The time during the Holocene epoch when the weather was at its best (between 9000BCE and 5000BCE). See 'A Brief History of Climate Change'.
Holocene Optimum
Fact of the Day
An eleventh-century bishop of Séez accidentally burned down his own cathedral during a military operation.
Quote of the Day
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.
"
~ Napoleon Bonaparte
On This Day
52 BCE The Siege of Alesia formally came to an end when Vercingetorix, leader of the Gaulish forces, surrendered to Julius Caesar.
1283 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last independent ruler of Wales, was hanged, drawn and quartered on the orders of Edward I.
1691 The Treaty of Limerick was signed, ending the Williamite War in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange.
1932 Iraq gained independence from Britain, after 17 years of British rule.
1935 Italian forces invaded Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) without a formal declaration of war.
1981 The second Irish hunger strike at Maze Prison in Northern Ireland was called off. 10 republican prisoners died in the showdown with Margaret Thatcher.