History Trivia

February 23,303, Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a general persecution of the Christians. 532 work began on the third Cathedral of Santa Sophia in Constantinople.1447 Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester died. Humphrey was the fourth son of King Henry IV and a strong supporter of humanism,patronizing English and Italian artists, writers and philosophers, for which he was known as "Good Duke Humphrey." Unfortunately, his political acumen was not as good. Although he served his brother, Henry V, in a series of campaigns in the Hundred Year's War, after Henry died and he was named temporary regent for the infant Henry VI, he soon began a feud with Chancellor Henry Beaufort that lasted for more than twenty years. The feud ended with the arrest of Gloucester and his subsequent death from, most likely, natural causes five days later, but the poor timing of his demise led to a rumor that he had been murdered, which was used as a rallying point in later uprisings.