History Trivia

June 24, 109 The Aqua Traiana was inaugurated by Emperor Trajan, the aqueduct channeled water from Lake Bracciano, 25 miles north-west of Rome. 217 Hannibal defeated the Romans at Lago di Trasimeno in the Second Punic War. 451: 10th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. 451 Attila the Hun raised his siege of Orleans, France in a prelude to his being pushed out of France by a combined army of Romans and barbarians. 803 Bishop Higbald of Lindisfarne died. In a communiqué to the scholar Alcuin of York (teacher at the Carolingian court at the invitation of Charlemagne), he described in graphic detail the Viking raid on Lindisfarne on 8 January 793 in which many of his monks were killed. 843 Vikings destroyed Nantes (western France). 1314 Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated the English army under Edward II at Bannockburn, near Stirling. 1340 In the Hundred Years War, British fleet under the command of King Edward III destroyed the French at Sluys (Flanders). 1374 A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance (Dancing Plague) caused people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapsed from exhaustion. One of the most prominent theories is that victims suffered from ergot (fungus) poisoning. 1441 King Henry VI of England founded Eton College. 1497 John Cabot landed in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings. 1497 Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank were executed at Tyburn, London. 1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England. 1520: Mass at Field of Cloth of Gold where Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met between Guînes and Ardres near Calais to discuss an alliance.

History Trivia

June 23, 79 Titus succeeded his father Vespasian as the tenth Roman Emperor. 930 The world's oldest parliament, the Iceland Parliament, was established. 1314 The Battle of Bannockburn. This significant battle helped the Scots regain independence from England and secured the throne of Scotland for Robert the Bruce. 1509 Henry VIII of England crowned. 1532 Henry VIII and François I signed a secret treaty against Emperor Charles V.

Contest Giveaway

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History Trivia

June 22, 168 BC Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeated and captured Macedonian King Perseus ending the Third Macedonian War. 1377 Richard II succeeded Edward III as king of England. 1633 The Holy Office in Rome forced Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe. (on Oct 31, 1992, Vatican admitted it was wrong)

History Trivia

June 21, 217 BC Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal destroyed a Roman army under Consul Gaius Flaminicy in a battle at Lake Trasimenus in central Italy. 524 Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeated the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. 1314 The Scots, under Robert the Bruce, defeated Edward II's army at Bannockburn. 1327 King Edward III of England died. 1527 Niccolo Machiavelli, author of "The Prince," died. 1675 Christopher Wren started the rebuilding St. Paul's Cathedral in London after the Great Fire.

History Trivia

June 20, 236 BC Scipio Africanus, Roman statesman and general of the Second Punic War was born. 404 the first Cathedral of Santa Sophia in Constantinople was burned to the ground by rioters. 451 Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' defeated Attila the Hun at Catalarinische Fields. Theodorid, King of the Visigoths was mortally wounded in this battle. 1214 The University of Oxford received its charter. 1397 The Union of Kalmar united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway under one monarch. 1685 Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declared himself King of England at Bridgwater.

History Trivia

June 19, 1098 Antioch fell to the Crusaders. 1179 The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Earl Erling Skakke was killed, and the battle changed the tide of the civil wars. 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta - a statement of English liberties at Runnymede, Surrey. 1306 Wars for Scottish Independence: The Earl of Pembroke's army defeated Robert Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven. 1566 James I Stuart, King of Scotland (James VI)/England) was born.

History Trivia

June 18, 860 Swedish Vikings attacked Constantinople. 1053 Pope Leo IX was taken prisoner by the Normans. 1155 German King Frederick Barbarossa was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1178 Proposed time of origin of the lunar crater Giordano Bruno - five Canterbury monks reported an explosion on the moon (only known observation). 1264 The Parliament of Ireland met at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.

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History Trivia

June 17, 1194 Richard I (the Lionheart) was crowned again, after having been held captive in Australia for two years by Emperor Henry VI. 1239 Edward I was born. 1497 Cornish Rebellion - Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeated troops led by Michael An Gof.

History Trivia

June 16,455 Rome was sacked by the Vandal army. 1487 Battle of Stoke Field, Henry VII defeated pretender Lambert Simnel at Stoke, in the final battle of the Wars of the Roses. 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle prison Scotland since she was perceived as a threat to Elizabeth I's monarchy.

History Trivia

June 15,763 BC Assyrians recorded a solar eclipse that was later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 1094 El Cid, the great Spanish national hero, captured Valencia from the Moors. 1184 King Magnus V of Norway was killed at the Battle of Fimreite. 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, England. 1219 King Valdemar brought victory for Denmark. According to legend, the Danish flag fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, turning the tide in favor of the Danes. 1330 Edward, the Black Prince was born. 1381 Wat Tyler, leader of English Peasants' Revolt,was beheaded in London. 1520 Pope Leo X threatened to excommunicate Martin Luther in papal bull Exsurge Domine.

Across the Plain of Shining Books: Mary Ann Bernal - The Briton and the Dane: Legacy

Across the Plain of Shining Books: Mary Ann Bernal - The Briton and the Dane: Legacy: A Shining hello to historical novelist Mary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane stories, epic adventures set in the Dark Ages d...

History Trivia

June 14,v1381 The Peasant's Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, climaxed when rebels plundered and burned the Tower of London, and killed the Archbishop of Canterbury. 1497 Giovanni (Juan) Borgia, favorite son of Pope Alexander VI, was murdered, allegedly by his brother Cesare or by his younger brother Gioffre. 1645 Oliver Cromwell routed the Royalists at the Battle of Naseby, giving parliament victory in the civil war.

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History Trivia

June 13, 37 Gnaeus Julius Agricola was born. He was a Roman general noted for conquering all of England and part of Scotland (77-84). 49 Pope Leo I, The Great, presented his Tome, affirming the reality of the two natures of Christ human and divine to Flavian, the Bishop of Constantinople. 313 The 'Edict of Milan' was proclaimed, ending the persecution of Christians across the Roman Empire. 823 Charles I (the Bald) was born. He was the Grandson of Charlemagne who with his two half brothers divided Charlemagne's empire into three parts, with Charles becoming the first king of France (843-877). 1249 Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. 1373 Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Alliance (world's oldest) was signed in London. 1525 Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests and nuns. 1625 King Charles I married Henrietta Maria of France, Princess of France.

History Trivia

June 12, 28 Gaius Carrinas' triumphant procession through Rome. 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England, rebels arrived at Blackheath. Although the revolt did not succeed in its stated aims, it did succeed in showing the nobility what the peasants were capable of, which helped to form a radical tradition in British politics. 1429 Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc led the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, First Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau. 1519 Cosimo de Medici was born.

History Trivia

June 11, 1184 BC Trojan War: Troy was sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes. 173 Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia was encircled by the Quadi, who had broken the peace treaty. 1183 Henry the Young King, second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine died. 1346 Charles IV of Luxembourg was elected Holy Roman Emperor. 1429 Hundred Years' War: start of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc's first offensive battle. 1456 Anne Neville, wife of Richard III of England was born. 1488 Rebels defeated and deposed James III of Scotland at the Battle of Sauchieburn, making his son, James, King. 1509 Henry VIII of England married Catherine of Aragon, his brother Arthur's widow.

Contest giveaway

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History Trivia

June 10, 323 BC (or June 11) Alexander the Great, Macedonian king, died from either fever or excessive wine at the age of 32. 1190 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned while crossing a river on a crusade to the Holy Land. 1258 Provisions of Oxford issued, which is considered to be England's first written constitution. 1540 Thomas Cromwell arrested in Westminster after falling out of favor with Henry VIII for having arranged the King's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which was quickly annulled.

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History Trivia

June 9, 411 BC Coup in Athens succeeded, forming a short-lived oligarchy. 68 The Roman emperor Nero was deposed and committed suicide, ending the Julian-Claudian imperial dynasty. 721 Odo of Aquitaine defeated the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse. 1310 Duccio's Maestà Altarpiece, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, was unveiled and installed in the Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy. 1549 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, issued The Protestant Book of Common Prayer, sparking a Catholic peasant rebellion.

History Trivia

June 8, 65 Jews revolted against Rome, capturing the fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem. 68 Rome Senate accepted Emperor Galba. 452 Italy invaded by Attila the Hun. 536 St Silverius began his reign as Catholic Pope. 218 Opellius Macrinus, Emperor of Rome (217-8), died in battle. 793 Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, and is commonly accepted as the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England. 1042 Harthacanute, King of Denmark and England died. 1191, Richard the Lion-Hearted of England arrived at the port of Acre in the Holy Land during the third Crusade. He captured Acre, but could not recapture Jerusalem from the Turks. 1376 Edward, the Black Prince died. 1405 Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York and Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Norfolk, were executed in York on Henry IV's orders.

