[Amnorix]

January 10.

Some REALLY good choices here. In 1475 Stephen of Moldavia defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. Vastly outnumbered (reports were 120,000 Ottomans to 40,000 Moldavians plus some allies), the successful defense helped stem the "infidel" Muslim invasion of Europe.

In 1776 Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, which inflames all Americans (not just the elite) towards revolution.

In 1870 John Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

In 1941 Lend Lease is introduced to the US Congress.

But ultimate, the event of the day is one that is nearly 2,000 years old and still has references in modern day parlance and shaped most of the Western World for centuries to come. On this day in 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river in Northern Italy, signaling the start of the Roman civil war that led to his seizure of power and the conversion of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.

The significance of the Rubicon River is that it signaled the border between Italy proper and Cisalpine Gaul. Gaul being more commonly known these days as France. Roman law prohibited Roman Legions from crossing the Rubicon and entering Italy proper, thus protecting, in theory, the Republic from being overthrown from power.

Having subdued Gaul which had been in active rebellion and having served terms a proconsul and otherwise achieving the heights of power in the Republic, the Senate sought to reduce him in stature and possibly marginalize his power. Unwilling to accept this, he crossed the Rubicon with a single legion, but in so doing, triggered civil war.

To this day, the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is used to indicate an act of significance that, once taken, puts one on a path of no return.