Historical Fun: On This Day In History November 4

Historical Fun Facts for November 4th

On This Day in History, in 1501, Arthur Tudor and Catherine of Aragon meet for the first time, before they are finally married.

 

Arthur Tudor was the Prince of Wales and also the eldest son of King Henry VII of England. As the eldest son of the King, he was also the heir apparent.

 

Plans for Arthur's marriage started at the age of three, because any self-respecting three-year-old needs a wife. It wasn't until he was eleven-years-old that he was formally betrothed. Although they waited until he was 15-years-old before he actually married.

 

And the lucky lady was Catherine of Aragon.

 

Wait a minute, that name sounds familiar. Wasn't she the wife of King Henry VIII?

 

Something icky is coming.

 

Which is what Arthur said to his new wife on their wedding night.

 

Soon after they were married, they moved into Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. Life was good for Arthur Tudor. Newly married, madly in love, and heir to the throne of England. Soon he would be King of the greatest nation on ...

 

He died six months later.

 

Bummer.

 

Apparently Arthur didn't, as that was why Henry VIII was given permission to marry Catherine of Aragon. They had never consummated their marriage.

 

Henry became heir apparent after his brother, Arthur, died.

 

And along with the title of Prince of Wales, Henry inherited the wife.

 

Most wouldn't want to stir their brother's yoghurt, but 16th century England was a different time. Marriages bred alliances, and England needed a strong alliance. Marriages also bred heirs, and England needed a male heir to continue the royal line.

 

Catherine would give the dashing Henry a male heir. For sure. Almost certainly.

 

Unfortunately, the first born was a girl. And an ugly one at that. They named her Mary. Because that's the name you give to ugly children. But a male would follow. Definitely. Probably. Oh, this isn't going to end well, is it?

 

Upon the death of his father, Henry became King of England as Henry-Of-The-Many-Numbers.

 

After years of trying, mostly in the doggy position, but occasionally mid-cartwheel, Catherine of Aragon couldn't pop out a boy child. They obviously didn't eat enough garlic.

 

The ever increasing waistline of Henry VIII got annoyed with the lack of a boy, and the serious lack of cake, and sought comfort with a bit of rough. That bit of rough and tumble was Anne Boleyn, who wouldn't tumble with the increasingly rough of Henry-Ate-All-The-Pies, unless they were married.

 

Clever girl.

 

So, in 1536, Henry VIII petitioned to divorce his ex-brother's ex-wife, Catherine of Aragon, on the grounds that Arthur did indeed do the diddly-squat with his wife.

 

Bummer.

 

Which is probably the reason they didn't produce a male heir.

 

On This Day in 1677, William of Orange married Mary Stuart, the future Queen Mary II of England.

 

William of Orange would also become a monarch, morphing into King William III of England after some bad holiday timing from King James II of England.

 

Mary Stuart was the daughter of King James-The-Second-I-Turn-My-Back-You-Drive-The-Knife-In.

 

Some daughters just can't be trusted.

 

It's long and complicated story. In brief, James II was king of England and England was a protestant country.

 

Mary was heir and she was protestant. Everything was okay so far. She even married William of Oranges not Lemons said the bells of .... Who was also protestant. So, the country would continue as a protestant country.

 

Then it changed.

 

King James-The-Wait-A-Second-It-Was-A-Holiday-Not-An-Abdication shacked up with a new wife. To make matters worse, she then gave birth to a son.

 

Boys were better than girls back then, which is thankfully not true anymore. And the new little baby boy would inherit the throne before Mary.

 

Not a huge problem, if it weren't for James' new wife being a Catholic. Booooo. Hisssss. And the kid would be raised as one of "them".

 

This did not sit well with England at the time. William of Orange, the nasty fruit, was invited to England with his army (in what's called the Glorious Revolution), and was crowned, alongside Mary, as King of England.

 

Where was James? Well, he was on holiday in France at the time.

 

In a move that wasn't quite an abdication. But, well, semantics.

 

On This Day in 1650, William of Orange was born.

 

Yep, he got married on his birthday. That's how you remember the anniversary.

Lindsay Lohan replaced by Cheryl Fergison for Kettering's big Christmas lights switch-on

Lindsay Lohan replaced by Cheryl Fergison for Kettering's big Christmas lights switch-on

 

Kettering residents rejoice after Lindsay Lohan is replaced with Cheryl Fergison in their Christmas Lights switch-on.

 

Unconfirmed rumours have been circulating the last few days that Lindsay Lohan turned down Kettering Borough Council's offer to turn on their Christmas lights this year.

 

Instead, Cheryl Fergison, who played Heather Trott in Eastenders, will have the honour.

