On This Day In History - 14th June
June 14th 1158 the city of Munich, Germany's 3rd largest city, is founded by Henry the Lion. Not many know why Henry was called The Lion, but there's a lion somewhere in Africa who is really miffed at not having a head or skin.
Click here to read more about Henry the Lion, and his encounter with a lion. And, it seems, a dragon. Sheesh, were they all drugged up back then?
June 14th 1645 the Royalists and the Parliamentarians clashed at the Battle of Naseby during the 1st English Civil war. Seriously, wasn't really the first, there were civil wars before that, but, whatever. Despite the naming inaccuracies, it was a really interesting battle.
Click to read more about Charles-I-am-not-a-spaniel and his fight at the Battle of Naseby against the New Model Army of the Parliamentarians.
Yep, the Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway to the dockyards at Chatham and attacked the ships of the Royal Navy, either destroying or capturing them. It was one of the worst defeats in the history of the Royal Navy.
It's rumoured that King Charles II was dancing around his bedroom, nekkid, chasing butterflies as the battle raged on the rivers of England. Come on, we've all done that at some point in our lives.
June 14th 1690 King William III of England landed in Ireland to confront the recently deposed King of England, James II. Now, William III, of England, was actually William of Orange, who happened to be King of England because he was married to Mary, the daughter of James II.
It's long and complicated, and there will be a Fun Facts about William, Mary, and James, soon. But, in brief, James II was king of England, England was protestant, Mary was heir, she was protestant, all was okay. She married William of Oranges not Lemons said the bells of ....
James shacked up with a new wife and then she gave birth to a son. Because boys were better than girls back then, thankfully that's not true anymore, the little boy would inherit the throne before Mary. Unfortunately, James' new wife was 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 Oranges, 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? On holiday in France at the time.
June 14th 1775 the Continental Army is created by the Continental Congress, because everything has to have the word continental in it back then. It was the birth of the United States Army.
The army was created to fight the British during the American Revolutionary War, which for some reason isn't called the American War of Independence anymore. But, you know, the British have a huge army and navy, so they'll easily defeat these Americans.
*someone whispers in writer's ear*
What? Seriously? The British were defeated? Sheesh, that's embarrassing.
June 14th 1777 the Stars and Stripes was adopted as the Flag of the United States of America. The second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution and stated "The flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
Totally ignoring thirteen being an unlucky number. But, luckily, there are now more stars in that constellation. It's gotta be at least double, right?
Flag Day is now observed every June 14, to mark the first time the new flag was hoisted by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment. Not true in the slightest. But an interesting fact, nonetheless.
June 14th 1789 the survivors of the British ship HMS Bounty arrived at Timor. The crew of HMS Bounty, Captained by William Bligh, had mutinied and Bligh, along with 18 others travelled 4,600 miles in a small boat to reach Timor.
Not an easy thing to do. Especially when no one can sing, and three of the men have a serious case of flatulence. And we're not even going to mention the parrot and its habit of sitting on your shoulder and whispering, "Kill them. Kill them all."
June 14th 1907 Norway granted women the right to vote.
June 14th 1946 Donald Trump was born.
You can't fire me, this wig will leap from my head and eat your face off if you do.
Don't forget to leave a comment below. Today's Question: Things Donald Trump's wig can do?
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