Richard II (1367–1400) was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was tall, good-looking and intelligent. Although probably not insane, as earlier historians believed, he may have suffered from one or several personality disorders that may have become more apparent toward the end of his reign. Less of a warrior than either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the Hundred Years' War that Edward III had started. He was a firm believer in the royal prerogative, which led him to restrain the power of his nobility and rely on a private retinue for military protection instead. He also cultivated a courtly atmosphere where the king was an elevated figure, and art and culture were at the centre, in contrast to the fraternal, martial court of his grandfather. Richard's posthumous reputation has to a large extent been shaped by Shakespeare, whose play Richard II portrays Richard's misrule and Bolingbroke's deposition as responsible for the 15th-century Wars of the Roses. Most authorities agree that the way in which he carried his policies out was unacceptable to the political establishment, and this led to his downfall.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando de Soto (pictured) became the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto
1924:
Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention with the nations of the Conference of Ambassadors, taking the Klaipėda Region from East Prussia and making it into an autonomous region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Convention
1945:
Most armed forces under German control ceased active operations by 23:01 CET after the German Instrument of Surrender was formally ratified, marking the end of World War II in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender
1972:
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571_hijacking
1987:
A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and a civilian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_Ambush
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
adversity: 1. (uncountable) The state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or calamity. 2. (countable) An event that is adverse; calamity. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adversity
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
He had decided long ago that no Situation had any objective reality: it only existed in the minds of those who happened to be in on it at any specific moment. ‌ The only consolation he drew from the present chaos was that his theory managed to explain it. --Thomas Pynchon https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon