On January 21, 1542 a Bill of Attainder was introduced in English Parliament against Katheryn Howard. Henry VIII’s fifth queen had already been stripped of her title by the king’s Privy Council on November 22, 1441 because she had led “an abominable, base, carnal, voluptuous, and vicious life” before marriage and acting “like a common… Read more The Bill of Attainder of Katheryn Howard
The least known, but arguably the best writer among the justly lauded Bronte siblings, was the youngest, Anne, who was born on 17 January 1820. Just as Jane Austen was a seminal writer in the Regency era, Anne Bronte – writing under the male pseudonym, Acton Bell – help shaped Victorian literature. More significantly, Anne… Read more Anne Bronte, Feminist and Favorite
The marriage treaty between Queen Mary I and King Phillip of Spain was ratified on 15 January 1554. Mary was thrilled, Philip was resigned, and half the population of England was livid. In fairness, public reaction to Mary’s betrothal on the part of the Protestant English was unjustified by anything Mary had done. She had… Read more Mazeltov to Phillip and Mary
The bastardized daughter of King Henry VIII and one of the wives he murdered, Anne Boleyn, was crowned Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland on 15 January 1559. The crowning of the queen was merely one part of the grand pageant of putting her on the throne. The occasion took several weeks of elaborate… Read more The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I
Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk, was born in December of 1476 and was only a toddler when her father, John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, died on 14 January 1476, leaving her an immensely wealthy heiress. Her mother, Lady Elizabeth Talbot, would be able to have very little say in how her… Read more The Rise of the Howards After the Death of Anne de Mowbray, Duchess of York
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu. was a living, breathing threat to the Tudor throne. He was the grandson of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and thus the nephew of the York kings Edward IV and Richard III. In his veins flowed the blood of King Edward III’s second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp, Duke… Read more Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu
President Richard Nixon was born on January 9, 1913. He was president when I was born. His death in 1994 was the first post-presidential death I really remember and one of the few I actually had an opinion on. I remember being irked that people commented on the Watergate thing. It was rude to speak… Read more Remembering Richard M. Nixon
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Buckingham, 1st Earl of Essex, was born on 7 January 1355, the last born of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa of Hainault’s 14 children. Thomas would be one of the lucky members of the royal brood to live to adulthood, but he… Read more Thomas of Woodstock
For Christians, the Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January. It is also known as Three Kings’ Day, in honor of the arrival of “Wise Men from the east” that came to visit the Christ child, as described in Matthew 2:1-2. Although there was no names or any number ascribed to these Magi in the Bible,… Read more Following Yonder Star
Catherine of Valois is yet more proof that being born a Princess isn’t all it is cracked up to be. She was born on 27 October 1401, the youngest daughter of Charles VI of France (who was intermittently mad as a march hare) and his queen Isabeau of Bavaria. France was being ripped to shreds… Read more Catherine of Valois