As popular as Lindsay Lohan is around the world, Kettering residents have come out in favour of Cheryl Fergison turning on their lights instead.

One Kettering local said: "So glad Cheryl Fergison is doing it, no one wanted Lindsay Lohan. Cheryl will do great."

Another resident rejoiced: "This is great news, Cheryl Fergison to do the Christmas lights in Kettering. I love her. Can't wait to see her in the pantomime as well."

Although @andy_from_sligo said on Twitter: "Cheryl Fergison is to turn on xmas lights in #Kettering then - why didn't they ask Sonia, shes just moved there lol #eastenders

Cheryl who played Heather Trott in Eastenders for five years until her character was brutally murdered by Ben Mitchell revealed on twitter:

"Hi all yep I'm switching on the Xmas lights in Kettering on 24 th of November so I hope to see you all there can't wait to meet the peeps."

Adding:

"Sorry 2 disappoint some folks but I'm not Lindsay Lohan! but I am going 2 b switching on Kettering Xmas lights .. The party starts here."

Cheryl might be more well known for her role in the popular British soap, but she has also been in hit BBC television shows such as Doctor Who and Allo' Allo'.

Since leaving Eastenders, Cheryl has struggled to get rid of the ghost of Heather Trott. She did Big Brother in 2012, and was a contestant on ITV's Your Face Sounds Familiar in 2013. But she is still looking for that next big role on television.

Replacing Lindsay Lohan to switch on Kettering's Christmas Lights was an obvious choice.

Cheryl is currently starring in Kettering's yearly panto, Beauty and the Beast, at the Lighthouse Theatre, as Malevolent.

So, if you have a spare few hours, pop to Kettering town to see the former soap push the big red button.

 

The Story with Lindsay Lohan and Kettering's Christmas Lights

Back in June, on the date of the European Union exit vote, Lindsay Lohan tweeted that she had no idea where Kettering was, after her disagreeing with Kettering voting to leave the EU.

 

It got the Kettering MP, Philip Hollobone, fuming. She soon apologised, deleted the tweet and, after an invite from the Conservative MP, agreed to come to Kettering to switch on the Christmas lights.

 

Everyone was jumping with joy. It would surely be a huge coup to get an A-List Hollywood star to come to the sleepy midlands town for the big Christmas lights turn-on.

In the past, Kettering could only arrange not-quite stars to push the button. Daren Day, a star of the West End, and former "I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here," contestant has had the honour. As has Jake Wood, who played Max Branning in the television soap, Eastenders.

So, if Hollywood came to Kettering, it would be a huge boost for the town, known only as the "Home of Weetabix."

But it's never that simple. A war was brewing.

Kettering Borough Council repeatedly said they had tried to get in contact with Lindsay Lohan, but the Mean Girl's star had just ignored them.

 

Philip Hollobone told BBC news, "She said she would come and switch on the Christmas lights at Kettering but, despite everyone's best efforts, it's simply not possible to track her down."

 

Hollobone added, "I'm a great believer in if you have made a pledge, then you should honour it. However, the people of Kettering know what celebrities can be like, so we weren't counting our chickens too much."
 

A few days ago, Kettering Borough Council confirmed, "We have made direct contact with Lindsay Lohan's representatives."

  

They added, "Understandably, Lindsay Lohan is very busy, but her representatives are looking to see whether she can make it work."

 

But that's not the whole story.

 

Philip Hollobone MP, told BBC news they had made "multiple" efforts to contact Lindsay Lohan about coming to Kettering, but were unsuccessful.

 

"Despite everyone's best efforts, it's simply not possible to track her down."

 

However, a representative for Lindsay Lohan has revealed they hadn't, in fact, heard anything at all from either Philip Hollobone, or Kettering Borough Council.

 

Their combined efforts to try and embarrass Lindsay, or shame her into honouring the tweet she made about turning on the Christmas lights in Kettering, was shameful.

 

But Kettering Borough Council have now made contact.

 

The representative told the Independent Newspaper: "We heard from the council for the first time late yesterday afternoon. Any claims Philip Hollobone made that he tried to get in touch with her by official means are completely unfounded."

 

He added: "Lindsay will be there if her schedule allows."

 

Kettering Borough Council have now backtracked. A spokesperson has come out and said, "All the efforts we made were in the public arena."

 

Adding: "Due to the limited resources available to them, the council struggled to find the best official contact for her."

 

They also apologised for any misunderstanding caused.

 

Kettering Borough Council are now in talks with Lindsay Lohan's agent to arrange for her to come to Kettering to switch on their Christmas Lights, which would be a huge boost for the town, and a night to remember for all residents.

 

Philip Hollobone issued a statement: "It is great news that contact between Kettering Council and Lindsay Lohan has now been made."

