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
So rebellious were moustaches in 1850s Naples that the carabinieri could drag men into barbers and have them forcibly shaved.
Quote of the Day
"No-one loves armed missionaries
"
~ Robespierre, 1792
On This Day
1675 The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London was laid.
1792 The Tuileries royal palace that was home to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and defended by the Swiss Guard, was attacked by Parisians and the National Guard. Louis ordered the Swiss to cease fire, which led to the massacre of some 600 of their number. France was declared a republic and Louis was executed five months later.
1793 The Musée du Louvre was officially opened in Paris.
1842 The Mines and Collieries Act was passed, prohibiting women and children under the age of 10 from working underground.
1895 The first ever Proms concert took place at the newly-built Queen's Hall, London. The programme included Wagner, Bizet, and Haydn.
1945 A day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced its intention to surrender, although it refused to contemplate a reduction in the power of the emperor.