Andreas Palaiologos (1453–1502) was the elder son of Thomas
Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea, and a nephew of Constantine XI
Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. After the fall of
Constantinople in 1453 and the Ottoman invasion of the Morea in 1460,
Andreas's father fled to Corfu with his family. Upon his father's death
in 1465, Andreas moved to Rome and was recognized as the titular Despot
of the Morea and as the chief claimant to the ancient imperial throne.
Although his father had never claimed the title, Andreas proclaimed
himself "Emperor of Constantinople" from 1483 onwards, a claim that was
supported by some of the Byzantine refugees who lived in Italy. Andreas
traveled around Europe in search of a ruler who could aid him in
retaking Constantinople, but rallied little support. In 1481 an
expedition he started organizing to restore the Byzantine Empire was
canceled. He died in poverty in Rome in 1502 and was buried in St.
Peter's Basilica.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Palaiologos>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1914:
The Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay in
the U.S. state of Massachusetts, opened on a limited basis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Canal>
1954:
The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The
Lord of the Rings was published by Allen & Unwin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings>
1981:
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million
people watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at
St Paul's Cathedral in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
smocking:
(sewing) An embroidery technique in which the fabric is gathered and
then embroidered with decorative stitches to hold the gathers in place;
the product of the use of this embroidery technique.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smocking>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I think this is the greatest threat to our republic ever. Not the
Depression, not World War II, not the Civil War. This is it … This
moment of all these intersecting viruses, of novel coronaviruses and of
racial injustice … 402-year-old-virus. And it’s an age-old human
virus of lying and misinformation and paranoia and conspiracy. This is
the pill that will kill us unless we do something.
--Ken Burns
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Burns>