Historical Fun

History Fun Facts for November 26th   On This Day in 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on Maui.   On This Day in 1789, after a request from Congress, President George Washington proclaimed this day would observe a national Thanksgiving day.   On This Day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed November 26th as a National Thanksgiving day. It would from this day forwards be celebrated on the last Thursday of November every year.   However, since 1941, it has been held on the fourth Thursday of November each year.   On This Day in 1922, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to set foot in the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.   On This Day in History in 1942, Casablanca premiered in New York City.

HISTORICAL FUN: On This Day In History Fun Facts for November 25th   On This Day In History in 885, Vikings, yes, they are at it again, sieged Paris after sailing their fleet up the River Seine.   Vikings, Vikings, yes we are, Sail our ships, we came so far, To kill you. Die non-Vikings, DIE.   On This Day in History in 1120, William Adelin was killed when his ship , The White Ship, sank in the English Channel.   William Adelin was the son and heir of King Henry I of England. His death caused a succession crisis after his father died without issue that caused a period in England called The Anarchy.   Read some Historical Fun with FUN FACTS ABOUT KING HENRY I of ENGLAND .   On This Day in 1487, Elizabeth of York was crowned Queen of England.   Elizabeth of York was the wife of King Henry VII of England and the first ever Tudor Queen.   She could also be the inspiration to George RR Martin for his charact...

HISTORICAL FUN: HISTORY FUN FACTS for NOVEMBER 23rd   On This Day In History in 1499, Perkin Warbeck was hanged after attempting to escape from the Tower of London.   Perkin Warbeck was a pretender to the English throne. He invaded England with an army, more like a couple of friends on a Stag weekend, claiming to be the long lost son of King Edward IV of England.   Perkin Warbeck claimed he was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.   You might not even recognise that name right away.   Richard, Duke of York, was the younger son of King Edward IV of England. And also the younger brother of King Edward V of England.   Together, King Edward V of England and Richard, Duke of York, made up the duo known as The Princes in the Tower.   The Princes in the Tower were later murdered by King Richard III of England. their evil uncle.   Warbeck was captured in 1497 and interrogated under close scrutiny of King Henry VII, of the...

HISTORICAL FUN: HISTORY FUN FACTS FOR NOVEMBER 22   On This Day in 1718, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, the infamous and notorious and bulbous Pirate, was defeated in battle.   The boarding party, led by Royal Navy Lieutenant, Robert Maynard, found Blackbeard and ran him through real good, resulting in the pirate's death.   Edward Teach was born in or around 1680, and in or around the English city of Bristol. There really isn't much to go on when it comes to Edward Teach's early life. We do know he was born as a baby which had an extraordinary amount of facial hair, even for a baby from Bristol, which is saying something.   Did you know: Blackbeard could read and write.   Now, I know what you're thinking. Big deal?   Well, it actually was at the time. Education back then wasn't as freely available as it is today. This means we could assume Edward Teach, "if that's even your real name," was born ...

Quick History Facts for November 21st On This Day In History in 164 BC, Judas Maccabeus restored the Temple in Jerusalem and is now commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.   On This Day in 1877, Thomas Edison announced he had invented the phonograph, a magical machine that captured the souls of the living. Or, at least, their voices. Burn the witch.   On This Day in History in 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia took the oath of office to become the first female senator in the United States of America.

HISTORICAL FUN FACTS NOVEMBER 20th.   On This Day In History in 1407, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and Louis of Valois , Duke of Orleans, agreed a truce.   Unfortunately, John the Fearless was also John the utter-git. He had Louis of Valois assassinated three days later. Yep, what-a-git.   The two Dukes were in a state of war with each other up until the truce was signed. Both were trying to fill a void left by the King of France, Charles VI of France, who was ever so slightly whacko-nutso-bonkers.   Louis of Valois, who was not only the Duke of Orleans, but also the younger brother of the King of France, was minding his own business in Paris when 15 assassins leapt on him as he was trying to mount his horse.   We are assuming he was trying get on the horse to ride it, rather than anything else. But, with Louis of Valois, you never know. He was a dirty little sicko, by all accounts. Or at least by the account of John t...

