Æthelbald was the King of Mercia in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. He came to the throne after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings Penda and Wulfhere between about 628 and 675. When Æthelbald came to the throne, both Wessex and Kent were ruled by stronger kings, but within fifteen years Æthelbald was ruling all England south of the river Humber, according to the contemporary chronicler Bede. Æthelbald was killed in 757 by his bodyguards. He was succeeded briefly by Beornred, of whom little is known. Within a year, Offa, the grandson of Æthelbald's cousin Eanwulf, had seized the throne, possibly after a brief civil war. Under Offa, Mercia entered its most prosperous and influential period.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_of_Mercia

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1790:

Peking opera (modern performer pictured) was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes introduced Anhui opera to Beijing in honor of the Qianlong Emperor's eightieth birthday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_opera

1944:

Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arnhem

1977:

About 4,200 people took part in the first modern Chicago Marathon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Marathon

1990:

The Ram Rath Yatra, a political-religious march organised to erect a temple to the Hindu deity Rama on the site of the Babri Masjid, began in the Indian state of Gujarat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Rath_Yatra

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ruse: 1. (countable, often hunting) A turning or doubling back, especially of animals to get out of the way of hunting dogs. 2. (countable, by extension) An action intended to deceive; a trick. 3. (uncountable) Cunning, guile, trickery. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruse

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The trouble begins when we start to be so impressed by the strategies of our systematized thought that we forget that it does relate to an obverse, that it is hewn from negation, that it is but very small security against the void of negation which surrounds it. And when that happens, when we forget these things, all sorts of mechanical failures begin to disrupt the function of human personality.   --Glenn Gould https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Glenn_Gould