Augustine of Canterbury (c. first third of the 6th century – 604) was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church. Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht of the Kingdom of Kent from his native Anglo-Saxon paganism. Before reaching Kent the missionaries had considered turning back but Gregory urged them on and, in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury. King Æthelberht converted to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the king's subjects, including thousands during a mass baptism on Christmas Day in 597. Roman bishops were established at London and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. The archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterbury
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1666:
A large fire began on London's Pudding Lane and burned the city for three days, destroying St Paul's Cathedral and the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London
1901:
U.S. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt first uttered the famous phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" (cartoon pictured) at the Minnesota State Fair, describing his philosophy of negotiating peacefully while simultaneously threatening to use military force. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology
1946:
The interim government of India, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, formed to assist the transition of India from British rule to independence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interim_Government_of_India
1967:
Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former Second World War Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk, England, as an independent sovereign state: the Principality of Sealand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
1992:
An estimated magnitude 7.2 earthquake off the coast of the coast of Nicaragua was the first tsunami earthquake to be captured on modern broadband seismic networks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Nicaragua_earthquake
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
punctilio: A fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony or procedure. Strictness in observance of formalities. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilio
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
As man is so constituted that it is utterly impossible for him to attain happiness save by seeking the happiness of others, so does it seem to be of the nature of things that individuals and classes can obtain their own just rights only by struggling for the rights of others. --Henry George https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_George