On 5th January


1066 Edward, King of England (later St Edward) died at Westminster

1209 Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans (of Germany ) was born at Winchester

1477 In the Battle of Nancy, Charles the Bold was killed and Burgundy became part of France

1527 Felix Manz, an Anabaptist leader, was executed by drowning in Switzerland

1589 Catherine de' Medici, queen of France , died

1592 Shah Jahan, Mogul Emperor of India , was born in Lahore

1762 Constanze Weber, musician and wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born in Germany

1767 Jean-Baptiste Say, of Say's Law, was born in Lyon

1789 Thomas Pringle, traveller, philanthropist and poet, was born in Roxburghshire

1829 Sir Roger Tichborne, of the Tichborne Claimant affair, was born in Paris

1834 William Wills, of the Burke and Wills expedition, was born in Devon

1858 Marshal Radetzky, military genius, died

1886 Markus Reiner, scientist, was born in Austria-Hungary

1895 Elizabeth 'Libba' Cotten, musician, was born in the US

1895 Jeannette Piccard, aeronaut, was born in the US

1922 Sir Ernest Shackleton, explorer, died off South Georgia

1931 Robert Duvall, actor, was born in the US

1938 King Juan Carlos of Spain was born in Rome

1941 Hayao Miyazaki, filmmaker (Studio Ghibli) was born in Tokyo

1941 Amy Johnson, aviator, died after baling out in the Thames Estuary in poor weather

Did You Know…

…that Thomas Becket was not the only Archbishop of Canterbury to be killed?

St Alphage (St Ælfheah, Elphege, Alphege), who died in 1012 was famously murdured by Vikings. As archbishop, he saved the life of Aelfmaer, who let the besieging Vikings into Canterbury after two weeks in September 1011. Alphage was kidnapped and ransomed for £48,000, which was raised and paid, but when a further sum was demanded, he would not allow it to be collected, and the Vikings drunkenly killed him by throwing bones, ox-heads, and an axe at him.

Becket, of course, was struck down by knights who believed they were serving Henry II by doing so. Thomas had changed from a fun-loving courtier and friend to the king, to a dedicated Archbishop who would stand up for the church. Almost immediately upon his death a cult arose in the city, spreading to England and France even before he was canonized. Henry was scourged during his own pilgrimage of atonement.

Simon Sudbury was chased from the Archbishop’s London home, Lambeth Palace, to the Tower of London by a mob of Kentish rebels during the Peasant’s Revolt, and from there dragged to Tower Hill (the guards turned blind eyes) for beheading.

Thomas Cranmer was martyred under Bloody Mary in 1556 after having signed recantations of his protestant faith: he reached into the fire with his right hand as a way of punishing the instrument of signing.

William Laud died in 1645 after alienating Parliament and Protestant reformers. Too loyal to Charles I, he was beheaded after a Bill of Attainder was introduced accusing him of endangering the state religion. Charles was, of course, subsequently executed.

I'm surprised at all the archbishops. I thought it was just 25.

Thanks Rose.

:)