Mary II reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689 until her death, and as Queen of Scotland (technically as Mary II of Scotland) from 11 April 1689 until her death. Mary, a Protestant, came to the Throne following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of her Roman Catholic father, James II. Mary reigned jointly with her husband and first cousin, William III, who became the sole ruler upon her death. Popular histories usually know the joint reign as that of "William and Mary". Mary, although a Sovereign in her own right, did not wield actual power during most of her reign. She did, however, govern the realm when her husband was abroad fighting wars.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_II_of_England
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1778: The expedition led by James Cook reached Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maui)
1917: The National Hockey League was formed with its first five teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Wanderers, the Ottawa Senators, the Quebec Bulldogs, and the Toronto Arenas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League)
1922: Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in over 3000 years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun)
1942: World War II: Josip Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVNOJ)
1950: Battle of Chosin Reservoir: Chinese forces in North Korea launched a massive counterattack against South Korean and United States armed forces, ending any thought of a quick end to the Korean War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
"If I were to be given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself." -- Charles M. Schulz (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_M._Schulz)