Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (1771–1851) was King of Hanover from 20
June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of
George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover. As a
fifth son, initially Ernest seemed unlikely to become a monarch, but
Salic Law, which debarred women from the succession, applied in Hanover
and none of his older brothers had legitimate male issue. Ernest was
born in Britain, but was sent to Hanover in his adolescence for his
education and military training. While serving with Hanoverian forces
in Wallonia against Napoleon, he received a disfiguring facial wound.
In 1799, he was created Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Although his
1815 marriage to the twice-widowed Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
met with the disapproval of his mother, Queen Charlotte, it proved a
happy relationship. Ernest was active in the House of Lords, where he
maintained an extremely conservative record. There were persistent
allegations (reportedly spread by his political foes) that he had
murdered his valet and had fathered a son by his sister. Before
Victoria succeeded to the British Throne, it was rumoured that Ernest
intended to murder her and take the Throne himself. When King
William IV died on 20 June 1837, Ernest ascended the Hanoverian Throne.
Hanover's first ruler to reside in the kingdom since George I, he had a
generally successful fourteen-year reign, but excited controversy when
he dismissed the Göttingen Seven for agitating against his policies.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Augustus_I_of_Hanover>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Ioannis Kapodistrias , the Greek head of state, was assassinated in
Nafplion.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioannis_Kapodistrias>
1845:
Anglican priest John Henry Newman was formally received into the Roman
Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Newman>
1919:
In Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series,
five games to three, over the Chicago White Sox, whose players were
later found to have lost intentionally.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal>
1942:
World War II: American forces defeated the Japanese at the Third Battle
of the Matanikau in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, avenging the Japanese
victory at the Second Battle of the Matanikau a couple of weeks
earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actions_along_the_Matanikau>
2006:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test, reportedly near Kilchu, with an
explosive force of less than one kiloton, that was unanimously
condemned and denounced by many countries and the United Nations
Security Council.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
uplift (v):
To raise something or someone to a higher physical, social, moral,
intellectual, spiritual or emotional level
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uplift>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.
It doesn't
matter much to me.
--John Lennon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon>