The Capture of Wakefield occurred on 21 May 1643 during the First
English Civil War when around 1,500 Parliamentarians under the command
of Sir Thomas Fairfax (depicted) attacked the Royalist garrison of
Wakefield, Yorkshire. They were outnumbered by around 3,000 Royalists
led by George Goring, but successfully stormed the town. Around 800
Parliamentarians had been taken prisoner after Fairfax was defeated at
Seacroft Moor, and he planned the attack to take prisoners of his own to
exchange for his men. He marched his force from Leeds and divided it to
attack from two different directions. After around two hours of fighting
early in the morning, they broke into the town. Goring, who had been in
bed suffering from either illness or a hangover, led a counterattack in
his nightshirt, but to no avail. Fairfax took roughly 1,400 prisoners
while, according to his own account, losing no more than seven men.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Wakefield>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1703:
English writer Daniel Defoe was imprisoned for seditious libel
after publishing a pamphlet that was perceived to satirise the Tory
publications about Dissenters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shortest_Way_with_the_Dissenters>
1864:
American Civil War: The inconclusive Battle of Spotsylvania
Court House in Virginia ended with combined Union and Confederate
casualties totaling around 31,000.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spotsylvania_Court_House>
1991:
Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a
suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi>
1998:
Indonesian president Suharto resigned after a collapse of
support for his presidency amid economic and political crises, ending 32
years in power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
caravanserai:
1. (chiefly historical) A roadside inn, usually having a central
courtyard where caravans (see sense 3) can rest, providing accommodation
for travellers along trade routes in Asia and North Africa.
2. (by extension) A place resembling a caravanserai (sense 1) as being a
place for resting temporarily, or a meeting place (especially one that
is busy, or where people of different cultures encounter each other).
3. (by extension) Synonym of caravan (“a convoy of travellers, their
cargo and vehicles, and pack animals”)
4. (by extension, archaic) A hostelry, an inn; also (humorous), an
(upscale) hotel.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caravanserai>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We fatuously hoped that we might pluck from the human tragedy
itself a consciousness of a common destiny which should bring its own
healing, that we might extract from life’s very misfortunes a power of
cooperation which should be effective against them.
--Jane Addams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Addams>