August 18
Death of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan, ink and colour on silk; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.
1227: Genghis Khan, who died on this day, was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant beginnings, brought all the nomadic tribes of Mongolia into a rigidly disciplined military state. He chose as his successor his son Ögödei and, to ensure that his other sons would obey Ögödei, passed on to him an army and a state in full vigour. At the time of his death, Genghis Khan had conquered the landmass extending from Beijing to the Caspian Sea, and his generals had raided Persia and Russia.
1896: According to lore, more than 200 outlaws from regional gangs gathered at Brown's Hole in the American West, where Butch Cassidy proposed to organize a Train Robbers' Syndicate, which became familiarly known as the Wild Bunch.
1786: The city of Reykjavík was designated the administrative capital of Iceland.
1587: Virginia Dare, the first American child of English parents, was born on Roanoke Island—the first attempted English settlement in North America.
1572: Henry IV, king of Navarra, and Margaret of Valois of the French royal house were married.
1477: Mary of Burgundy married Archduke Maximilian, son of the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand III. |
