George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. During George III's reign, Great Britain lost many of its colonies in North America; the rebellious colonies later formed the United States. Also during his reign, the realms of Great Britain and Ireland united to form the United Kingdom. George III suffered from a mental disease, now thought to be porphyria. After a final relapse in 1811, George's eldest son, The Prince George, Prince of Wales reigned as Prince Regent. Upon George III's death, the Prince of Wales succeeded his father to become George IV.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom
Today's selected anniversaries:
456 Magister militum Ricimer defeated the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and became master of the western Roman Empire. He spent the rest of his life as the Patrician, ruling through a number of puppet emperors. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricimer)
1813 The Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars . (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leipzig)
1940 Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of the Jewish ghettos in Nazi Germany-occupied Poland, was established by the German Generalgouverneur Hans Frank. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto)
1978 Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first ever from a Slavic country. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II)
2002 Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, was officially inaugurated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliotheca_Alexandrina)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." ~ Margaret Mead (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead)