Aldfrith was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death on 14 December 704 or 705. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning, and some of his works, as well as letters written to him, survive. His reign was relatively peaceful, marred only by disputes with Bishop Wilfrid, a major figure in the early Northumbrian church. Aldfrith was born on an uncertain date to Oswiu of Northumbria and an Irish princess named Fín. Oswiu later became King of Northumbria; he died in 670 and was succeeded by his son Ecgfrith. Aldfrith was educated for a career in the church and became a scholar. However, in 685, when Ecgfrith was killed at the battle of Nechtansmere, Aldfrith was recalled to Northumbria, reportedly from the Hebridean island of Iona, and became king (coin pictured). In his early-eighth-century account of Aldfrith's reign, Bede states that he "ably restored the shattered fortunes of the kingdom, though within smaller boundaries". His reign saw the creation of works of Hiberno- Saxon art such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Codex Amiatinus, and is often seen as the start of Northumbria's Golden Age.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1142:

Despite having saved the Southern Song Dynasty from attempts by the northern Jin Dynasty to conquer it, Chinese general Yue Fei was executed by the Song government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei

1888:

The National Geographic Society, publisher of National Geographic magazine, was incorporated in Washington, D.C., as "a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Society

1945:

The Soviet Red Army liberated over 7,500 prisoners left behind by Nazi personnel in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp

1993:

American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Tarō became the first foreigner to reach the rank of yokozuna (grand champion). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akebono_Tar%C5%8D

2003:

The first selections for the National Recording Registry were announced by the U.S. Library of Congress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recording_Registry

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cop on: (Ireland, informal, idiomatic) Common sense. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cop_on

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Be sure the safest rule is that we should not dare to live in any scene in which we dare not die. But, once realise what the true object is in life — that it is not pleasure, not knowledge, not even fame itself, 'that last infirmity of noble minds' — but that it is the development of character, the rising to a higher, nobler, purer standard, the building-up of the perfect Man — and then, so long as we feel that this is going on, and will (we trust) go on for evermore, death has for us no terror; it is not a shadow, but a light; not an end, but a beginning! --Lewis Carroll https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll