The Lover's Confession: A late-fourteenth-century Middle English work composed by John Gower, at the request of Richard II, which is often considered one of the great works of the period. It consists of a prologue and eight books, consolidated by the overarching story of an ageing lover making a confession to the chaplain of Venus.
Confessio Amantis
Fact of the Day
Before a naval battle with England in 1545, French king Francis I held a farewell dinner on his flagship, which shortly afterwards sank having caught fire when her guns went off by themselves.
Quote of the Day
"One has not great hopes for Birmingham. I always say there is something direful in the sound.
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~ Jane Austen (Emma)
On This Day
43 BCE The assassination of Cicero, requested by Marc Antony. When his head was delivered to Anthony, his wife, Fulvia, spat on it and jabbed hairpins into his tongue.
1732 The Theatre Royal, now known as the Covent Garden Opera House, opened with a performance of the Beggar's Opera.
1787 Delaware became the first state of the modern United States.
1817 Rear-Admiral William Bligh died. He had been captain of HMS Bounty during the mutiny.
1941 The Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base a Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, killing 2,403.
1982 Charles Brooks Jr became the first person to be executed by lethal injection, with a huge dose of 'truth serum'
