What are some astronomical events that affected history?

The kinds of things that can get humans really worked up are planetary conjunctions, solar eclipses, aurora, comets, meteor showers and meteor falls. Also, a few supernovae and novae are thrown in too since they light up the sky for days-weeks at a time. Not only have sightings of Halley's Comet been powerful portends of gloom and doom, but certain planetary conjunctions have come at key times in human history. The table below provides a timeline of the many events that have made some historical impact since the earliest recorded sightings of solar eclipses.

Humans have been terrified by spectacular meteor showers, and in some rare instances, have been injured of killed by being hit by meteorites. There are a number of total solar eclipses that have been seen since ancient times that were mentioned in ancient texts such as the solar eclipse mentioned by Xerxes. The deaths of Herod, Augustus Caesar and Jesus Christ happened during lunar eclipses. When you tally up how many of these astronomical events have been recorded by humans and affected them in one way or another, the list is a very long one.
Date Event Impact
May 3,1374 BC Eclipse Ugarit Eclipse - oldest documented sighting
June 3,1301 BC Eclipse Early Chinese Eclipse observation
April 16,1177 BC Eclipse Homer's Odyssey
June 15762 BC Eclipse Assyrian Eclipse
April 6,647 BC Eclipse Archilochus Eclipse
May 28584 BC Eclipse Heroditus Eclipse
October 2,479 BC Eclipse Xerxes Eclipse
Aug 28,412 BC Eclipse Siege of Syracuse
April 15,405 BC Eclipse Fire in the Temple of Athena
Sept 20,330 BC Eclipse Arbela battle of Alexander the Great
240 BC Halleys Comet sighting by Chinese astrologers
April 17,6 BC Conjunction Star of Bethelehem in Leo/Ares
March 23,4 BC Eclipse Death of Herod
Sept 27,14 AD Eclipse Death of Augustus
33 AD Eclipse Crucifixion of Jesus
37 AD Aurora Caesar sends soldiers north to put
60 AD Halleys Comet Nero has all possible successors executed
March 20, 71 AD Eclipse Plutarch's Eclipse
Nov 24,569 AD Eclipse Eclipse preceding birth of Mohammad
616 AD Meteorite meteorite kills 10 solders in a
May 5,840 AD Eclipse Treaty of Verdun
902 AD Meteor storm Leonids recorded by Arab astronomers
Dec 22,968 AD Eclipse Eclipse Constantinople. Leo Diaconus discovers corona.
1006 AD Supernova 2 yrs. Brighter than Venus
Dec 28,1047 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 3.4deg
1054 AD Supernova 1 m= -3.5. Chinese, Japanese. Pueblo
1066 AD Halleys Comet Battle of Hastings-Mass terror-Europe. Bayeux Tapestry
April 24,1146 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 3.2 deg
1181 AD Supernova 6 months. m= -1
Sep 201186 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 7 deg
Jan 15,1192 AD Aurora Seen in Flanders
May 14,1230 AD Eclipse S. Eclipse Major European eclipse
Jan 3,1285 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 9.5 deg.
1341 AD Meteorite meteorite shower killed people
June 21,1385 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 3.8 deg
Nov 9,1425 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 8.4 deg
May 22,1453 AD Eclipse Eclipse The fall of Constantinople
1456 AD Halleys Comet Blamed for earthquakes, illness
1490 AD Meteorite Meteorite Shower kills thousands.
March 1,1504 AD Eclipse Eclipse Christopher Columbus eclipse in Americas
Sept. 1511 AD Meteorite Monk killed by meteorite fall
Feb 18,1524 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 7 deg
1531 AD Halleys Comet Pisarro conquest of Incas
October 1572 AD Supernova Tycho's SN. -4.0. Cassiopeia. lasted 483 days
1577 AD Comet Aristotlean crystalline spheres
October 5,1591 AD Aurora Seen in Europe
1599 AD Comet sees Cortez as fulfillment of prophesy
1604 AD Supernova 365 days. m= -2.6
1607 AD Halleys Comet Observed by Johannes Kepler
July 9,1622 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 7.4 deg
Aug 22,1624 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 9 deg
Nov 171630 AD Meteor storm Storm Leonids light up sky for Keplers
1639 AD Venus transit First observed by human
1639 AD Meteorite County meteorite kills 10s of people
ca 1650 AD Meteorite Monk in Milano killed by meteorite. Artery
ca 1658 AD Supernova Cass-A. (3 Cass? seen by Flamsteed before
1680 AD Comet Great Comet.
Feb. 10,1681 AD Aurora Seen in Europe
1682 AD Halleys Comet Orbit calculated by Edmund Halley
May 3,1715 AD Eclipse Eclipse Edmund Halley's eclipse
March 17,1716 AD Aurora Seen in Europe
1729 AD Comet Comet of 1729
1759 AD Halleys Comet First prediction by Edmund Halley.
1744 AD Comet and famous comet de Chesaux's Comet.
June 6,1761 AD Venus Transit T. Major international observing campaign
August 5,1766 AD Eclipse Eclipse Captain Cook's eclipse
June 3,1769 AD Venus Transit T Captain Cook expeditions
1799 AD Meteor storm von Humbolt mentions intense storm
April 26,1803 AD Meteorite Major fall on L'Aigle France.
Jan 15,1805 AD Eclipse Eclipse The Lewis and Clark Expedition eclipse
1811 AD Comet Comet of 1811
Nov 12,1833 AD Meteor storm Storm Major Leonid shower terrified millions.
1835 AD Halleys Comet Blamed for Alamo massacre and NY
