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Year '1444' was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Contents

Events of 1444

Births

Deaths

Trivia

Events of 1444

★ March 2 - The Albanian League is established in Lezha; Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance

★ April 16 - Truce of Tours. Five Year Truce between England and France

★ June 15 - Cosimo de' Medici founds the Laurentian Library.

★ August - Defeat at the Battle of Jalowaz forces Murad II to abdicate in favor of his son Mehmed II .

★ August 26 - Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs in the Old Zürich War. Charles VII of France, seeking to send away troublesome troops made idle by the truce with England, sends his son the Dauphin with a large army into Switzerland to support the claims of Emperor Frederick III. The massively outnumbered Swiss force is destroyed in this battle, but inflict such casualties on the French that they withdraw.

★ November 10 - Battle of Varna. The crusading forces of King Ladislas of Poland and Hungary are crushed by the Turks under Sultan Murad II. Ladislas is killed.

★ Forces of the Sultan of Egypt fail to take Rhodes from the Knights of Rhodes

★ Iguvine Tables discovered at Gubbio, Italy

★ Portuguese explorers reach the mouth of the rivers Senegal and Gambia.

★ First European slave market for the sale of African slaves, the ''Mercado de Escravos'' in Lagos, Portugal.

★ A serious fire occurs at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Births

★ January 24 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1476)

★ March 1 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (died 1510) [Conflicting birth year. See also: 1445]

★ March 11 - Donato Bramante, Italian architect (died 1514)

★ ''date unknown''

★
★ John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk (died 1476)

★
★ Nilakantha Somayaji, Indian mathematician and astronomer (died 1544)

Deaths

★ February 14 - Henriette of Mömpelgard, countess of Mömpelgard and regent of Württemberg (born 1387)

★ March 9 - Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (born 1374)

★ April 26 - Robert Campin, Flemish painter (born 1378)

★ May 20 - Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)

★ May 27 - John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (born 1404)

★ October 15 - Niccolò Piccinino, Italian mercenary (born 1386)

★ November 10 - King Wladislaus III of Poland (killed in battle) (born 1424)

★ November 25 - Martin Gouge, French chancellor

Trivia

1444 in Roman Numerals is MCDXLIV and, excluding the BC years, this year is the first year to use every letter in the Roman numbering system.