Renouncing the throne.
Abdication
Fact of the Day
The term 'freelance' derives from Walter Scott's description of Medieval mercenaries in his book 'Ivanhoe'.
Quote of the Day
"And if I am to estimate the penalty justly, I say that maintenance in the Prytaneum is the just return.
"
~ Plato reporting Socrates' suggestion for punishment
On This Day
38 BCE Octavian, soon to become Augustus, married Livia Drusilla,
395 Theodosius the Great died, leading to the permanent division of the Roman Empire into eastern and western empires.
1377 Pope Gregory XI arrived in Rome, officially ending the Avignon Papacy.
1562 The Edict of Saint-German was signed, allowing French Huguenots a degree of tolerance.
1648 Long Parliament passed the Vote of No Addresses, which broke off negotiations with King Charles I after the discovery that he was entering into an engagement with the Scots.
1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie won the Battle of Falkirk Muir, their last notable victory of the Jacobite uprising.
1912 Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached the South Pole, only to find a Norwegian expedition had beaten them to it.
1945 Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was captured by the Soviets. He was never seen again.
1945 The SS began the final evacuation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp as the Soviets drew nearer. Thousands died on these 'death marches' towards the German interior.