Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland (1653–1708)
was the husband of Queen Anne of Great Britain. His marriage to Anne was
arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish
alliance to contain Dutch maritime power. This made him unpopular with
his Dutch brother-in-law William of Orange, who was married to Mary,
Anne's sister. William and Mary became joint monarchs of Britain in 1689
after the "Glorious Revolution" deposed James II and VII, the father of
Anne and Mary. William excluded George from active military service, and
neither Anne (who was heiress presumptive) nor George wielded any great
influence until after the deaths of William and Mary, when Anne became
queen. He had an easy-going manner and little interest in politics; his
appointment as Lord High Admiral in 1702 was largely honorary. Anne's
seventeen pregnancies by George resulted in twelve miscarriages or
stillbirths, four infant deaths, and a chronically sick son William, who
died at the age of eleven. Despite the history of their children, George
and Anne's marriage was a strong one. He died aged 55 from a recurring
and chronic lung disease, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_George_of_Denmark>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
325:
The First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the
Christian Church, was formally opened in present-day Iznik, Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea>
685:
The Picts defeated the Northumbrians near Dunnichen, severely
weakening the latter's power in northern Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dun_Nechtain>
1875:
Representatives from seventeen countries signed the Metre
Convention which set up an institute for the purpose of coordinating
international metrology and for coordinating the development of the
metric system.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre_Convention>
1927:
By the Treaty of Jeddah, the United Kingdom recognized the
sovereignty of King Ibn Saud over Hejaz and Nejd, which later merged to
become Saudi Arabia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Saud>
1983:
A team of researchers led by French virologist Luc Montagnier
published their discovery of HIV, although they did not know yet if it
caused AIDS.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
much of a muchness:
(idiomatic) Of two or more things, having little difference of any
significance between them.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/much_of_a_muchness>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the
feeblest insect finds the way to its flower, with a will which nothing
can dismay nor turn aside.
--Honoré de Balzac
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac>