Events Pre-1600 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma". 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French. 1545 – The settlement of Villa Imperial de Carlos V (now the city of Potosí) in Bolivia is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area. 1601–1900 1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America. 1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain. 1717 – Robert Walpole resigns from the British government, commencing the Whig Split which lasts until 1720. 1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz. 1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria. 1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth's climate for the next two years. 1816 – The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States. 1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus. 1821 – Greek War of Independence: the island of Psara joins the Greek struggle for independence. 1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive. 1858 – After the original Big Ben, a bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry. 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico. 1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time. 1866 – The American Society for the Prevention