Sept 15,1839 AD Aurora Great Aurora seen in England
1843 AD Comet Comet of 1843
Nov. 17,1848 AD Aurora Great Aurora. California Cuba, Europe. Telegraphs.
Aug. 28,1859 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Cuba, Rome, Europe.
1858 AD Comet Comet
Sept. 2,1859 AD Aurora Athens. San Salvador. Major white light flare.
Sep 2,1861 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 3.6 deg.
1861 AD Comet Comet of 1861
Feb 4,1872 AD Aurora Great Aurora Mexico, Athens, India
Dec. 91874 AD Venus Transit T Venus Transit. Major international expeditions
Jan 22,1879 AD Eclipse Eclipse Zulu War Eclipse
1881 AD Comet Comet of 1881
Nov 18,1882 AD Aurora Great Aurora, Cuba, Mexico, US. Telegraph outages..
1882 AD Comet Comet. Photographed for first time.
Dec 6,1882 AD Venus Transit T Photos and major public interest.
March 30,1886 AD Aurora Great Aurora. England, China, Japan, India
Feb. 13,1892 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Iowa, New York
Mar. 30,1894 AD Aurora England
1897 AD Meteorite kills horse. New Martinsville WV.
Sept. 9,1898 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Omaha, Tenn. New York
1899 AD Meteor storm No Leonids. Public disappointed in astronomers
Nov. 11903 AD Aurora Great Aurora.Europe,N. America. France telegraphs
1907 AD Meteorite Meteorite kills Wan family
June 30,1908 AD Meteorite Tunguska Explosion
Sept. 25,1909 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Singapore.
1910 AD Halleys Comet Comet Hysteria. Suicides. Mayhem. Deadly gas.
January 1910 AD Comet Great Daylight Comet of 1910
April 17,1912 AD Eclipse Eclipse The 'Titanic' eclipse
April 25,1915 AD Meteorite China. Meteorite rips womans arm off.
July 4,1917 AD Eclipse Eclipse Lawrence of Arabia's eclipse
August 7,1917 AD Aurora Great Aurora. New York. Illinois
May 29,1919 AD Eclipse Eclipse Einstein's Eclipse
March 22,1920 AD Aurora Great Aurora Boston, Washington, Norway
May 14,1921 AD Aurora Great Aurora. England. Samoa, Jamaica.
Jan 24,1925 AD Eclipse Eclipse NY City's Winter Morning eclipse
Jan. 26,1926 AD Aurora Great Aurora. US, Scandinavia. London blackout
Dec 8,1929 AD Meteorite Meteorite kills a person in Yugoslavia
August 31,1932 AD Eclipse Eclipse Great Maine eclipse
Jan 25,1938 AD Aurora Great Aurora. US. North Africa. Fatima Aurora
March 24,1940 AD Aurora Great Aurora. N. Dakota. Blackout in N.East
Sept. 18,1941 AD Aurora Great Aurora. TV/Radio disruption in N. America
July 26,1946 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Boston, Tenn.
1948 AD Meteor Fireball. 2300 pound meteor recovered
Nov. 6,1951 AD Meteorite Bremerton, Wash. Man injured by meteorite
1954 AD Meteorite injures woman. Sylacauga, Alabama.
Feb. 24,1956 AD Aurora Iceland, Alaska. Intense cosmic ray blast.
Sept 13,1957 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Mexico
Feb 10,1958 AD Aurora Great Aurora. N. America, USSR. SW Blackout
October 1965 AD Comet Ikeya-Seki
Nov 17,1966 AD Meteor storm Storm Major Leonid shower over Central U,S.
Feb 8,1969 AD Meteorite Allende fall. Famous and spectacular
March 23,1969 AD Aurora North America
Sept 28,1969 AD Meteorite Murchison fall. Spectacular and famous.
March 1970 AD Comet Comet Bennett - very bright
August 4,1972 AD Aurora Great Aurora. N.America, Canada, Scandinavia.
August 10,1972 AD Fireball Daytime over Grand Tetons - 1000 tons.
January, 1974 AD Comet Kohoutek - a big but famous fizzle
March, 1976 AD Comet Comet West
March 5,1981 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Colorado.
February 1987 AD Supernova Large Magellanic Clouds. Optically discovered.
March 13,1989 AD Aurora Great Aurora. Canada, US. Quebec Power Blackout
October 9,1992 AD Meteorite Peekskill meteorite hits car.
July 16,1994 AD Comet Shoemaker-Levy collides with Jupiter
March 26,1996 AD Comet Hyakutake - Very bright
Jan 11,1997 AD Solar storm Storm Telstar 401 satellite damaged
April, 1997 AD Comet Hale-Bopp. Much celebrated
May 5,2000 AD Conjunction M-J-S-Sun less than 18 degrees
Oct 14,2001 AD Meteorite Canadian Fireball.
July 15,2000 AD Solar storm Storm Bastille Day Storm
April 2,2001 AD Solar storm Storm Major X20 Solar Flare
March, 2003 AD Meteorite Several Illinois towns hit by debris. Damage
June 8,2004 AD Venus transit First observation in 122 years.
June 6,2012 AD Venus transit Second observation in 122 years.
February 15,2013 AD Meteorite Explodes over Chelyabinsk and injurs 1,500 people
June 13, 2014 AD Moon Full moon on Friday ther 13th
August 21, 2017 AD Eclipse First total solar eclipse over Continental USA in over 30 years
March 31, 2018 AD Moon Two Blue Moons in same year January 31 and March 31
December 21, 2020 AD Conjunction Saturn and Jupiter 7 arcminues apart
April 13, 2029 AD Asteroid Apophis comes within 19,000 miles of Earth 

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Note: Abbreviations - Venus T. (Venus Transit of Sun). S. Exlipse (Total Solar Eclipse),
S. Storm (Solar Storm), Halley's C. (Halley's Comet), L. Eclipse (Lunar Eclipse), 
M. Storm (Intense meteor shower -  Meteor Storm)

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