In the United Kingdom, representative peers were elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. The system was introduced in 1707, when England and Scotland became the Kingdom of Great Britain (Act of Union 1707 pictured). At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, but the English population was roughly five times greater than that of Scotland. The English peers feared that the House of Lords would be swamped, and arranged for the election of a small number of Scottish peers. A similar arrangement was adopted when the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Scotland elected 16 representative peers, who sat for the duration of a Parliament, while Ireland elected 28, who sat for life. Elections for Irish peers ceased when the Irish Free State gained independence in 1922, although already-elected Irish peers were entitled to sit until their death; the last was the 4th Earl of Kilmorey, who died in 1961. Elections for Scottish peers ended in 1963, when they all obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1285:

Forces led by Prince Tran Quang Khai of Vietnam's Tran Dynasty destroyed most of the invading Mongol naval fleet in a battle at Chuong Duong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Quang_Khai

1800:

War of the Second Coalition: In the Battle of Marengo, Napoleonic forces secured victory over the Habsburgs when defeat had appeared inevitable until the arrival of French troops led by Louis Desaix. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marengo

1940:

World War II: Four days after the French government fled Paris, German forces occupied the French capital (pictured), essentially ending the Battle of France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France

1966:

The Vatican formally abolished its 427-year-old list of prohibited books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum

1985:

The Schengen Agreement, a treaty to abolish systematic border controls between participating European countries, was signed between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

vexillology: The study of flags. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vexillology

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Each time I think I've made a connection with someone... once they find out what I can do, whether it's hours or days later, everything changes. Invariably they freak. They get retroactively paranoid, wondering what else Clark Kent is hiding from them.   --Superman: Birthright https://en.wikiquote.org//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Birthright