HISTORICAL FUN FACTS for NOVEMBER 19th On This Day In History, 1600, King Charles I of England was born. Charles was the second son of King James VI of Scotland, who was soon to get an upgrade and become King James I of England. The eldest son of King James-The-Sixth-Soon-To-Be-First was Henry Frederick, the Prince of Wales. When Henry Frederick died in 1612, Charles became the Heir Apparent and the new Prince of Wales. Charles spent his first few years in Scotland. Even when his father became King of England, Charles remained in Scotland as he was quite a sickly child. And rather annoying. His father couldn't stand the winging little git and left for England without him. Charles wasn't seen as worthy until he could walk the length of the Great Hall at Dunfermline Palace with help, and scoff down a whole haggis without throwing up. Just before the age of four, Charles achieved both and was immediately sent to join his family in London. However, the interesting stu...

History Fun Facts for November 18th On This Day In History, 1305, John II, Duke of Brittany, was assassinated by a wall. A slightly unusual death for the Duke. As well as the Duke of Brittany, he was also the Earl of Richmond in England. He took part in a few crusades, which was just an elaborate cover to conceal the fact they were playing Pokémon Go. With all the fighting and wars this guy was involved in, which included wars between England and France, you'd have thought he'd have been poked to death by a spear. Nope. He was attending the coronation of Pope Clement V, leading the Pope's horse through a crowd, when a wall collapsed on him due to too many spectators piling on top. He was crushed, as was his horse. On This Day In History in 1307, William Tell shot an apple off his son's head. Not an interesting death, but an almost, holy cow, he got the apple, not the head. That was lucky. William Tell was a famous marksman and folk hero back in the day in...

HISTORICAL FUN FACT FOR NOVEMBER 17th On This Day in 887, Charles the Fat was deposed as the Carolingian Emperor and Arnulf of Carinthia is elected as King of the East Frankish Kingdom. Charles the Fat didn't much appreciate the name people called him, and much preferred to be known as Charles III. However, he was rather chubby. Well, huuuuge. So it wasn't as if he could move fast enough to catch those who called him THE FAT. On This Day In History in 1558, Mary I of England died, and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth-The-First-Of-Her-Name ruled all England for a Golden Age of 44 years. She became Queen on the 17th November 1558 after her big, and very ugly, sister died (big as in older, not as in bigger, although she was plump). Elizabeth reigned until she eventually kicked the bucket, which had a family of hedgehogs living inside, who also died, on the 24th March 1603. The Tudor Dynasty was at an end. ...

HISTORICAL FUN FACTS for NOVEMBER 16th On This Day In History in 42 BC, the Roman Emperor Tiberius was born. And yet he died in 37 BC. That isn't confusing at all. The Emperor Tiberius was assassinated. By a pillow. The pillow may have just been where his head was resting whilst he slept. Or it may have been above his head, being pressed down, really hard, by Caligula. No one is quite sure. Tiberius died in Misenum, aged 78, after placing himself in exile for the last years of his life. Everyone had it in for him. That bloke. The bloke over there. The geezer sitting down. The fairy on top of the Christmas tree. The gnome in his neighbour's front garden. Everyone. The guy was a little paranoid. And not well liked. When news spread to Rome about the death of Emperor Tiberius, the crowd rejoiced. Then went silent when they were told he had recovered. And then rejoiced again when they heard Caligula and Macro had smothered him with an inflatable hedgehog. Pillow...

History Fun Fact for November 15th   On This Day In History in 1915, Winston Churchill resigned from his Government and headed to the Western Front to take command of the 6th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers.   This guy was the serious, real deal.   Did You Know: Churchill was a prisoner of war.   A few weeks after he arrived in South Africa during the 2nd Boer War, he accompanied a Scouting trip (why the heck are they sending boy scouts into a war zone?) in an armoured train.   The train was ambushed. Churchill fought bravely and with courage and valour, however, he was taken prisoner and sent to a POW camp in Pretoria.   Churchill staged a very daring jail break. As the saying goes: Never give up, never surrender.   Even when you're a prisoner. Churchill had a cunning plan. To escape. Which he did by climbing a very large wall in the pitch black of night. It was dangerous. Very dangerou...

