Charles I of Anjou (1226/1227–1285) was the youngest son of Louis VIII of France. He acquired vast territories and many titles by a variety of means and founded the Second House of Anjou. He accompanied Louis during the Seventh Crusade to Egypt. In 1263 he agreed with the Holy See to seize the Kingdom of Sicily, which included southern Italy to well north of Naples. Pope Urban IV declared a crusade against the incumbent Manfred, and Charles occupied the kingdom with little resistance. In 1270 he took part in the Eighth Crusade and forced the caliph of Tunis to pay him a yearly tribute. The popes tried to channel his ambitions away from Italy and assisted him in acquiring claims to Achaea and Jerusalem. In 1281 Charles was authorised to launch a crusade against the Byzantine Empire. A riot, known as the Sicilian Vespers, broke out in March 1282 that put an end to his rule on the island of Sicily. He was able to defend the mainland territories with the support of France and the Holy See.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1782:

The Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia as the de facto first central bank of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_America

1989:

Representatives of Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini delivered a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev, inviting him to consider Islam as an alternative to communism, and predicting the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khomeini%27s_letter_to_Mikhail_Gorbachev

1993:

The Fourth Republic of Ghana was inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings, the country's former military ruler, as president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rawlings

2012:

A hot air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a power line while landing, causing it to crash and killing all eleven people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Carterton_hot_air_balloon_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

sennight: 1. (archaic or obsolete) 2. A period of seven consecutive days and nights; a week. 3. (attributively) Preceded by a specified day such as Sunday, today, or yesterday: a week from the specified day. 4. (obsolete) 5. Preceded by a specified day and come: a week after the specified day. 6. Preceded by a specified day and gone or was: a week before the specified day. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sennight

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory.   --Millard Fillmore https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Millard_Fillmore