Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 918), ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. The oldest daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, she married Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, who ruled western Mercia when the eastern part was occupied by the Vikings. After her husband's death, she ruled Mercia and played a leading role in recovering southern England from the Vikings in cooperation with her brother, King Edward the Elder. She fortified many towns, sent an army to capture Derby, and secured the surrender of Leicester without a fight. The Viking leaders of York offered her their loyalty, but she died before she could take up the offer. Her daughter Ælfwynn briefly ruled Mercia, but was seized by Edward, who took her into Wessex and brought Mercia under his direct rule. Historians disagree whether Mercia was an independent kingdom under Æthelred and Æthelflæd, but they agree that Æthelflæd played an important part in ending Viking rule in England. As a rare English warrior queen, and a successful one, she has captivated Medieval and modern writers.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelfl%C3%A6d

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1316:

The forces of the infante Ferdinand of Majorca fought against those loyal to Princess Matilda of Hainaut in the Battle of Picotin on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Picotin

1876:

The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, named after philanthropist Johns Hopkins, opened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_University

1921:

After White Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern- Sternberg drove the Chinese out of Mongolia, the Bogd Khan was reinstalled as emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_von_Ungern-Sternberg

1957:

The President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem survived a Viet Cong assassination attempt by a gunman in Buôn Ma Thuột. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem

2002:

Jonas Savimbi, leader of the Angolan anti-Communist rebel and political party UNITA, was killed in a battle with Angolan government troops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Savimbi

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

avoid like the plague: (simile, idiomatic) To evade or shun, if at all possible. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avoid_like_the_plague

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man.   --George Washington https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington