996:

Otto III crowned

Otto and his friend, Pope Sylvester II, had great plans for the Holy Roman Empire that sadly never came to pass. The young emperor did not survive past his 21st year.

1358:

Jacquerie Uprising begins

The Jacquerie was a peasant revolt, so named from the habit of French nobles to refer to any peasant as "Jacque" or "Jacques Bonhomme." A series of injustices (including the pillaging of the countryside by unopposed English mercenaries) accumulated until the peasants exploded in righteous anger.

The outbreak that began near Compiègne on this date spread rapidly through the countryside. Numerous castles were destroyed and the inhabitants killed. The country peasants joined forces with Parisian rebels, but all were defeated in June, whereupon many were slaughtered.

1471:

Albrecht Durer

1527:

Philip II of Spain

1506:

Christopher Columbus