[Wikipedia Daily Article] April 2: George IV of the United Kingdom - daily-article-l

2 Apr 2006


      George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
  and Hanover from 29 January 1820.  He had earlier served as Prince
  Regent when his father, George III, suffered from a relapse into
  insanity from porphyria.The Regency (George's nine-year tenure as
  Regent, which commenced in 1811 and ended with George III's death in
  1820) was marked by a victory in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe.  George
  was a stubborn monarch, often interfering in politics (especially in
  the matter of Catholic Emancipation), though not as much as his
  father.  For most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool
  controlled the government as Prime Minister.  George is often
  remembered as an extravagant prince and monarch.  He had a poor
  relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick,
  even excluding her from his own coronation.  He was a patron of the
  arts; his regency and reign were graced by such literary figures as
  George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron and Jane Austen.  George was
  responsible for the building of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
Read the rest of this article:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
  By the Coinage Act, the U.S. Mint was founded and the U.S. currency
  was decimalised.
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Mint)
1801:
  British forces led by Horatio Nelson defeated the Dano-Norwegian fleet
  in the Battle of Copenhagen.
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen_%281801%29)
1956:
  As the World Turns premiered on U.S. television as the first half-hour
  serial drama.
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_the_World_Turns)
1982:
  Falklands War: Argentine special forces began the invasion of the
  Falkland Islands.
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands)
1992:
  John Gotti, the crime boss of the Gambino crime family, was convicted
  of racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, loansharking,
  obstruction of justice, illegal gambling and tax evasion.
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gotti)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Whether it is happy or unhappy, a man's life is the only treasure he
  can ever possess." -- Giacomo Casanova
  (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova)