This list includes 46 Historical events that start with D, from “D-Day” to “Dutch Revolt”. They include military campaigns, political uprisings, discoveries, and disasters useful for study, teaching, and quick reference.
Historical events that start with D are notable moments, movements, or incidents named with the letter D. Many shaped borders and collective memory—”D-Day” remains a global touchstone of World War II.
Below you’ll find the table with Year, Location, and Significance.
Year: Shows the exact year or range when the event occurred, helping you place it on a clear chronological timeline.
Location: Lists the city, region, or country where the event took place so you can spot geographic patterns quickly.
Significance: Summarizes the event’s impact in a concise sentence so you quickly grasp why it matters historically.
Historical events that start with D
| Event | Year | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-Day | 1944 | Normandy, France | Military landing |
| Dacian Wars | 101–106 | Dacia (modern Romania) | Military campaign |
| Danelaw, Establishment of | 886 | England | Political treaty |
| Darien Scheme | 1698–1700 | Isthmus of Panama | Colonial failure |
| Dawes Act | 1887 | United States | Legislation |
| Dawes Plan | 1924 | Global | Economic plan |
| Day of the Covenant (Battle of Blood River) | 1838 | Ncome River, South Africa | Battle |
| Dayton Agreement | 1995 | Dayton, Ohio, USA | Peace treaty |
| Decembrist Revolt | 1825 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Uprising |
| Declaration of Arbroath | 1320 | Arbroath Abbey, Scotland | Political declaration |
| Declaration of Independence (U.S.) | 1776 | Philadelphia, USA | Political declaration |
| Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen | 1789 | Paris, France | Political declaration |
| Deepwater Horizon oil spill | 2010 | Gulf of Mexico | Environmental disaster |
| Defenestration of Prague | 1618 | Prague, Bohemia | Political uprising |
| Delhi Sultanate, Establishment of | 1206 | Delhi, India | State formation |
| Destruction of the Library of Alexandria | 3rd century BCE–5th century CE | Alexandria, Egypt | Cultural loss |
| Destruction of the Second Temple | 70 | Jerusalem, Judea | Military destruction |
| Destruction of the Spanish Armada | 1588 | English Channel | Naval battle |
| Devshirme System, Institution of | c. 1380s | Ottoman Empire | Social system institution |
| Diadochi Wars | 322–275 BCE | Eastern Mediterranean | Wars of succession |
| Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria | 1897 | London, United Kingdom | Cultural celebration |
| Dien Bien Phu, Battle of | 1954 | Dien Bien Phu, French Indochina | Decisive battle |
| Diet of Worms | 1521 | Worms, Holy Roman Empire | Religious assembly |
| Dinosaur Extinction Event | c. 66,000,000 BCE | Global | Extinction event |
| Diocletianic Persecution | 303–311 | Roman Empire | Religious persecution |
| Dirty War | 1976–1983 | Argentina | State terrorism |
| Disappearance of the Roanoke Colony | 1590 | Roanoke Island, North America | Historical mystery |
| Discovery of DNA’s Double Helix Structure | 1953 | Cambridge, United Kingdom | Scientific discovery |
| Discovery of Penicillin | 1928 | London, United Kingdom | Scientific discovery |
| Dissolution of the Monasteries | 1536–1541 | England, Wales, and Ireland | Religious reform |
| Dissolution of the Soviet Union | 1991 | Moscow, Soviet Union | Political collapse |
| Division of the Roman Empire | 395 | Roman Empire | Political change |
| Dogger Bank Incident | 1904 | North Sea | Diplomatic crisis |
| Domestication of the Horse | c. 4,000–3,500 BCE | Eurasian Steppes | Agricultural revolution |
| Dominican Restoration War | 1863–1865 | Dominican Republic | War of independence |
| Donner Party Ordeal | 1846–1847 | Sierra Nevada, USA | Disaster |
| Doolittle Raid | 1942 | Japan | Military raid |
| Dred Scott v. Sandford Decision | 1857 | Washington D.C., USA | Legal decision |
| Dreyfus Affair | 1894–1906 | France | Political scandal |
| Drogheda, Siege of | 1649 | Drogheda, Ireland | Military siege |
| Dual Alliance | 1879 | Europe | Military treaty |
| Dungan Revolt | 1862–1877 | Western China | Uprising |
| Dunkirk Evacuation | 1940 | Dunkirk, France | Military evacuation |
| Dust Bowl | 1930–1940 | Great Plains, USA | Environmental disaster |
| Dutch East India Company (VOC), Founding of | 1602 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Corporate formation |
| Dutch Revolt | 1568–1648 | Low Countries | War of independence |
Descriptions
D-Day
The largest seaborne invasion in history, which began the liberation of France from Nazi occupation and was a major turning point on the Western Front of World War II.
Dacian Wars
Two major campaigns fought by the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan against the kingdom of Dacia, resulting in Roman victory and the region’s annexation.
Danelaw, Establishment of
A treaty between Alfred the Great and Viking leader Guthrum that formally established a territory in England where Danish laws and customs held sway for centuries.
Darien Scheme
A disastrous attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to establish a colony in Panama; its failure bankrupted the country and was a major factor in the 1707 Acts of Union with England.
Dawes Act
A U.S. federal law that authorized the division of Native American tribal land into individual allotments, intended to assimilate tribes but resulting in massive land loss.
Dawes Plan
An arrangement to resolve Germany’s World War I reparations crisis by staggering payments and providing U.S. loans, temporarily stabilizing the Weimar Republic’s economy.
Day of the Covenant (Battle of Blood River)
A pivotal battle in which several hundred Voortrekkers defeated a large Zulu army, an event central to the development of Afrikaner nationalism.
