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)