28 September 2006

This day in history: 28 Sep

1066: William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, landed his army at Pevensey, in Sussex.

1106: King Henry I Beauclerc of England defeated his brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Tinchebrai. Robert, as William the Conqueror's eldest son, had received Normandy, which was considered the most important of William's holdings; England, as a lesser fief, had gone to Robert's brother William, and after his death to Henry. Robert's defeat here ensure that Normandy remained part of the English kingdom until it was lost by King John early in the 13th century.

1542: Spanish (or perhaps Portuguese) explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo landed in what is now San Diego, California.

1987: The first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was broadcast.

It's Saint Wenceslaus Day in the Czech Republic. Wenceslaus - Vaclav in Czech, Wenzel in German - was a 10th-century Duke of Bohemia who was murdered by his pagan brother in either 929 or 935 CE. Yes, he's the guy the song (I used to sing it as "Good King Whatshisface") is about.

Herman Melville (1819-1891), Richard Sears (1863-1914), Edwin Hubble (1889-1953), Adolph Marx (1888-1964) and Elia Kazan (1909-2003) died on this date.

And happy birthday to Ed Sullivan (1901-1974), Al Capp (1909-1979), Edith Pargeter (1913-1995), Brigitte Bardot (1934-TBD) and Rod Roddy (1937-2993).

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