Sergius III: Controversial Pope of Corruption (+ 8 more historical events on this day!)

A Daily Dose of History (29 Jan 2026) Today's historical events: Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate. War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne. Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore. "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe. Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress. Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War. Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state. The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children. 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