Napoleon was sent to the island off the Italian coast in 1814 after his army was defeated and he abdicated.

WSJ: Complex Napoleon Rivalry Heads for Its Waterloo

Emma, however, chose to keep the letters, which were eventually published in 1814, nine years after Nelson's death.

BBC: Nelson's letter

But the Jesuits managed to survive in Russia and Prussia, whose rulers refused to obey the papal bull which was eventually rescinded in 1814.

WSJ: Jesuits Had Past Struggles With Popes

The area became a British colony in 1814, but earlier Dutch colonists introduced vines to the Constantia Valley in 1685, making it the oldest winemaking region in the world outside of Europe.

BBC: In Cape Town, really old New World wine

But there are also harder to categorize scenes, such as the British sacking of Washington in 1814 and wartime sabotage by German agents in 1916.

CNN: Terrorism nothing new to America

Twice over the years all concerned were forced to up sticks and move to a new ground, although the current spot has been permanent since 1814.

BBC: Lord's celebrates Test ton

After hastily abdicating the Spanish throne in 1814, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte absconded with the pearl to the United States, where it and he bided their time, lying low in Philadelphia.

WSJ: Pearls Gone Wild

In 1814, three clerks stuffed it into a linen sack and carried it to a gristmill in Virginia, which was fortunate, because the British burned Washington down.

NEWYORKER: The Commandments