History Trivia

February 19,197 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeated usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. 356 The Christian Roman emperor Constantius II issued a decree closing all pagan temples.607 Boniface III was elected Pope. Before his election as pope Boniface served as an ambassador to Constantinople,and as pontiff he worked to assure that the Bishop of Rome had supremacy over all the church in the face of attempts by the Bishop of Constantinople to use the title "Universal Bishop." 1601 Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, was tried for treason; he was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I and a patron of many writers, including Barnabe Barnes, Thomas Nashe, Gervase Markham, and William Shakespeare (who dedicated Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece to the earl). A good friend of Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, Henry accompanied him on his journeys until Elizabeth called him home. In February of 1601 he became involved in the Devereaux's rebellion, attempting to stir up the populace by reviving Richard II, which told the story of the deposition of a monarch. He was arrested, tried, and convicted; his titles were forfeited and he was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to the intercession of Robert Cecil. When Elizabeth's successor James I ascended the throne, Southampton returned to court and was restored to the Peerage by an act of Parliament. He then pursued an illustrious career, becoming a Knight of the Garter, an active member of the Virginia and East India Companies,and a privy councillor.