314 Silvester I begins his reign as Pope of the Catholic Church, succeeding Pope Miltiades.
336 Pope Mark dies, leaving the papacy vacant.
904 Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
1048 Protestantism: The villagers around today's Baden-Baden elect their own priest in defiance of the local bishop. Later, in a move that would not be seen before the Protestant Reformation, he is also elected Pope by acclamatio, just to die that same day. It is rumored that Ildebrando di Soana heard of the acclamatio and used it later to get elected himself as Pope Gregory VII.
1215 King John of England makes an oath to Pope Innocent III as a crusader to gain his support.
1274 In France, the Second Council of Lyons opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
1294 Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months; Celestine hoped to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
1294 Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
1527 Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo.
1590 Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.
1621 Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
1846 The Papal conclave of 1846 concludes. Pope Pius IX is elected Pope beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy (not counting St. Peter).
1925 Roman Catholic papal encyclical ''Quas Primas'' introduces the Feast of Christ the King.
1939 Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
1939 Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
1950 Pope Pius XII witnesses "The Miracle of the Sun" while at the Vatican.
1965 Becoming the first Pope to ever visit the United States of America and the Western hemisphere, Pope Paul VI arrives in New York.
1968 Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the first visit of a pope to Latin America.
1979 Pope John Paul II first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.