII to find a westward route to Asia, his voyage was the first European one to North America since the Vikings and help establish an early English claim to the continent. Cabot had set sail from Bristol, England, on one ship, the Matthew, and made landfall on June 24, 1497.
Cabot made a second trip in 1498, from which he and his ships disappeared, but his explorations laid the groundwork for future English settlements in the area.
Italian explorer John Cabot, (Giovanni Caboto) sailing the Matthew under the English flag and seeking a route to Asia (China) for Henry VII, reaches the coast of what is now Canada. Claiming it for England although he believed it to be Asia.
He likely landed in Newfoundland or Labrador, his voyage established England's first major claim in North America and rekindled England's interest in the New World.
Circa 1503, June
Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa by Francesco del Giocondo a wealthy Florentine merchant who wanted a portrait of his wife Lisa Gherardini,, for the couple's home. Leonardo began work on the portrait in the same year and continued to refine it until his death in 1519.
Michelangelo's David, the renowned marble sculpture is believed to have been temporarily installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo della Signoria, where it was placed on a wooden platform replacing Donatello's bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes. While the installation at the piazza occurred on this date, the statue was "unveiled" to the public and fully revealed on September 8, 1504.
The work, was originally commissioned in 1501 by the Opera del Duomo (the Overseers of the Office of Works of the Florence Cathedral) when Michelangelo was only 26 years old, It is considered to be one of the great works of art of the Renaissance. Michelangelo sculpted the statue from a single block of Carrara marble which had remained neglected for 25 years because of the presence of too many imperfections. The colossal statue stands at 17 feet (5.17 meters) tall. In 1873, it was removed from the piazza to protect it from damage, and was moved to the Accademia Gallery. The statue was not placed in its permanent setting in the Accademia until 1882. A replica was placed in the Piazza della Signoria in 1910. More
Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci arrives back in Lisbon c. June 12, 1504 after his final verifiable voyage to the New World for the Portugese crown where he explored the East coast of South America. Upon his return, Vespucci declared that the lands explored were not Asia, but a distinct Mundus Novus (New World).
From Portugal, Amerigo Vespucci returned to Spain, where King Ferdinand appointed him Piloto Mayor (Pilot Major) of Spain. He continued to live in Spain and work for the Spanish government until his death in Seville on February 22, 1512. Vespucci's accounts from his travels inspired German cartographer (mapmaker) Martin Waldseemüller to label the continent "America" (feminine form of the Italian name Amerigo) in 1507. There are contested theories of two more voyages in 1505 and 1507. If so, they were conducted for the Spanish crown.
English King, Henry VIII weds his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. In 1527 Pope Clement VII, refused to annul the marriage which led to Henry's break with the Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England.
Henry VIII was crowned at Westminster Abbey when he was 18 years old. It was a grand affair that included a procession from the Tower of London.
Charles I of Spain, crowned Holy Roman Emperor, becomes Charles V. Becoming one of the most powerful European rulers of all times. he reign over territories in Europe and the Americas. His goal as Holy Roman Emperor was to unite Europe, but instead, his reign was filled with war and conflict. More
Pope Leo X issues the bull Exsurge Domine (“Arise O Lord”) in response to the teachings of Martin Luther which opposed the views of the Catholic Church; giving Luther 60 days to recant.
Luther refused and continued to rebuke the papacy. As a result, Luther was excommunicated on Jan 3, 1521. More
The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés forces fight their way out of Tenochtitlan suffering severe loses as the Aztecs revolt against their rule. Many Spanish soldiers drowned in Lake Texcoco. The exit is known as the "Noche Triste" or “the Night of Sadness".
Sweden National Day. Celebrates the election of King Gustav Vasa and the new constitutions of 1809 and 1974. The election of King Gustav Vasa was the de facto end of the Kalmar Union and has been seen as a formal declaration of independence.
The Protestant city of Zürich declares war on June 8, 1529, leading to the First War of Kappel in Switzerland. The war was triggered by the execution of Protestant pastor, Jacob Kaiser, who was burned at the stake for heresy in the Catholic canton of Schwyz in May 1529.
A peace treaty favorable to the Protestants was signed dissolving the Catholic alliance with the Austrian Habsburgs and allowing the Reformation to spread in shared territories. However, tensions remained high, eventually leading to the Second War of Kappel in 1531.
The Imperial-Spanish army, led by Antonio de Leyva, decisively defeats the French army under François de Bourbon, Comte de Saint-Pol, at the Battle of Landriano on June 21, 1529, which effectively ended the War of the League of Cognac.
Pope Paul III issues the papal bull "Sublimis Deus", on June 2, 1537, against slavery, condemning the enslavement of indigenous peoples in the Americas. It declared them "true men" with rights to liberty and property, prohibiting their enslavement or deprivation of property. It deemed such actions "a lie perpetuated by Satan".
The decree was influenced by advocates like Bartolomé de Las Casas and aimed to curb the abuses of Spanish conquistadors. Enforcement was challenging with many colonists ignoring it.
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The first Book of Common Prayer is published during the reign of King Edward VI of England. It reflected the England's split from the Roman Catholic Church under the previous monarch Henry VIII and the English Reformation following the break with Rome. It was put together by a religious committee headed by Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first time a book of service was written in English. It has been extensively revised a number of times, the last in 1662. It has remained in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. More
England declares war on France during the Italian War of 1551–1559.
English Privateer, Martin Frobisher leaves Plymouth on June 3, 1578 on his third voyage to Frobisher Bay, Canada. The expedition consisted of 400 men aboard 15 ships. It was, in search of ore believed to contain gold which had been found in a previous trip while searching for the Northwest Passage.
The ore turnout to be worthless "Fools Gold" which was eventually salvaged for road construction and to pave the streets of London resulting in the bankruptcy of the the expedition backers. Frobisher went on to participate in several other successful expeditions and to participate in the fight against the Spanish Armada. He was knighted for valor on 26 July 1588 by Lord Howard. More