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On 4 February 2 BC, the Roman Senate hailed Augustus as Pater Patriae — Father of the Fatherland. He had been ruling Rome for thirty years. He wept.

On 4th February 1794, the French National Convention abolished slavery throughout all territories of the First Republic — a revolutionary act that would shape colonial policy for generations.

On 3 February 1488, Bartolomeu Dias landed at Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Twenty-one years later to the day, Portuguese cannon settled who would rule the Indian Ocean.

On 2 February 1626, Charles I was crowned at Westminster Abbey. His reign ended on a scaffold — and began the slow, violent invention of parliamentary democracy.

On 1 February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini flew home from Paris and Iran changed for ever. Forty-seven years later, the regime he built is under more pressure than at any point since. It may not matter.

On 31 January 1606, four men - including Guy Fawkes - were dragged on hurdles from the Tower of London to Old Palace Yard, opposite the building they had tried to blow up, and hanged, drawn, and quartered. The famous date is 5 November. The decisive one is this one.

On 30 January 1648, in a German town that would give its name to a more famous treaty nine months later, Spain signed a separate peace with the Dutch Republic. The Eighty Years' War ended. Madrid finally admitted, in writing, that it had lost.

On 29 January 1886, Karl Benz filed a patent for a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a gas engine. The machine had no reverse gear, ran on pharmacy solvent, and almost nobody wanted one.

On 28 January 1069, Robert de Comines rode into Durham with a small army despite being told a rebel force was waiting for him. He and most of his men were killed. William the Conqueror's response laid waste to half of England's north and left marks on the land that are still visible today.

On 27 January 98 AD, Nerva died and Trajan became Roman emperor. For centuries after, the Senate greeted every new emperor with the same ritual wish: may you be better than Trajan. He was not without flaws, but the bar he set outlasted the empire itself.