Historical Fun

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 21st JANUARY   On This Day, the 21st of January 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed by way of having his head severed from his shoulders by the infamous guillotine.   Louis XVI had been arrested the previous August (13th August 1792) and imprisoned in the Temple, and ancient fortress in Paris. When the National Assembly met on the 21st of September, they had nothing but bad things to say about the king.   In fact, they went as far as saying he was a big poo-poo-pants and that France should no longer have a king because he was a big poo-poo-pants. They declared France to be a Republic and ordered the monarchy be abolished.   At first, they were content to keep the King locked up. But the discovery of the armoire de fer, or iron chest, in the king's bedroom, was the straw that broke the king's back. He was riding a camel at the time. And the camel also suffered the pain.   The iron chest contained compromising ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 20th JANUARY On This Day, 20th January 1265, The first ever English Parliament to include not just Lords, but also the common people, was held at the Palace of Westminster. The English Parliament, or Simon de Montfort's Parliament, only lasted a few months, but it was the start of what would become the new normal for English politics. The summoning of both Commoners and Lords alike to discuss the politics of the nation. Simon de Montfort didn't start this tradition out of his belief the people should be represented in parliament. He did it as his power was dwindling and this was the only way to get it back. Simon de Montfort had taken control of England after defeating King Henry III at the Battle of Lewes. But, soon after, his power was being threatened. He needed more support. And that support wouldn't be found with the barons, as they were getting annoyed with Montfort. He decided to summon representatives of the barons, although ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 18th JANUARY On This Day, the 18th of January 350, Magnentius, played by Sir Ian McKellen, opposite what-a-really-smooth-head Patrick-Make-It-So-Stewart, deposed the Roman Emperor Constans and proclaimed himself the new all-powerful Mutant Magnet Magnentius Emperor of Rome. On This Day, 18th of January 532, in Constantinople,  the tit-for-tat between the supporters of two teams of chariot racers (the Blues and the Greens) which escalated into The Nika Riots a week ago, finally came to an end. For the last seven days, Constantinople had been plunged into chaos. Half the city was burned and destroyed, and thirty thousand people were killed. Celebrity Birthday On This Day, the 18th January 1955, American actor, direct, producer, singer, Kevin Costner was born. He once built a baseball stadium for ghosts that was engulfed in water, along with the entire world, before protecting Whitney Hous...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 17th January   On This Day, the 17th of January 1595, King Henry IV of France , the first king of the House of Bourbon, declared war on Spain.   Henry had been raised a protestant. When he became King of France in 1589, he was pretty much forced to convert to Catholicism, due to France being a catholic country, and them placing nipple clamps on him until he agreed.   Everyone was happy about the King's sudden and unexpected change of religion, except for the protestants. They were not. At all.   It also appeared that Spain wasn't happy. Mainly with Henry, who they didn't like as he didn't share any of his chocolate biscuits with them. Spain kept pestering Henry, who finally had enough and declared war. My biscuits. My lovely crème biscuits. You not get none of these fabulous Bourbon Crème Biscuits.   King Henry IV had many people try to kill him over the years. And not just the entirety of Spain. Pierre B...

On This Day In History - 17th June   17th June 1239, Edward I of England was born. He was King of England between 1272 and 1307, but most famous for his stonkingly long shanks. Hence why he is better known as Edward Longshanks.   17th June 1462, a battle known as The Night Attack of Targoviste took place between Vlad III of Wallachia and Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. Vlad attacked Mehmed during the night, gotta wonder how they came up with these names, and tried to assassinate him. Mehmed survived.   However, Mehmed survived and marched to Targovise, the Wallachian capital, preparing to destroy it. What they found when they arrived to meet up with the rest of their army was, shall we say, a shock.   There were 20,000 impaled Turks waiting for them. Let's get the ducks out of here. And they did. Pretty darned Quick.   I know what you're thinking: Vlad, that name rings a bell. Yep, it was Vlad the Impaler. Wonder how he got...