Constans II (died 411) was the son of the Western Roman emperor Constantine III. When his father rebelled against the ruling emperor Honorius and the army in Britain acclaimed him as emperor in early 407, Constans was a monk. He was summoned to Gaul, appointed to the position of caesar (heir) and swiftly married so that a dynasty could be founded. Honorius acknowledged Constantine as co-emperor in early 409 and Constantine immediately raised Constans to the position of emperor, theoretically equal in rank to Honorius as well as to Constantine. Later in 409 Constans was sent to Hispania (Spain) to quash a revolt, but suffered a defeat and withdrew to Arelate (modern Arles). In 410, Constans was again sent to Hispania with an army. The rebels had strengthened their forces with barbarians and won a battle against Constans; he withdrew north and was defeated again and killed at Vienne early in 411. The rebels then besieged Constantine in Arelate and killed him.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constans_II_%28son_of_Constantine_III%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force bomber Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (mushroom cloud pictured), killing about 70,000 people instantly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy
1965:
U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disfranchisement of African Americans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965
1991:
British computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee posted a public invitation to collaborate on a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessible via the Internet, known as the World Wide Web. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
2008:
Mauritanian president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was ousted from power by a group of high-ranking generals that he had dismissed from office several hours earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mauritanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
gossip mirror: (architecture) A mirror or pair of mirrors mounted outside a window, allowing the viewer to see along a street while remaining indoors. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gossip_mirror
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The altar of liberty totters when it is cemented only with blood, when it is supported only with carcases. The liberty which I look for is that which would increase the happiness of mankind. In the service of this liberty I have devoted my life and whatever portion of talents I may have or acquire. --Daniel O'Connell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_O%27Connell