What Happened in 1494

Historical Events in 1494

  • Jan 1 Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia
  • Jan 6 The first Mass in the New World is celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola
  • Jan 25 Alfonso II succeeds his father as King of Naples
  • May 5 On his 2nd voyage to New World Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay
  • Jun 7 Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal divide the new world along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa
  • Nov 8 Uprising against Piero de' Medici in Florence
  • Nov 9 Piero the Unfortunate of the de' Medici family, ruler of Florence, loses his power and flees the state
  • Nov 18 French King Charles VIII occupies Florence

Famous People Who Died in 1494

  • Jan 11 Domenico Ghirlandaio [Bigordi], Italian Renaissance painter, and mentor of Michelangelo, dies of pestilential fever at 45
  • Jan 25 Ferdinand I, cruel king of Naples, dies
  • Aug 11 Hans Memling [John Memlinc], Flemish painter (Passietaferelen), dies
  • Sep 24 Poliziano, Italian humanist (b. 1454)
  • Oct 22 Gian Galeazzo, Italian duke of Milan (1476-94), dies

More Deaths in 1494