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>
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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>
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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>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory.
--Millard Fillmore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Millard_Fillmore>
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