Richard II (1367–1400) was King of England, a member of the House of
Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377
until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black
Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather,
Edward III. Richard was tall, good-looking and intelligent.
Although probably not insane, as earlier historians believed, he may
have suffered from one or several personality disorders that may have
become more apparent toward the end of his reign. Less of a warrior than
either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the
Hundred Years' War that Edward III had started. He was a firm believer
in the royal prerogative, which led him to restrain the power of his
nobility and rely on a private retinue for military protection instead.
He also cultivated a courtly atmosphere where the king was an elevated
figure, and art and culture were at the centre, in contrast to the
fraternal, martial court of his grandfather. Richard's posthumous
reputation has to a large extent been shaped by Shakespeare, whose play
Richard II portrays Richard's misrule and Bolingbroke's deposition
as responsible for the 15th-century Wars of the Roses. Most authorities
agree that the way in which he carried his policies out was unacceptable
to the political establishment, and this led to his downfall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando de Soto (pictured) became
the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto>
1924:
Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention with the nations of
the Conference of Ambassadors, taking the Klaipėda Region from East
Prussia and making it into an autonomous region under unconditional
sovereignty of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Convention>
1945:
Most armed forces under German control ceased active operations
by 23:01 CET after the German Instrument of Surrender was formally
ratified, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender>
1972:
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to
demand the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571_hijacking>
1987:
A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional
Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight
IRA members and a civilian.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_Ambush>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
adversity:
1. (uncountable) The state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or
calamity.
2. (countable) An event that is adverse; calamity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adversity>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
He had decided long ago that no Situation had any objective reality: it
only existed in the minds of those who happened to be in on it at any
specific moment. ‌ The only consolation he drew from the
present chaos was that his theory managed to explain it.
--Thomas Pynchon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon>
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