Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 1558-11-17 until her death. Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding her half-sister, Mary I. She reigned over a period of deep religious division in English history. Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era and was marked by several changes in English culture. Elizabeth was a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler. Like her father Henry VIII, she was a writer and poet. She granted Royal Charters to several famous organisations, including Trinity College, Dublin (1592) and the British East India Company (1600).

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England

Today's selected anniversaries:

September 7: Independence Day in Brazil (1822)

* 1191 - Saladin and the Seljuk Turks were defeated by the Crusaders in the Battle of Arsuf. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arsuf)

* 1818 - Carl III of Sweden was crowned king of Norway. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIV_of_Sweden)

* 1940 - The Blitz began when Nazi Germany bombs landed on London, England, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz)

* 1986 - Desmond Tutu became the first black to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu)

* 1997 - The first test flight of the F/A-22 Raptor took place. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F/A-22_Raptor)

Wikiquote of the day:

"In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood." -- Henry David Thoreau

(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau)