Pain fitzJohn (died 1137) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "new men", the ones who owed their positions and wealth to the king. Pain's family originated in Normandy, but there is little to suggest that he had many ties there, and he appears to have spent most of his career in England and the Welsh Marches. A son of a minor nobleman, he rose to become an important royal official during Henry's reign. In 1115 he was rewarded with marriage to an heiress, thereby gaining control of the town of Ludlow and its castle, which he augmented with further acquisitions. He became the sheriff in two counties near the border between England and Wales, and heard legal cases as a royal justice in much of western England. He was generous in his gifts of land to monastic houses. After Henry's death in 1135 Pain supported Henry's nephew, King Stephen. In July 1137 Pain was ambushed by the Welsh and killed as he was leading a relief expedition to the garrison at Carmarthen.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

893:

An earthquake destroyed the city of Dvin, Armenia, causing about 30,000 casualties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/893_Dvin_earthquake

1768:

Taksin the Great was crowned king of the newly established Thonburi Kingdom in the new capital at Thonburi, present-day Thailand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taksin

1907:

The last confirmed sighting of the extinct huia took place in the Tararua Ranges, North Island, New Zealand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia

1973:

U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law, a wide-ranging environmental law designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_Species_Act_of_1973

2009:

A suicide bomber attacked a Shi'ite commemoration in Karachi, Pakistan, during a procession on the Day of Ashura, the holiest of days for followers of Shia Islam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Karachi_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tortfeasance: (chiefly law) The condition, or an act, of doing wrong; the act of committing a tort. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tortfeasance

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.   --Carrie Fisher https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carrie_Fisher