Wulfhere (died 675) was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he was converted. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere extended his influence over much of that region. His campaigns against the West Saxons led to Mercian supremacy over much of the Thames valley. He conquered the Isle of Wight and the Meon valley and gave them to King Æthelwealh of the South Saxons. He married Eormenhild, the daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent. He was effectively the overlord of Britain south of the Humber from the early 660s, although not overlord of Northumbria as his father had been. In 674, he challenged Oswiu's son Ecgfrith of Northumbria, but was defeated. He died, probably of disease, in 675.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1719:

Robinson Crusoe, a novel by English author Daniel Defoe about a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela, was first published. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe

1898:

Spanish–American War: The United States retroactively declared war on Spain, stating that a state of war between the two countries had already existed for the past couple of days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War

1915:

World War I: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign

1953:

Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids by molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick was first published in the scientific journal Nature, describing the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_Structure_of_Nucleic_Acids%3A_A_Structure_for_Deoxyribose_Nucleic_Acid

1974:

The song "Grândola, Vila Morena" by Zeca Afonso was broadcast on radio, signalling the start of the Carnation Revolution, a bloodless coup against the Estado Novo regime in Portugal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnation_Revolution

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

beleaguer (v): 1. To besiege; to surround with troops. 2. To vex, harass, or beset http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beleaguer

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I will either find a way, or make one. --Hannibal http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hannibal