1013 Timeline 1

54 AD: Roman Emperor Claudius I is poisoned by his wife Agrippina, and her son Nero from a previous marriage succeeds to the throne. 645 AD: Under the leadership of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Tang army is forced to abandon the siege of Anshi Fortress. 982 AD: With the assistance of Yelü Xiezhen and Han Derang, Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Dynasty effectively seizes political power in the Liao Dynasty. 1269 AD: Westminster Abbey in England is completed. 1307 AD: King Philip IV of France orders the arrest of members of the Knights Templar throughout the land and forces them to 'confess' to heresy. 1773 AD: French astronomer Charles Messier discovers the first spiral galaxy, M51, in the constellation Canes Venatici. 1792 AD: The cornerstone is laid for the executive mansion in Washington, D.C., USA, later renamed the 'White House'. 1812 AD: War of 1812: British forces and Mohawk warriors repel an American invasion force from across the Niagara River in the Battle of Queenston Heights near Queenston, Ontario. 1815 AD: Britain occupies Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean.