Ensisheim meteorite
A stone falls into a wheat field and survives to this day
On 7 November 1492 a stony meteorite of about 127 kg fell in a wheat field near Ensisheim, one of the oldest falls both documented and preserved. Only weeks earlier Columbus had reached the Bahamas.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 15th century
Did you know
1492: Granada fell in January, Columbus reached the Americas in October, and in November the Ensisheim meteorite fell in Alsace — one of Europe's oldest witnessed falls.
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1478 Annexation of Novgorod by Moscow — 14 years earlier
- 1480 Great Stand on the Ugra River — 12 years earlier
Middle East
- 1501 Founding of Safavid Iran — 9 years later
Africa
- 1488 Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope — 4 years earlier
Asia
- 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India — 6 years later
- 1511 Portuguese capture of Malacca — 19 years later
Americas
- 1492 Columbus reaches the Americas — same year
Alive at the time
- Christopher Columbus (aged 41)
- Leonardo da Vinci (aged 40)
- Nicolaus Copernicus (aged 19)
- Michelangelo (aged 17)
- Martin Luther (aged 9)
- Ivan III (aged 52)
- Isabella I of Castile (aged 41)
- Henry VII (aged 35)
- Maximilian I (aged 33)
- Moctezuma II (aged 26)