Æthelberht was the King of Wessex from 860 until his death in 865. He was the third son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife, Osburh. In 855 Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed Æthelberht as king of the recently conquered territory of Kent. Æthelberht's older brother, Æthelbald, was named king of Wessex. After the deaths of his father in 858 and his brother in 860, Æthelberht ruled both Wessex and Kent without appointing a sub-king, fully uniting the two territories for the first time. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he reigned "in good harmony and in great peace". He appears to have been on good terms with his younger brothers, the future kings Æthelred I and Alfred the Great. The kingdom came under attack from Viking raids during his reign, but these were minor compared to the invasions after his death. Æthelberht died in the autumn of 865 and was buried next to his brother Æthelbald at Sherborne Abbey in Dorset. He was succeeded by Æthelred.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelberht,_King_of_Wessex

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1904:

Realizing that the Russification of Lithuania was not working, the Russian Empire lifted the 40-year-old ban on publications using the Lithuanian language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban

1932:

An estimated 400 ramblers committed a willful trespass of Kinder Scout in the Peak District of England to highlight the denial of access to areas of open country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_trespass_of_Kinder_Scout

1965:

The Dominican Civil War broke out due to tensions caused by a military coup of the democratically elected government two years previous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Civil_War

1990:

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in mission STS-31. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

loath: 1. Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. 2. (obsolete) Angry, hostile. 3. (obsolete) Loathsome, unpleasant. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loath

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I cannot hold with those who wish to put down the insignificant chatter of the world.   --Anthony Trollope https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope