Catholic Textbook Project

10/12/2026

534 years ago this week, Christopher Columbus discovers America.

This excerpt about Christopher Columbus discovering America comes from our book, Light to the Nations, Part 1.

10/05/2026

112 years ago this week, Antwerp surrenders to German forces.

09/28/2026

245 years ago this week, the siege of Yorktown begins.

This text about the beginning of the siege of Yorktown comes from our book Lands of Hope and Promise.

09/21/2026

83 years ago this week, German leaders established the Italian Social Republic.

https://www.catholictextbookproject.com/post/german-leaders-establish-the-italian-social-republic-september-23-1943

09/14/2026

239 years ago this week, the U.S. Constitution is signed.

This text about the signing of the US Constitution comes from our book, All Ye Lands.

09/08/2026

249 years ago this week, George Washington is defeated by Major General John Burgoyne.

Even if they were partial to it, King Louis and his advisers knew the American Revolution might not succeed. It wouldn’t do to waste money and men on a lost cause. The Americans had been having some success. Though the British general, Sir William Howe, had beaten Washington (with the loss of 1,00...

08/31/2026

252 years ago this week, the First Continental Congress gathers.

If Parliament had been content to punish Boston alone, it may have been able to keep other colonies from joining the city in opposition to the British government. But among the Coercive Acts was one very objectionable one that removed the right of the Massachusetts people to elect many public offici...

08/24/2026

242 years ago this week, Fray Junípero Serra dies.

08/17/2026

203 years ago this week, Pope Pius VII dies.

08/10/2026

221 years ago this week, Meriwether Lewis becomes the first Anglo-American to ascend the Continental Divide.

In France, Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, was piqued. King Friedrich the Great of Prussia had written some verses about her that were not at all flattering. In retaliation, Pompadour exerted her influence over Louis in favor of Prussia’s enemy, the Austrians. The Austrian ambassador, ...