John (1166–1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death. The youngest of the four surviving sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, he became Henry's favourite after a revolt by his brothers Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey. Despite rebelling against King Richard, who was away on the Third Crusade, he became king after Richard's death. War with France broke out in 1202; John achieved early victories, but shortages of resources led to the loss of the Duchy of Normandy and most other French lands. His judicial reforms had a lasting effect on English law and provided him with revenue from fines and court fees. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John's excommunication from 1209 to 1213. John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, and although they agreed to the Magna Carta peace accord in 1215, neither side complied with it, and civil war broke out shortly afterwards. John died of dysentery while on campaign in late 1216.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_King_of_England
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1752:
The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment (depicted) to determine the electrical nature of lightning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_experiment
1943:
World War II: Allied aircraft sank the German cargo ship Sinfra, killing more than 2,000 people, mostly Italian POWs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Sinfra
1955:
At a meeting of its general assembly, the European Broadcasting Union approved the staging of the first Eurovision Song Contest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest
1987:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6 percent on Black Monday, the largest one-day percentage decline in the stock market index's history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_%281987%29
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
stink to high heaven: 1. To have a very strong and unpleasant smell. 2. (figuratively) Of a person or situation: to be highly ethically dubious; also, of a person: to be very incompetent. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stink_to_high_heaven
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Success ultimately rests on small things, lots of small things. Leaders have to have a feel for small things — a feel for what is going in in the depths of an organization where small things reside. The more senior you become, the more you are isolated by pomp and staff, and the harder and more necessary it becomes to know what is going on six floors down. One way is to leave the top floor and its grand accoutrements and get down into the bowels for real. Don't tell anyone you are coming. --Colin Powell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colin_Powell