24 January AD 41
Claudius proclaimed emperor

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The murder of his nephew Caligula sees Claudius (son of Drusus, Tiberius's brother, and Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony) hiding in terror behind curtains in the imperial palace when a soldier from the Praetorian Guard spots his feet poking out. The soldier whisks him away to the Guard's camp, where he is proclaimed emperor. Claudius, who may have suffered from cerebral palsy, speaks with a severe stammer and walks with a pronounced limp. Because of this, he has never been considered a likely candidate for emperor until now, but he seizes his opportunity, executing the principal assassins of Caligula and clamping down on other potential rivals. During the course of his reign, at least 35 senators and 300 knights are executed at his command, although many of these deaths are blamed on his scheming wife, Messalina.

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