Browse Historical Events by Month:
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 Battle of San Romano was fought on June 1, 1432, between the Republic of Florence, led by Niccolò da Tolentino, and the Republic of Siena, under Francesco Piccinino. It took place near San Romano, a town approximately 30 miles outside Florence, Italy.
The battle lasted for several hours and is generally considered a Florentine victory. The battle was part of a broader conflict in the 1430s involving Florence, its rival Lucca, and allies Siena and Milan.
The Battle of Anghiari occurs on June 29, 1440, in the Tiber Valley, between the Milanese and the Florentine troops.ending in a decisive victory for the Republic of Florence, leading to consolidation of their power in central Italy.
Alfonso V of Aragon formally conquers Naples on June 2, 1442, from the Angevins; establishing Aragonese rule in southern Italy and reunifying the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples under one crown.
Charles VII's French armies successfully capture Bordeaux and most of Gascony from the English on June 30, 1451 a major blow to English holdings in France making it seem to bring an end to the protracted Hundred Years' War.
However the English, led by John Talbot (Earl of Shrewsbury) recaptures Bordeaux in late 1452 prompting a final French offensive that culminated in the decisive French victory at the Battle of Castillon on July 17, 1453, which finally secured Gascony for France and marked the end of English territorial claims in the region. Historical - Timeline
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.
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) 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.
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.
Cesare Borgia captures, a very unprepared city of Urbino, on June 20, 1502 through deception and a lightning march, without a shot being fired. Cesare was subsequently named the Duke of Urbino. His swift victory was one of many "clever tactics" that famously inspired Niccolò Machiavelli.
The attack was a total surprise to Urbino. Cesare Borgia had requested permission from Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, to cross through Urbino's territory with his troops. He received the Duke's permission and went ahead with his surprise attack when he Duke was away.
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.
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 is celebrated on June 6, to commemorate 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.
