Britannicus' Mysterious Death: Nero's Rise to Power (+ 13 more historical events on this day!)

A Daily Dose of History (11 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor. Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England. A naval expedition led by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived Spanish settlements in the Strait of Magellan. Sir Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias for two months, obtaining a ransom and booty. The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses. First session of United States Senate opens to the public. Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of "gerrymandering" for the first time. Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta. University College London is founded as University of London. Gaetano Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France. Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy. Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia. The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed. Information from this episode are sourced from API Ninjas Explanations from OpenAI ChatGPT API with proprietary prompts. This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices