1066:

Battle of Stamford Bridge

The last Viking battle on English soil claimed the lives of Harald Hardrada and the brother of King Harold of England, Tostig. It also delayed Harold's arrival at Hastings, becoming a significant factor in the outcome of the Norman Conquest.

1513:

Balboa encounters the Pacific

Vasco Nuñez de Balboa had participated in the expedition of Rodrigo de Bastidas before becoming a planter in Hispaniola, where he was extremely unsuccessful and fell deeply into debt. He gathered an expedition together and headed to Panama in order to avoid an impending royal summons, hoping at the same time to curry favor by performing a great service.

After defeating a heavy force of natives the expedition reached the summit of a mountain from which the Pacific could be seen, then moved on to the shore. Balboa took official possession of the sea he called "Mar del Sur" (Southern Sea) by marching into the water and claiming the seas and lands for the king and queen of Castile. The ocean would later be named the "Pacific" by Magellan.

Balboa's discovery did indeed mitigate his troubles with the Spanish court, but only enough to keep him from jail and give him a token title and few lands. He was placed under the jurisdiction of Pedro Arias Dávilas, his bitterest enemy, who a few years later accused and convicted Balboa of rebellion and had him beheaded.

1555:

Peace of Augsburg

Though only a temporary settlement, the Peace of Augsburg was the first permanent legal basis for the existence of Lutheranism as well as Catholicism in Germany.