1440

The Printing press is invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg, rapidly changing Europe.

1440 in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	1440 MCDXL
Ab urbe condita	2193
Armenian calendar	889 ԹՎ ՊՁԹ
Assyrian calendar	6190
Balinese saka calendar	1361–1362
Bengali calendar	846–847
Berber calendar	2390
English Regnal year	18  Hen. 6  – 19  Hen. 6
Buddhist calendar	1984
Burmese calendar	802
Byzantine calendar	6948–6949
Chinese calendar	己未年 (Earth  Goat) 4137 or 3930     — to — 庚申年 (Metal  Monkey) 4138 or 3931
Coptic calendar	1156–1157
Discordian calendar	2606
Ethiopian calendar	1432–1433
Hebrew calendar	5200–5201
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1496–1497
- Shaka Samvat	1361–1362
- Kali Yuga	4540–4541
Holocene calendar	11440
Igbo calendar	440–441
Iranian calendar	818–819
Islamic calendar	843–844
Japanese calendar	Eikyō 12 (永享１２年)
Javanese calendar	1355–1356
Julian calendar	1440 MCDXL
Korean calendar	3773
Minguo calendar	472 before ROC 民前472年
Nanakshahi calendar	−28
Thai solar calendar	1982–1983
Tibetan calendar	阴土羊年 (female Earth-Goat) 1566 or 1185 or 413     — to — 阳金猴年 (male Iron-Monkey) 1567 or 1186 or 414

1440 (MCDXL) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1440th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 440th year of the 2nd millennium, the 40th year of the 15th century, and the 1st year of the 1440s decade. As of the start of 1440, the Gregorian calendar was 9days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.

Events

January–December

• February - June – Praguerie: The French nobility rises up against King Charles VII.
• February 21 – The Prussian Confederation is formed.
• April 9 – Christopher of Bavaria is elected King of Denmark.
• April – Murad II lays siege to Belgrade. The city is heavily damaged, but the defenders' use of artillery prevents the Turks from capturing the city.
• September 12 – Eton College is founded by Henry VI of England.
• September 13 – Breton knight Gilles de Rais is taken into custody, upon an accusation of murdering children brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
• September – The term of Regent of Sweden Karl Knutsson Bonde ends, as newly elected king of Denmark Christopher of Bavaria is also elected king of Sweden.
• October 22 – Gilles de Rais confesses, and is sentenced to death.

Date unknown

• Itzcóatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan, dies and is succeeded by Moctezuma I (Moctezuma Ilhuicamina).
• Lorenzo Valla's De falso credita et ementita Constantini Donatione declamatio demonstrates that the Donation of Constantine is a forgery.
• Sir Richard Molyneux is appointed constable of Liverpool Castle, in England.
• The Ming dynasty government of China begins a decade-long series of issuing harsh edicts towards those who illegally mine silver, the latter known as 'miner bandits' (kuangzei), a trend begun in 1438. The government wants to cap the amount of silver circulating into the market, as more grain taxes are converted into silver taxes. The government establishes community night watches known as 'watches and tithings' (baojia), who ensure that illegal mining activities are brought to a halt. However, these are desperate measures, as illegal silver mining continues to thrive as a dangerous but lucrative venture.
• Uwaifiokun, Oba of Benin, is killed by his brother, the Prince Ogun, who succeeds him as Ewuare I.
• Zhu Quan writes the Cha Pu ("Tea Manual") in China.

Births

• January 22: Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
• February 13: Hartmann Schedel, German physician (d. 1514)
• date unknown: Clara Tott, German court singer (d. 1520)

Deaths

• March 9: Frances of Rome, Italian Benedictine nun and saint (b. 1384)
• March 20: Sigismund Kęstutaitis, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1365)
• April 2: Giovanni Vitelleschi, Italian Roman Catholic bishop and soldier
• April 6: Henry Wardlaw, Scottish church leader
• September 20: Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1371)
• September 30: Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, English soldier and politician
• October 12: Ginevra d'Este (b. 1419)
• October 26: Gilles de Rais, French soldier (b. 1404)
• November 13: Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland
• date unknown:
  • Itzcóatl, Aztec Tlatoani (ruler) of Tenochtitlan ^[1]
  • Uwaifiokun, Oba of Benin

• 
  Saint Frances of Rome
• 
  Sigismund Kęstutaitis
• 
  Giovanni Vitelleschi

References

1. "Itzcóatl, 'Serpiente de obsidiana' (1427–1440)" ["Itzcóatl, 'Obsidian Snake' (1427–1440)"]. Arqueologia Mexicana (in Spanish). July 4, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2019.