22 March 1421

Thomas Duke of Clarence, the younger brother and heir presumptive of King Henry V, was defeated and killed after unwisely attacking a Franco-Scottish army at Baugé near Angers in north-west France.

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22 March 1459

Birth of Maximilian, the son of Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal. Holy Roman Emperor from 1493, his rule will see an expansion of Habsburg territory but also some costly wars, notably against the French in Italy.


22 March 1622

About 350 Virginian settlers, around a third of the population of the colony, were killed in a series of surprise attacks by Native Americans of the Powhatan confederacy under the leadership of Chief Opchanacanough.


22 March 1783

Birth of Sarah Goodin Barrett Moulton. Nicknamed ‘Pinkie’, she was the young subject of one of Thomas Lawrence’s most famous portraits. It was purchased in 1926 for 74,000 guineas, then the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction.


22 March 1832

Death in Weimar of poet Johann von Goethe.

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22 March 1888

Plans for what will be the world's first football league are announced. Founder members are Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby, Everton, Notts County, Preston, Stoke, West Brom and Wolves.


22 March 1895

In Paris, an invited audience of 200 people watch as the Lumière brothers demonstrate their black-and-white moving pictures.

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22 March 1960

American physicists Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes were awarded the world's first patent for a laser. Gordon Gould, who coined the term laser and whose patent application had been rejected, began a 30-year legal battle for his patent rights.

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