Gerard (died 1108) was Archbishop of York between 1100 and 1108 and Lord
Chancellor of England from 1085 until 1092. A Norman, he was a member of
the cathedral clergy at Rouen before becoming a royal clerk under King
William I of England, who appointed him Lord Chancellor. He continued
in that office under King William II Rufus, who rewarded him with the
Bishopric of Hereford in 1096. Soon after Henry I's coronation, Gerard
was appointed to the recently vacant see of York, and became embroiled
in the dispute between York and the see of Canterbury concerning which
archbishopric had primacy over England. He secured papal recognition of
York's jurisdiction over the church in Scotland but was forced to accept
Canterbury's authority over York. He also worked on reconciling the
Investiture Controversy between the king and the papacy over the right
to appoint bishops until the controversy's resolution in 1107. Because
of rumours, as a student of astrology, that he was a magician and a
sorcerer, and also because of his unpopular attempts to reform his
clergy, he was denied a burial inside York Minster but his remains were
later moved into the cathedral.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_%28archbishop_of_York%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1630:
Kiliaen van Rensselaer purchased land near present-day Albany,
New York, to found the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which became the most
successful patroonship under the Dutch West India Company system.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manor_of_Rensselaerswyck>
1911:
American cartoonist Winsor McCay released the silent short film
Little Nemo (featured), one of the earliest animated films.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nemo_%281911_film%29>
1968:
BOAC Flight 712 experienced an engine fire shortly after take-
off from London Heathrow, leading to the deaths of five people on board,
including flight attendant Jane Harrison, who was posthumously awarded a
George Cross for heroism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Jane_Harrison>
2013:
Two Sunni Muslim extremist groups, the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Al-Nusra Front, merged to become the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
munshi:
1. (South Asia) A clerk or secretary.
2. (South Asia) A language teacher, especially one teaching Hindustani
or Persian.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munshi>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against
time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a
dime?
--Yip Harburg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yip_Harburg>