Dayton Agreement
The peace accord that formally ended the devastating three-and-a-half-year-long Bosnian War, establishing the political framework for modern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Decembrist Revolt
An attempted coup by a group of Russian army officers to prevent Tsar Nicholas I’s assumption of the throne, representing the first major revolutionary movement in modern Russia.
Declaration of Arbroath
A declaration of Scottish independence sent to the Pope during the Wars of Scottish Independence, powerfully asserting Scotland’s sovereignty and nationhood.
Declaration of Independence (U.S.)
The formal statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress announcing the thirteen American colonies’ separation from Great Britain and their founding principles of liberty.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
A fundamental document of the French Revolution that defined the individual and collective rights of all men, profoundly influencing democratic principles worldwide.
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, resulting in severe and lasting environmental and economic consequences.
Defenestration of Prague
An event where Protestant officials threw two Catholic imperial representatives from a castle window, serving as the immediate catalyst for the Thirty Years’ War in Europe.
Delhi Sultanate, Establishment of
The founding of a powerful Muslim sultanate based in Delhi that ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for over 300 years, profoundly influencing its culture and politics.
Destruction of the Library of Alexandria
The gradual or catastrophic destruction of the ancient world’s largest and most significant library, representing a major and symbolic loss of knowledge from antiquity.
Destruction of the Second Temple
The complete destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans during the First Jewish-Roman War, a pivotal and traumatic event in Jewish history.
Destruction of the Spanish Armada
The decisive defeat of the massive Spanish fleet sent to invade England, which secured the Protestant Reformation in England and marked a shift in global naval power.
Devshirme System, Institution of
The Ottoman practice of forcibly conscripting Christian boys, converting them to Islam, and training them for elite military or civil service, including the Janissaries.
Diadochi Wars
A series of brutal conflicts fought between Alexander the Great’s generals (the Diadochi) over the control and division of his vast empire following his death.
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria
A massive celebration marking Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne, which served as a grand display of the British Empire’s global power and reach at its zenith.
Dien Bien Phu, Battle of
The climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War, where Viet Minh forces decisively defeated the French Union, leading to France’s withdrawal from Vietnam.
Diet of Worms
An imperial assembly where Martin Luther refused to recant his writings before Emperor Charles V, a pivotal moment that accelerated the Protestant Reformation.
Dinosaur Extinction Event
An asteroid impact that caused a mass extinction event, wiping out about 75% of all species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs, and paving the way for the rise of mammals.
Diocletianic Persecution
The last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, where Emperor Diocletian ordered the destruction of churches and scriptures to restore traditional Roman religion.
Dirty War
A period of state-sponsored violence and repression by Argentina’s military dictatorship, during which thousands of political dissidents were illegally detained, tortured, or “disappeared.”
Disappearance of the Roanoke Colony
The mysterious disappearance of an entire English colony in modern-day North Carolina, whose fate remains unknown and has become a staple of American folklore.
Discovery of DNA’s Double Helix Structure
The groundbreaking discovery by Watson and Crick of the double helix structure of DNA, revolutionizing biology and medicine and unlocking the secrets of genetics.
Discovery of Penicillin
Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of the antibiotic properties of the Penicillium fungus, which launched the age of antibiotics and has since saved countless millions of lives.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The formal process initiated by King Henry VIII to disband Catholic monasteries, priories, and convents, seizing their wealth and consolidating royal power over the church.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The formal end of the world’s largest communist state, which peacefully concluded the Cold War and resulted in the creation of 15 new independent countries.
Division of the Roman Empire
The final division of the Roman Empire into separate Eastern and Western administrative halves upon the death of Emperor Theodosius I, leading to two distinct political fates.
Dogger Bank Incident
A tense naval incident where the Russian Baltic Fleet mistook British fishing trawlers for Japanese warships and fired on them, nearly causing a war between Britain and Russia.
Domestication of the Horse
The process by which wild horses were tamed for human use, revolutionizing transport, warfare, communication, and agriculture across the globe for millennia.
Dominican Restoration War
A guerrilla war fought by Dominican nationalists against Spain, which had re-annexed the country, resulting in the re-establishment of the Dominican Republic’s sovereignty.
Donner Party Ordeal
The tragic ordeal of a group of American pioneers who were snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains, with many resorting to cannibalism to survive the harsh winter.
Doolittle Raid
The first U.S. air raid to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II, providing a crucial morale boost for America just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Dred Scott v. Sandford Decision
A landmark Supreme Court ruling that denied citizenship to African Americans, further inflaming sectional tensions and hastening the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Dreyfus Affair
A political scandal that deeply divided France over the wrongful treason conviction of Jewish artillery captain Alfred Dreyfus, highlighting widespread antisemitism and injustice.
Drogheda, Siege of
A brutal and controversial siege during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, where Oliver Cromwell’s forces massacred the town’s royalist garrison and many civilians.
Dual Alliance
A defensive alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary created to counter Russian influence. It became a central pillar of the Central Powers in World War I.
Dungan Revolt
A massive ethnic and religious war fought in 19th-century western China between the Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups against the ruling Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
Dunkirk Evacuation
The miraculous evacuation of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, which saved the core of the British army to continue the fight in World War II.
Dust Bowl
A decade-long period of severe dust storms that caused major ecological and agricultural damage, forcing hundreds of thousands of “Okies” to abandon their farms.
Dutch East India Company (VOC), Founding of
The establishment of the world’s first multinational corporation and first company to issue stock, which dominated the Asian spice trade for two centuries.
Dutch Revolt
Also known as the Eighty Years’ War, this was the successful revolt of the northern Low Countries against the rule of Philip II of Spain, leading to the independent Dutch Republic.