This Day in History...

Hmm...so far not much seems to be happening in October!


October 7, 1363 - Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence and son of Edward III, died in Italy.

October 7, 1765 - Delegates from nine of the American colonies protested against the British Stamp Act.

This Day in History...

September 3, 1189 - Following the death of his father Henry II in July, Richard the Lionheart was crowned king at Westminster Abbey in London.

September 3, 1783 - Britain finally recognised the USA, signing the Treaty of Paris officially ending the American War of Independence.

This Day in History...

August 23, 1305 - William Wallace is executed by Edward I for treason. He was hanged, beheaded, and quartered in London. Afterward his body parts were displayed in different cities as a deterrent to other would be "rebels" against the King.

August 23, 1775 - George III declared that the American colonies were in an open and declared state of rebellion.

August 23, 1914 -The Battle of Mons - the first major battle of World War I.

August 23, 1940 - The German Luftwaffe began night bombing London (the London Blitz).

This Day in History...

August 2, 1100 - William II of England, son of William the Conqueror, was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest. He was allegedly mistaken for a deer. His ambitious younger brother Henry became King.

August 2, 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is signed.

This Day in History...

July 14, 1223 - Louis VIII becomes the King of France on the death of his father Philip II.

July 14, 1789 - During the French Revolution Paris citizens storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners.

This Day in History...

July 8, 1822- English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley died. He drowned in Italy while sailing.

July 8, 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is read in aloud in Philadelphia and the Liberty Bell is rung.

This Day in History...

May 28, 1503 - James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. A Treaty of Everlasting Peace is signed between the two countries; it lasted ten years.

May 28, 1533 - Thomas Cramner, Archbishop of Canterbury, declares Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's marriage valid.

May 28, 1588 - The Spanish Armada leaves Lisbon and heads for the English Channel.

May 28, 1660 - The future King George I was born.

May 28, 1774 - The first Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia.

May 28, 1908 - Ian Fleming, the English author of the James Bond novels was born.

This Day in History...

May 4, 1471 - The Yorkists, lead by Edward IV, defeat the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury. This was the battle that effectively ended the Wars of the Roses (though most will say Henry VII did that by marrying Elizabeth of York). Edward, Prince of Wales, Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou's only child, was killed at the battle and is buried at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucester.

May 4, 1776 - Rhode Island becomes the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.

May 4, 1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea began when the USS Yorktown attacked Japanese forces on the island of Tulagi.

This Day in History...

April 30, 1483 - Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Buckingham meet Edward V and his party on their way to London from Ludlow. Richard arrested Anthony Woodville, Richard Grey, and Thomas Vaughan on suspicion of treason.

April 30, 1533 - Thomas Cranmer became Archbishop of Canterbury.

April 30, 1536 - Mark Smeaton is arrested and sent to the Tower of London for allegedly having an affair with Queen Anne Boleyn. These trumped up charges were another of Cromwell's tactics for getting rid of the queen Henry VIII no longer wanted.

April 30, 1775 - Parliament passed an act forbidding the American colonies to trade with anyone other than Britain.

This Day in History...

April 27, 1124 - David I becomes King of Scots.

April 27, 1296 - Edward I leads an army to the north and defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar.

April 27, 1776 - Parliament passes the Tea Act, further enraging the American colonists. This Act would lead to the famous Boston Tea Party.

This Day in History...

Hmm...seemed appropriate that something that screwed America hundreds of years ago would be on THIS date...

March 22, 1765 - Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which introduced a tax to be levied directly on the American colonies. This tax required a government stamp on all purchased paper products to show that the purchaser had paid tax on it.

This Day in History...

March 8, 1702 - Anne becomes Queen of England after William III died in a riding accident.

March 8, 1765 - The House of Lords passed the Stamp Act to tax the American colonies. This was one of the final straws that pushed the colonists into a revolution.

This Day in History...

October 20, 1774 - In response to the "Intolerable Acts" passed by British Parliament, the First Continental Congress created the Continental Association. This called for the complete ban on all trade between American and Great Britain.

This Day in History...

Got a couple things for today.

October 19, 1781 - The American Revolution came to an end when, after a three week siege, British commander Lord Cornwallis surrendered his 8,000 troops to George Washington at Yorktown, in Virginia.

October 19, 1216 - King John (Richard the Lionheart's younger brother) died during a Civil War which was the result of his refusal to recognize the Magna Carta which had been signed the previous year.

This Day in History...

October 17, 1777 - In the first large scale surrender of British troops in the Revolutionary War, British general John Burgoyne surrenders his 5,000 British and Hessian troops to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York. Soon after the victory, King Louis XVI of France agreed to recognize the independence of the U.S and the French ambassador began arrangements for French aid to the cause; this aid became crucial to the eventual American victory.

This Day in History...

October 7, 1765 - Delegates from nine of the thirteen American colonies protested against the British Stamp Act which placed a tax on all forms of paper (legal documents, newspapers, playing cards, etc) used in the Colonies. The purpose of the tax, in British eyes, was to pay for troops still stationed in America after the victory in the Seven Years War and, since the Colonists were benefiting from the military presence, Parliament felt they should pay for some of the expense. The Colonists saw this as "taxation without representation" and was more fuel on the fire that lead to the American Revolution.

This Day in History...

September 5, 1774 - The first session of the Continental Congress meets at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was in response to Parliament's enacting of the Coercive Acts. 56 delegates from all the colonies (except Georgia) drafted a declaration of grievances and rights.