History Trivia

June 7, 421 Eudocia Athenais married Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II who constructed a series of defensive walls that surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople. 555 Vigilius, first Pope of the Byzantine Papacy, died. 1099 first Crusaders arrived in Jerusalem. 1329 Robert Bruce, King of Scotland died. 1340 Rotterdam Netherlands founded.1394 Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II of England died from plague. 1557 England declared war on France.

History Trivia

June 6, 1242 Twenty four wagonloads of Talmudic (Hebrew instruction)books were burned in Paris. 513 Italian Wars: Battle of Novara. Swiss troops defeated the French under Louis de la Tremoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza was restored. 1523 Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union, which had united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Shetland, and Orkney),and Sweden. 1683 The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opened as the world's first university museum.

History Trivia

June 5, 70 Titus and his Roman legions breached the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem. 1099 Members of the First Crusade witnessed an eclipse of the moon and interpreted it as a sign they would recapture Jerusalem. 1294 Saint Celestine V was elected Roman Catholic pope. He was unhappy with the office and abdicated before the year was out. 1341 Edmund of Langley, first Duke of York, son of Edward III of England was born.

History Trivia

June 4, 781 BC – The first historic solar eclipse was recorded in China. 1039 Henry III became Holy Roman Emperor. 1070 the process of making Roquefort cheese was discovered by an anonymous shepherd in a cave near Roquefort, France.

History Trivia

June 3, 350 Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaimed himself Roman Emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. 1083 Henry IV of Germany stormed Rome, capturing St Peter's Cathedral. 1098 First Crusade: Antioch fell to the crusaders after an eight-month siege. 1162 Thomas À Becket consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury.

History Trivia

June 2,455 Geiseric the Vandal sacked Rome. 575 Benedict I was confirmed as Pope. 597 Saxon King Ethelbert was converted to Christianity and baptized by St. Augustine of Canterbury. 1098 First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ended as Crusader forces took the city. The second siege began on June 7. 1420 Henry V married Catherine of Valois. 1572 Thomas Howard 4th duke of Norfolk and second cousin to Elizabeth I, was executed for treason for plotting to put Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne and restoring Catholicism.

History Trivia

June 1, 193 Roman Emperor Didius Julianus was assassinated. 987 Hugh Capet was elected King of France. 1204 King Philip Augustus of France conquered Rouen. 1495 Friar John Cor (Lindores Abbey, Scotland) recorded the first known batch of Scotch Whisky. 1533 Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England.

History Trivia

May 31, 1279 BC – Ramses II (The Great, 19th dynasty) became pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.526 A devastating earthquake struck Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000. 1076 The execution of Waltheof of Northumbria ended the 'Revolt of the Earls' against William the Conqueror. 1443 Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England, was born. 1495 Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England, died. 1859 Big Ben, located atop St. Stephen's tower, went into operation in London, ringing out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London for the first time.

History Trivia

May 30, 70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breached the Second Wall of Jerusalem. The Jewish wars financed the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, which took ten years to build. 1381 English Boer uprising began in Essex. 1431 French heroine Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake in Rouen by the English. 1536 King Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives. 1593 Leading Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in a pub brawl in Deptford.

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History Trivia

May 29, 363 Roman Emperor Julian defeated the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sassanid capital, but was unable to take the city. 1167 Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III was defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel. 1176 Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeated Emperor Frederick I. 1259 King Christopher I of Denmark died. 1414 Council of Constance. 1453 The Roman Empire in the east (Byzantine Empire) came to an end as Ottoman sultan Mehmet II captured Constantinople. 1660 Charles II arrived in London from exile in the Netherlands to reclaim his throne. Charles II was also born on this day.

History Trivia

May 28, 585 BC A solar eclipse occurred, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes was battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This was one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. 1291 Acre, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to the Moslems, ending the Crusades. 1503 James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor were married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England signed on that occasion resulted in a peace that lasted ten years. 1588 The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It would take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).

History Trivia

May 27, 366 Procopius, Roman usurper against Valens, and member of the Constantinian dynasty was executed. 1153 Malcolm IV became King of Scotland. 1199 King John I of England crowned. 1328 King Philip VI of France crowned. 1564 John Calvin, one of the dominant figures of the Protestant Reformation, died in Geneva.

History Trivia

May 26, 17 Germanicus returned to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrated a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other German tribes west of the Elbe. 451 Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire took place. The Empire defeated the Armenians militarily but guaranteed them freedom to openly practice Christianity. 604 St Augustine died. The Benedictine monk became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church. 961 German King Otto II was crowned.