Prince Charles: I'm so cool, I'm going to be King one day. A PRINCE CHARLES SPECIAL On This Day In History, November 14th, in 1948, Prince Charles was born.   Or to give him his full official title: His Royal Highness, Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.   Wowser, that's a mouthful.   Which, as it happens, was what Camilla, his current wife, said on their wedding night.   And, to her astonishment, and as the rumour-mill in the Palace has it as fact, the Prince of Wales sleeps in the nude. Imagine that: Prince Charles, sleeping nekkid, with nekkid Camilla.   Stop imagining that, you bunch of sick perverts.   Prince Charles is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. As such, he is also...

HISTORICAL FUN: History Fun Facts for November 13 On This Day in History, November 13th, 1312, King Edward III of England was born.   King Edward III of England reigned for fifty years between January 25th, 1327, and June 21st, 1377, beginning his reign at the age of 14.   Edward III became king earlier than expected. His mother, Isabella of France, and the guy she was diddling at the time, which was not her husband, who happened to be King Edward II of England, but a rather dashing and morally corrupt guy called Roger Mortimer, deposed his father, King Edward-The-Second-Ball-Hasn't-Dropped-Yet of England.   The She-Wolf-Of-France, as Isabella of France was often called, or You-Backstabbing-Hoar-Of-A-Female-Dog by her husband, took control of England whilst her son was still a kid.   Isabella ruled England as regent for her son alongside Roger Mortimer until Edward III grew a pair and overthrew Mortimer and his mother in a ...

History Fun Facts for November 12th On This Day In History, 12 November, 1035, King Cnut , or Canute, died.   King Cnut is famous for being exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of all men, except for his nose. His nose looked like a penis after a semi-good beating from a baseball which had then been left to marinate in vinegar for seven weeks.   Cnut ruled England between 1016 - 1035. He was also King of Norway and Denmark. And some of the Swedes.   King Cnut's father was Sweyn Forkbeard, famous for shoving forks in his beard to scare his enemies, and his grandfather was Harald Bluetooth, who was famous for inventing the hands-free device that allows you to talk on your phone whilst driving.   There is a famous story of Cnut, or Canute, raising his hand up to hold back to the tide which, first told by Henry of Huntingdon.   Cnut placed his throne before the sea and commanded the inco...

Remembrance Day. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 the Great War, later known as World War 1, ended after 4 years and 97 days, and at a cost of nearly 18 million lives. This day is remembered around the world. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Nations, which include Canada and Australia, it is called Remembrance Day. In New Zealand, France, Belgium and Serbia, it is called Armistice Day. In the United States of America, it is called Veterans Day. No matter the name, no matter where you are, no matter who you are, it is a day to remember those who have fallen in battles. Not just The Great War, or World War 2, but all conflicts, everywhere. On November 11th, 1918, the fighting continued all the way up to 11:00am. There were almost 11,000 casualties on November 11th, and 2,738 men died on the last day of fighting of World War 1. The last British soldier to die in the war was George Edwin Ellison of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers. He wa...

HISTORICAL FUN FACT: NOVEMBER 8th On this day in history in 1226, King Louis VIII of France died.   His reign as King of France didn't last long, just a mere three years. And his reign as King of England didn't ever happen. There's a signed bit of paper saying so.   Yes, he was King of England. Well, not actually, but sort of, perhaps, nah he wasn't, get back to France you French pretender.   To cut a long story short, Louis came to England on holiday as a not-yet-king-of-France. Whilst holidaying in the south of England, he got really plastered on an all night piss-up celebrating the fact his last remaining virgin dog had just got his leg over. Okay, it was with a teddy bear, but it still counts.   Completely sploshed, Prince Louis climbed atop a large wall, pulled his pants down and declared, mid-stream, as he really needed to go, that he was the new King of England.   The longer version: The English barons were a bit...

HISTORICAL FUN: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, NOVEMBER 7th On This Day In History in 1728, Captain James Cook was born.   Not the famous captain of the Starship Enterprise on a five year voyage to hook up with strange, new aliens. That was Kirk.   Captain James Cook was a British Captain in the Royal Navy. Britannia rules the waves.   He made loads of voyages, more than 7, which makes him better than Sinbad. He preferred limes rather than Spinach, which makes him slightly different to Popeye the Sailor Man, who lived in a caravan.   Captain Cook was famous for answering the age old question of what do you do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning.   It isn't what you'd think. You should not put him in a long-boat and make him bail her. Nor, put him in the guardroom till he gets sober. Nope, just whip the crap out of him with a cat-o'-nine-tails.   Captain Cook was the first recorded European to make contact with the East coast ...