ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 29th MarchOn this day in history in 1461, Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become World Arm Wrestling Champion.
Nope, wait. Edward defeated Margaret at the Battle of Towton during the Wars of the Roses, and became King of England as a result.
The Wars of the Roses had been going on for years. It raged and enraged the House of York and the House of Lancaster.
Basically we have Edward of York, whose house motto is Winter is Coming, fighting against Margaret, played by Cersei, the wife of King Henry VI, who was shifting between bonkers-nutso and being a little bit lethargic.
The Battle of Towton has been described as the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. It involved over 50,000 soldiers, Tyrion Lannister, some White Walkers, a zombie, and three dragons.
After several hours of fighting, and with over 28,000 dead on the battlefield, the Yorkist army came out as the victors. Henry and his supporters, those who were still alive after the battle, fled England to live in exile.
Edward, Duke of York, marched into London and was crowned Edward IV, King of England, on 28th June, 1461.
On this day in history in 1792, King Gustav III of Sweden died - thirteen days after being shot whilst attending a masquerade ball in Stockholm.
On this day in history, King Gustav IV of Sweden abdicated after a coup d'état.
Wasn't given much of a choice either. He had been kidnapped a few weeks ago by Lieutenant Colonel Georg (without an "e") Adlersparre whilst he slept, along with his family, and imprisoned in a castle, made of stone.
King-No-More Gustav IV of Sweden was persuaded to give up his throne in order to preserve it for his son. He abdicated in the knowledge that the people only hated him, and not his son.
Once gone, there would be a small transitional period and then his son would be king.
At least, that was the plan.
The provisional government declared de-King’d Gustav had not only forfeited his right to rule through his abdication, but had given up his right to for his son to inherit the throne.
Duke Charles was inserted on the throne, which sounds mildly painful, and he became King Charles XIII. Gustav and his family were then exiled to Germany, where he shacked up in a hotel after divorcing his wife, and then spent the rest of his life watching re-runs of The Apprentice.
On this day in history in 1867, Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent to the British North America Act. When it came into force, on the 1st of July of that year, it established the Dominion of Canada.
On this day in history in 2004, where there's smoke there's ... nope, no smoke here. Smoking was made illegal in all work places, including bars and restaurants, in the Republic of Ireland, making it the first country in the world to ban smoking to this degree.
Celebrity Birthdays
On this day in history in 1955, Marina Sirtis was born.
Seriously, 1955?
She is certainly looking good for it. I'd have guessed around 1965. But, well, some people do age well.
Anyways, Marina played Counsellor Deana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, who I may or may not have had a crush on back in the day. And to some degree, maybe, perhaps, still do. But I'm not admitting anything.
On this day in history 1957, Christopher Lambert was born.
Christophe Guy Dennis Lambert is famous for being the French-American who played the Scottish hero in The Highlander. He played alongside an actual Scotsman, Sean Connery, who was playing a Spaniard. Makes perfect sense.
There can be only one.
On this day in history in 1964, Michael Jackson was born.
Nope, not that Michael Jackson.
This is Michael A. Jackson who is the current Maryland State Delegate for District 27B in Prince George's County.
He was also the former Sherriff of Prince George's County, Maryland.
In July 2008, Michael Jackson's department raided a house in Berwyn Heights, Maryland. They handcuffed the occupants, interrogated them, and shot two dogs.
It soon became clear something went wrong. The house belonged to Cheye Calvo, the Mayor of Berwyn Heights.
It wasn't until 2010 that Michael Jackson's department cleared the Mayor Calvos of any wrongdoing. And another year and a half for Michael Jackson to offer a slipper of an apology.
But, apparently, he does a pretty good moon walk.
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