History Trivia

May 25, 585 BC Thales of Greece made the first known prediction of a solar eclipse. 735 The Venerable Bede died. 946 Edmund the Older, king of Wessex (939-46), died. 1085 Alfonso VI of Castile took Toledo, Spain back from the Moors. 1420 Henry the Navigator was appointed governor of the Order of Christ. 1521 The Diet of Worms ended when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Edict of Worms, which declared Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther an outlaw. 1659 Oliver Cromwell's son Richard resigned as Lord Protector of England.

History Trivia

May 24, 1153 David I, king of Scotland (1124-53), died, and Malcolm IV became king of Scotland. 1218 The Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt. 1337 The Hundred Years War between England and France began when France confiscated Gascony from Edward III. 1487 The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign. 1543 Astronomer Nicolas Copernicus died.

Author Interview

Check out my interview with Kevin Rau at: http://www.kevinrau.com/i/MaryAnnBernal.asp

BEARDED SCRUTINY: EPISODE ZERO - Ghosts of Mars

BEARDED SCRUTINY: EPISODE ZERO - Ghosts of Mars: Show Synopsis : The boys are still working out the bugs and that's exactly why they've dubbed this the zero episode. Listen closely as St...

History Trivia

May 23, 1275 King Edward I of England ordered the cessation of persecution of French Jews. 1430 Joan of Arc was captured at Compiegne & sold to the British. 1498 Girolamo Savonarola was burned at the stake in Florence, Italy, on the orders of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). 1533 The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

History Trivia

May 22, 334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. 337 Constantine the Great, the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity died. 760 - 14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. 1377 Pope Gregory XI issued five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe. 1455 Wars of the Roses: at the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeated and captured King Henry VI of England.

Goats Eat Cans: I SOMETIMES LET MY WIFE DRIVE

Goats Eat Cans: I SOMETIMES LET MY WIFE DRIVE:        Generally, when the wife and I take to the highway, which is a pretty rare occurrence, I’m the one behind the wheel. This isn’t becau...

Book Giveaway

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History Trivia

May 21, on this day The Agonalia was held. It was held on January 9th, March 17th, May 21st, and December 11th. On each day a ram was sacrificed, probably as an offering to Janus. 685 English settlement was halted at the Firth of Forth when Picts defeated Northumbrians at Nachtansmere. 878 Syracuse, Italy was captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 996 Sixteen-year-old Otto III, king of Germany and fourth ruler of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 987 Louis V, last Carlovingian King of France (966-987), died. 1420 Charles VI ceded France to Henry V of England in the Treaty of Troyes, after Henry's victory at Agincourt. 1471 King Henry VI was killed in the Tower of London. Edward IV took the throne. 1481 Christian I, king of Denmark/Norway/Sweden, died. 1553 English Lady Jane Grey married Guildford Dudley.

History Trivia

May 20, 325 Roman emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical Christian council. 526 An earthquake killed about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia. 685 The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere was fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who were decisively defeated. 1217 The Second Battle of Lincoln was fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke.

History Trivia

May 19, 715 Gregory II was elected Roman Catholic pope. 804 Alcuin of York, English scholar, died in Tours France. He was welcomed at the Palace School of Charlemagne in Aachen where he remained during the 780's and 790's. 988 Dunstanus, English archbishop of Canterbury, died. 1102 Stephen II, Count of Blois, the father of Stephen of England, died. 1499 Catherine of Aragon (age 13), was married by proxy to Arthur Tudor (age 12), Prince of Wales. 1536 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, was beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest. 1568 Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.

History Trivia

May 18, 1096 Crusaders massacred Jews of Worms, Germany. 1268 The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, fell to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch. 1291 The last Christian stronghold of Acre fell to the Sultan of Egypt. 1268 The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, fell to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch. 1291 the Crusaders abandoned Tyre to the Moslems, the prelude to the end of the final Crusade. 1152 Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine.

History Trivia

May 17, 218 - 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. 352 Liberius elected Pope, replacing Julius I. 884 St Adrian III began his reign as Catholic Pope. 1220 King Henry III of England Crowned for a second time. Henry, who had been crowned at age nine four years earlier, underwent a second coronation at Westminster. 1521 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason. 1536 George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and four other men were executed for treason. 1590 Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland.