Isabeau of Bavaria (c. 1370–1435) became the queen of King Charles VI of France in 1385. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach, the eldest daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti of Milan. Isabeau was sent to France at age 15 or 16, where the young French king liked her enough to marry her three days after they met. Charles suffered from lifelong progressive mental illness from 1392, and was forced to temporarily withdraw from government. A 1393 masque or masquerade ball for one of Isabeau's ladies-in-waiting—an event later known as Bal des Ardents—ended in disaster with the King almost burning to death. Although he demanded Isabeau's removal from his presence during attacks of mental illness, he allowed her to act on his behalf. Charles' illness created a power vacuum that eventually led to the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War between the supporters of his brother, Louis of Orléans, and the royal dukes of Burgundy. Isabeau shifted allegiances between the factions, choosing courses she believed most favorable for the heir to the throne. She was present at the signing of the Treaty of Troyes in 1421, and lived in English-occupied Paris until her death in 1435.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabeau_of_Bavaria
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
Rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain assassinated Japanese Chief Minister Ii Naosuke, upset with his role in the opening of Japan to foreign powers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakuradamon_Incident_(1860)
1882:
German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterium that causes tuberculosis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
1927:
Following the capture of Nanjing by an alliance of Nationalist and Communist forces, British and American warships bombarded the city in defence of foreign citizens there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Incident
1944:
Second World War: Captured Allied airmen began "the Great Escape", breaking out of the German prison camp Stalag Luft III. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III
1989:
The tanker Exxon Valdez spilled more than 10 million US gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing one of the most devastating man-made environmental disasters at sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
siesta: An afternoon nap, especially the one taken after lunch in some cultures. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/siesta
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
If "freedom" means, first of all, the responsibility of every individual for the rational determination of his own personal, professional and social existence, then there is no greater fear than that of the establishment of general freedom. Without a thoroughgoing solution of this problem there never will be a peace lasting longer than one or two generations. To solve this problem on a social scale, it will take more thinking, more honesty and decency, more conscientiousness, more economic, social and educational changes in social mass living than all the efforts made in previous and future wars and post-war reconstruction programs taken together. --Wilhelm Reich https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich