Æthelwold was a son of King Alfred the Great's older brother,
Æthelred, who was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. While the West Saxons
were fighting a Danish Viking invasion, Æthelred died; his sons were
infants, so Alfred became king. He defeated the Vikings at the Battle of
Edington in 878, but when he died in 899 the Vikings still controlled
Northumbria and East Anglia. In his will (pictured) Alfred favoured his
own children over his brother's. Æthelwold, as senior ætheling (prince
of the royal dynasty eligible for kingship), had a strong claim to the
throne, and he disputed the crown with Alfred's son, Edward the Elder.
Æthelwold attempted to raise an army to support his claim, but was
unable to get sufficient support to meet Edward in battle and fled to
Northumbria, where he was accepted by the Danes as king. In 902 he
persuaded the East Anglian Vikings to launch an attack on Edward's
territory in Wessex and Mercia. Edward retaliated with a raid on East
Anglia, and when he withdrew, his men from Kent lingered and met the
East Anglian Danes at the Battle of the Holme. The Danes were victorious
but suffered heavy losses, including the death of Æthelwold, ending the
challenge to Edward's rule.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelwold_%C3%A6theling>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1006:
SN 1006 (remnant pictured), the brightest supernova in recorded
history, first appeared in the constellation Lupus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1006>
1557:
Arauco War: Spanish forces of the Governor Francisco de
Villagra launched a dawn surprise attack against the Mapuche headed by
their toqui Lautaro in what is now Chile.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mataquito>
1789:
George Washington took the oath of office as the first
President of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington>
1945:
World War II: As Allied forces were closing in on Berlin, Adolf
Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker after being
married for one day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler>
1975:
American forces completed a helicopter evacuation of U.S.
citizens, South Vietnamese civilians and others from Saigon, just before
North Vietnamese troops captured the city, ending the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
capacious:
Having a lot of space inside; roomy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/capacious>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I still get laughed at but it doesn't bother me, I'm just so
glad to hear laughter around me.
--Amanda Palmer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amanda_Palmer>