Historical Fun

History Facts for June 30th On this day in history, 30th June 1559, King Henry II of France decided to do a bit of jousting .   He did pretty well in the opening rounds, but then he came up against a fellow jouster called Gabriel de Montgomery. And, not taking into account that he was fighting the King, Gabriel wounded Henry. And then Henry died.   Everyone was shocked that the king didn't win, and that he was mortally injured, no more so than Henry himself.   Henry's last words were, "You little bast...."   On this day in history, 30th June 1934, Adolf Hitler proved way before the start of World War 2 what a complete and utter git he was by eliminating most of his political rivals in Germany.   It is known as The Night of the Long Knives, not because the blades were knives and really long, but because the knives were blades and not short.   Not his fault, Hitler was just going through a stabby phase in his life. Soon to ...

Historical Births On This Day In History On This Day in 1133, King Henry II of England was born.   Henry was also called Henry Curtmantle, Henry FitzEmpress, and Henry Plantagenet. Plus Henry-Squirrel-Feet, Henry-The-Hoover, and Only-Spank-Me-On-The-Left-Cheek.   Henry helped his mother, the Empress Matilda-Probably-A-Witch try to claim the Kingdom of England for her own. She was in a civil war known as The Anarchy with her cousin, King Stephen-The-First-And-Only-Step-Hen.   Henry's mother failed in her attempt to take control of the English throne, but it eventually went to Henry anyway. So all's well that ends well.   Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1151, the cast-off of King Louis VII of France.   Did You Know: Double dipping in French Mayonnaise has been illegal in England since the 8th century.   But Henry was the King of England and going second wasn't an issue. The two produced eight children. And those child...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 5th MARCH   On This Day in 1946, Winston Churchill, now longer the Prime Minister , made one of his most famous speeches, of which there were more than a few, as that guy knew how to write and deliver good speech. The speech he made on this day in history in 1946 was the one in which he used the infamous phrase "Iron Curtain" to condemn the Soviet Union's policies in Europe.   "From Stettin in the Baltic to the Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent."   It is commonly believed that this was as close to an official announcement of the commencement of the Cold War as you could get.   Winston Churchill had been invited to speak at Westminster College, Missouri, which I believe is in the United States of-We-Appreciate-Churchill-More-Than-The-British.   Winston Churchill had played a key role in winning Worl...