Edward II (1284–1327) was King of England from 1307 until he was
deposed in January 1327. He married Isabella, the daughter of the
powerful King Philip IV of France, in 1308. Edward had a close and
controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his
household in 1300. Gaveston's arrogance and power as Edward's favourite
provoked discontent among both the barons and the French royal family,
and Edward was forced to exile him. On Gaveston's return, the barons
pressured the king into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms, called the
Ordinances of 1311. A group of barons seized and executed Gaveston in
1312, beginning several years of armed confrontation. English forces
were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by
Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. After the exiled
Roger Mortimer invaded England with a small army in 1326, Edward's
regime collapsed and he relinquished his crown in favour of his 14-year-
old son, Edward III.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_II_of_England>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
The International Telecommunication Union, an international
organization that standardizes and regulates international radio and
telecommunications, was founded as the International Telegraph Union in
Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union>
1954:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v.
Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools
because "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and
therefore unconstitutional.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education>
1974:
The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force detonated a series of
car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, killing 34 people and
injuring almost 300 more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_and_Monaghan_bombings>
2009:
Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected the first female President of
Lithuania, receiving 69.1% of the vote.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalia_Grybauskait%C4%97>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fjord:
A long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fjord>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
People have often asked me, "If you weren’t in show business,
what would you be doing?" The truth is, I don’t think there’s
anything else I could be doing, so the answer would have to be, nothing.
Then again, there's nothing I love more than making people laugh, so I
guess you could say I’m in the only business I could be in. I was born
to enjoy life and I've always wanted everyone to enjoy it along with me.
--Tim Conway
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tim_Conway>
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