 

He went on to say: "Everyone understands that Lindsay Lohan is a world famous actress and a busy person. Clearly, if she makes time from her busy schedule to attend, everyone in Kettering and across the UK would regard her as a really good sport."

Read the previous stories about Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan to switch on Kettering town's Christmas Lights

Lindsay Lohan in hiding over Christmas lights debacle

In Other News

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Stranger News: Lord Heseltine brutally murdered his dog and over 350 squirrels.

Stranger News: Gorilla Escapes London Zoo and Downs Five Litres of Undiluted Blackcurrant Squash

Stranger News: Chinese city inundated with clean butts

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Robbie Williams: The Truth Behind The Song Titles

Five Fun Facts About Sir Paul McCartney

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Historical Fun: Humorous history facts November 3rd

Historical Fun: History fun facts for November 3rd

On This Day, 3rd of November, 1534, the English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy.

 

The Act made Henry-Of-The-Many-Numbers (8 of them) the head of the Church of England. Prior to this, the Pope was head of the Church of England.

 

Basically, he was married to Catherine of Aragon, who couldn't produce a boy sprog, and, let's face it, was getting a bit old.

 

Henry, on his travels, discovered a pretty little innocent thing. He wanted to bump uglies with her. Bumpity bump them a lot. However, this pretty little innocent thing, let's call her Anne-I-Have-A-Plan-Boleyn, said, "You don't go down, unless I have a Crown."

 

So, Henry, desperate for a bit of Hide-The-Crown-Jewels-In-Anne, tried to get the Pope to annul his marriage to Arrogant Catherine so he could marry Anne-With-A-Cunning-Plan.

 

The Pope wasn't having any of it and denied Henry's request. Not perturbed, Henry separated from the Catholic Church and created himself as head of the Church of England under the Protestant religion.

 

King Henry VIII then annulled his own marriage to Catherine-Of-Arrgh-You-Can't-Be-Serious-You-Bastard and married Anne-Is-Gonna-Have-Her-Head-Chopped-Off.

 

So, all's well that ends well.

 

On This Day, 1783, John Austin became the last person to be publicly hanged at London's infamous Tyburn Gallows.

 

John Austin was a highwayman and murderer. His hanging was not quick.

 

As his body fell, instead of the noose breaking his neck, as was normal under such circumstance, the rope slipped and he didn't die instantly. Instead, it took about ten minutes for him to choke to death.

Stranger News: Chicken becomes Chief of Police

Stranger News: Chicken becomes Chief of Police

As strange as it sounds, a Rooster in Japan became the chief of police in September due to his popularity and death-defying skills.

 

The chicken, who now has a name, Masahiro, defied death three times and, as such, shot into the Osaka residents' hearts, becoming a local celebrity.

No stranger than those who go on reality shows and become famous. At the least the chicken actually has personality and skill.

 

Masahiro was down to be fed to raccoons at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan. It seems, those racoons can't get enough of deep-fried chicken. The local KFC is often frequented by them at the end of a night partying.

 

However, Masahiro was spared the trauma of being rolled in the special flour and fried to a nice crispy shine. A duckling who had no parents required a foster father. If only the badgers didn't like crispy duck so much, the duckling could have been raised by its real parents.

 

Nope, the ducklings parents were not cooked up by the local Chinese takeaway and fed to the badgers. The duckling was born through artificial hatching.

 

The zoo needed the help of the chicken because, as we all know, ducks learn how to eat from their parents. Masahiro was recruited to teach the little duckling how to feed. He was also taught how to Riverdance, do quadratic equations, and Karate.

 

Becoming a surrogate father to the duckling bought Masahiro some time.

 

But not much.

 

Once the duckling achieved his black belt, and how to eat, Masahiro was re-allocated to another task.

 

The zoo was having an issue with wild weasels attacking other birds. But the zoo officials didn't want Masahiro to Karate those weasels, he was put there to attract the weasels as food bait.

 

Luckily for Masahiro, the weasels didn't turn up for three days, and he was spared, once again.

 

But was he third time unlucky?

 

Nope, third time's a charm.

 

Masahiro was allocated as dinner for the lions and tigers. And again, his life was spared.

 

An official at the Tennoji Zoo said, "his turn never came."

Much to the disappointment of the lions.

 

After avoiding death thrice, the staff at the zoo believed there must be something special about the chicken. They took his name off the dinner menu and since that day, Masahiro became an attraction at the zoo in his own right.

 

Visitors to the zoo now have their photos taken with Masahiro, who hold the chicken and rub it for luck.

 

And yet when I stroke the chicken in public, I get arrested. Seems a bit unfair.

 

Becoming a local celebrity prompted the Osaka police force to promote Masahiro to Chief of the Osaka Prefectural Police's highway patrol unit last month.

In his first hour, the new Chief of Police drove a police car, rode in the police helicopter, taking over the controls, and shouting, "Chickens can fly," before getting involved in a shoot out at a bank robbery.

Historical Fun: History Facts November 1

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY FUN FACTS for NOVEMBER 1st

Yes, it's November already. Sheesh, this year went fast. Christmas is coming. As is winter. Oh, that was stupid. I should have said WINTER IS COMING. As is Christmas. Why didn't I just do that? Gonna bug me for the rest of the week.

 

On This Day, 1st of November, 1141, the reign of Empress Matilda came to an end.

She was kinda Queen of England, although technically uncrowned. They called her the Lady of the English, or "You-Traitorous-Cow" by her cousin, Stephen of Bois.

He was King of England at the time and spent most of his reign fighting a civil war known as The Anarchy with the Empress Matilda.

On This Day, 1st of November, 1179, Philip II is crowned King of France.

He managed to bring all of France together and made the country prosper again. However, he had a heck of time with his wives. He's basically the Henry VIII of the French.

Click here to read about the adventures of Philip II of France and his Borg Queen Wife.

On This Day, 1st of November, 1688, William-Of-Horrible-Disgusting-Fruit, set sail, for the second time, from Hellevoetsluis. Say that ten times when you're drunk.

William-Soon-To-Be-The-Third-William's goal was simple: capture the Crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland from his father-in-law, James-The-Second-His-Son-In-Law-Lands-In-England-Will-Flee-To-France.

And James II of England did scarper to France, the big chicken.

It might be that he just didn't like Oranges. Can't blame him for that, I suppose. They are the nasty-disgusting-fruit.

William-The-Third-Is-A-Turd (a nickname given to him by James II) won England without a fight. A bloodless coup. A Glorious Revolution.

Ex-king James sulked in France for a bit, then tried to reclaim the throne, lost, and went and sulked a bit more.

On This Day, 1st of November, 1800, John Adams becomes the first President of them there, over here, these here, United States of America, to live in what would one day be called "The White House".

Stranger News: Lord Heseltine brutally murdered his dog and over 350 squirrels.

Stranger News: Lord Heseltine brutally murdered his dog and over 350 squirrels.

Well, maybe not the dog, but the squirrels, yep, he massacred those little, grey feckers.

 

For some reason, unknown to virtually everyone, Lord Heseltine, the former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister of Britain, has been in the news today for strangling his pet dog.

 

Heseltine told Tatler magazine, and god only knows why, that his mother's pet dog, an Alsatian called Kim, had a mental breakdown, so he grabbed its choker chain and pulled it tight until he went limp. We assume he means the dog went limp, not him.

 

Various news broadcasts and social media immediately jumped on the non-existent bandwagon, with headlines purporting that Heseltine killed his mother's dog.

 

Lord Heseltine came back and explained they were a bunch of morons and it was a terrible misrepresentation of what actually happened.

 

This story gets a little stranger, as this incident didn't happen today, or yesterday, or this week. It happened back in 1964.

 

Lord Heseltine told BBC Radio 4, that he had been looking after Kim, his mother's dog, back in 1964. It developed a problem with its paw, so he bent down to help. It was then that "the dog flew at me, on its hind legs."

 

The dog reacted to Heseltine's help by biting him.

 

Heseltine told the magazine in his interview, "I immediately got out of my chair. There was a certain amount of blood, as he was biting my wrists. I shouted to my wife to get out of the room, as she was heavily pregnant at the time. I managed to catch the choker chain that was around his neck and, twisting that, obviously got a grip on the dog."

 

He went on to add: "It probably wasn't more than 15 seconds, he went quite limp and reverted to being the dog we all knew a loved."

 

So, the stories circulating today about Lord Heseltine strangling his dog dead are completely false.

 

However, being left with a "most awful dilemma", Heseltine had no choice.

 

The dog had to die. Even if it had reverted back to the dog he knew and loved.

 

But the death would not come by his own hands. He wasn't a dog killer, after all.

 

The following day he took it to the vet and had Kim put down. Someone else did the dirty work.

 

However, he had experienced, even if by proxy, the thrill of the kill. And there's only one way you can quench that thirst for blood. Orchestrate a squirrel massacre.

 

Earlier this month, according to BBC News, Lord Heseltine revealed he had shot 350 grey squirrels at his home in Northamptonshire.

 

At a guess, I'm guessing he lured them into his kitchen, one by one, and shouted, "Surprise, Mother Tucker," and blew their heads off with a shotgun.

 

He then mounted each of the squirrels on the wall of his study.

 

Rumours that he spends nights re-enacting his glory days in parliament with the squirrels are unconfirmed.