Henry III (1207–1272) was King of England from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. He was known for his piety, holding lavish religious ceremonies, giving generously to charities, and adopting Edward the Confessor as his patron saint. In 1230 he attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle, and a revolt broke out in 1232. He invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. In 1258 a coalition of his barons seized power in a coup. Henry and the baronial government enacted a peace treaty with King Louis IX of France in 1259, under which Henry gave up his other lands in France in return for recognition as the rightful ruler of Gascony. In 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons' War. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry was taken prisoner. His eldest son, Edward, defeated de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year and freed his father.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_III_of_England
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1781:
American Revolutionary War: British forces led by Lord Cornwallis officially surrendered to Franco-American forces under George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau, ending the Siege of Yorktown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown
1914:
First World War: Allied forces engaged German troops in the First Battle of Ypres. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres
1944:
The Guatemalan Revolution began when a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launched a coup against the dictator Jorge Ubico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Revolution
1987:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6% on Black Monday, the largest one-day percentage decline in Dow Jones history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)
2005:
Hurricane Wilma became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 882 mbar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Wilma
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
discophilia: The love of recorded music. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/discophilia
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing. --Leigh Hunt https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leigh_Hunt