Ælfheah of Canterbury (954–1012) was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of St Dunstan and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking raiders in 1011 and killed by them the following year, after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed. Ælfheah was canonized as a saint in 1078. Thomas Becket, a later Archbishop of Canterbury (and himself canonized), prayed to him just before his own slaying in Canterbury Cathedral. Ælfheah became a monk early in life. He first entered the monastery of Deerhurst, but then moved to Bath, where he became an anchorite. He was noted for his piety and austerity, and rose to become abbot of Bath Abbey.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfheah_of_Canterbury

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1671:

Croatian Ban Petar Zrinski was executed for treason for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of 1664–1670. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_Zrinski

1789:

George Washington took the oath as the first President of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

1945:

World War II: As Allied forces were closing in on Berlin, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker after being married for one day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler

1948:

Twenty-one countries signed a charter in Bogotá, Colombia, establishing the Organization of American States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States

1975:

North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon, ending the Vietnam War with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon

2004:

The New Yorker magazine posted an article and supporting pictures online, postdated May 10, detailing accounts of torture and abuse by American personnel of prisoners held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

scion (n): 1. A descendant; a son or daughter.

2. A detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting.

3. The heir to a throne http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scion

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The Gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools. --Larry Niven http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven