On This Day In History - 9th June

On This Day In History - 9th June

9th June, 68AD, The Roman Emperor, Nero, died at the age of 30 years and a bit. Well, he didn't just die, he committed suicide after he got ousted from the throne and heard he was going to be denounced as a public enemy.

Fearing he was going to hunted down and executed, he decided to top himself instead. Nero was the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, of course) and was famed for fiddling whilst Rome burned. Although there is no actual evidence he did that, or that he started the Great Fire of Rome that destroyed a lot of the ancient city.

9th June (ye olde calendar) 1667 the Battle of the Medway began. It's also called the Raid on the Medway, or the Raid on Chatham, or Battle of Chatham. And Holy Cow, what the stonking stonks are those Dutch ships doing in our river?

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, and it's rumoured that King Charles II was dancing around his bedroom, nekkid, chasing butterflies as the battle raged on the rivers of England.

9 June, 1672, Peter the Great was born. Let us rejoice at how great the guy was. We know he was great because it's in his name, and names don't lie. William the Conqueror, for instance, was called William and Conquered. Robert the Magnificent was very good in bed. George the Git was a total git. See, it's all in the name.

Peter the Great was a Tsar and Emperor of Russia from the age of 10 until his death at 52 years old. He was so great, he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Mainly because he was a giant measuring in at 6'8". Gibbering Greatness Peter, that is a tall Russian.

9th June, 1870, Charles Dickens died. In his life he was visited by three ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Casper, who was a really friendly ghost. Where the Dickens was he when he died and where is he buried? He died of a stroke at Gad's Hill Place and, although he wanted a private funeral and to be buried at Rochester Cathedral, he has a honoured place at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London.

His parents had Great Expectations of him when he was born, and he left us all saying, "Please, Sir. I want some more."