Code Napoleon promulgated

Code Napoleon promulgated

March 15, 2010 04:00:00 am

On March 15, 1803, the Code Napoleon (French Civil Code) was promulgated in France. The Code is considered the first successful legal code in Europe and is still used today as the basis for the modern French Civil Code. Napoleon’s conquests spread his Code across the European Continent, influencing modern legal codes in Portugal, Austria, Italy, and other nations.

Read a history of the Code Napoleon.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt born

Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragist, womens' rights advocate and co-founder of the League of Women Voters, was born on January 9, 1859.

Visit the Carrie Chapman Catt Childhood Home.

Great Britain's first income tax introduced

On January 9, 1799, British Prime Minister William Pitt introduced Great Britain's first income tax. The tax was announced the previous December as a means of raising money for war against Napoleon. Pitt's successor, Henry Addington, repealed the tax when hostilities subsided in 1802. Addington then reinstated the tax during the following year when fighting was renewed. The Addington tax model later became the model for the modern British income tax. Learn about the history of income taxation in Great Britain from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.