Andreas Palaiologos (1453–1502) was the elder son of Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea, and a nephew of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Ottoman invasion of the Morea in 1460, Andreas's father fled to Corfu with his family. Upon his father's death in 1465, Andreas moved to Rome and was recognized as the titular Despot of the Morea and as the chief claimant to the ancient imperial throne. Although his father had never claimed the title, Andreas proclaimed himself "Emperor of Constantinople" from 1483 onwards, a claim that was supported by some of the Byzantine refugees who lived in Italy. Andreas traveled around Europe in search of a ruler who could aid him in retaking Constantinople, but rallied little support. In 1481 an expedition he started organizing to restore the Byzantine Empire was canceled. He died in poverty in Rome in 1502 and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Palaiologos

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1914:

The Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, opened on a limited basis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Canal

1954:

The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings was published by Allen & Unwin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings

1981:

An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million people watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

smocking: (sewing) An embroidery technique in which the fabric is gathered and then embroidered with decorative stitches to hold the gathers in place; the product of the use of this embroidery technique. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smocking

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I think this is the greatest threat to our republic ever. Not the Depression, not World War II, not the Civil War. This is it … This moment of all these intersecting viruses, of novel coronaviruses and of racial injustice … 402-year-old-virus. And it’s an age-old human virus of lying and misinformation and paranoia and conspiracy. This is the pill that will kill us unless we do something.   --Ken Burns https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Burns