Charles II was the King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 30 January 1649 until his death. Charles II's father, Charles I, had been executed in 1649 following the English Civil War; the monarchy was then abolished and replaced with a military dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell, who had named himself "Lord Protector". In 1660, shortly after Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored under Charles II. Unlike his father, Charles II was skilled at managing Parliament. It was during his reign that the Whig and Tory political parties developed. He famously fathered numerous illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged fourteen. Known as the "Merry Monarch", Charles was a patron of the arts and less restrictive than many of his predecessors. By converting to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed, Charles II became the first Roman Catholic to reign over England since Mary I's death in 1558. Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1928: The failure of the St. Francis Dam in California resulted in a flood that killed 400 people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Dam) 1938: Anschluss Österreichs: Austria was occupied by the Wehrmacht, and subsequently became Ostmark, a province within the German Reich. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschluss) 1940: The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed, ending the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Peace_Treaty_%281940%29) 2003: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated in Belgrade. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoran_Djindjic) _____________________ Wikiquote of the day: "I want to work in revelations, not just spin silly tales for money. I want to fish as deep down as possible into my own subconscious in the belief that once that far down, everyone will understand because they are the same that far down." -- Jack Kerouac (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac)