Anna (killed 653 or 654) was King of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. Little is known of Anna's life or his reign, as few records have survived from this period. He was one of the three sons of Eni who ruled East Anglia, succeeding after Ecgric was killed in battle by Penda of Mercia. Anna was praised by Bede for his devotion to Christianity and was renowned for the saintliness of his family. In 645 Cenwalh of Wessex was driven from his kingdom by Penda and due to Anna's influence, he was converted to Christianity while living as an exile at the East Anglian court. Upon his return from exile, Cenwalh re- established Christianity in his own kingdom and the people of Wessex then remained firmly Christian. Following the attack in 651 by Penda on the monastery at Cnobheresburg, which Anna richly endowed, he was forced by Penda to flee into exile. He may have travelled to the western kingdom of the Magonsæte and returned in about 653, but East Anglia was attacked again by Penda soon afterwards and at the Battle of Bulcamp the East Anglian army, led by Anna, was defeated by the Mercians, and Anna and his son Jurmin were both killed. He was succeeded by his brother, Æthelhere.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1872:

P. B. S. Pinchback took office as Governor of Louisiana, the first African American governor of a U.S. state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._B._S._Pinchback

1911:

A mine explosion near Briceville, Tennessee, killed 84 miners despite a well-organized rescue effort led by the United States Bureau of Mines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Mountain_Mine_disaster

1931:

The approval of the Spanish Constitution by the Constituent Cortes paved the way to the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1931

1940:

Second World War: British and Commonwealth forces opened Operation Compass, the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Compass

1969:

U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers proposed his plan for a ceasefire in the War of Attrition; Egypt's and Jordan's acceptance of it over PLO objections led to civil war in Jordan in September 1970. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Plan

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

pass muster: 1. (idiomatic) To meet or exceed a particular standard. 2. (idiomatic) To adequately pass a formal or informal inspection. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pass_muster

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Accuse not Nature: she hath done her part; Do thou but thine. --John Milton https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Milton