A feudal tenant entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom he paid dues and services in return.
Villeins
Fact of the Day
In 1794, women in a village on the Loire responded to a revolutionary talk on divinity by giving the speaker a mass moonie.
Quote of the Day
"Pray for me, now my calamity is at hand!
"
~ John Stubbs, just before having his hand removed for seditious writing, 1579
On This Day
1837 The civil registration of all births, marriages, and deaths, became compulsory in England and Wales.
1858 Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on evolution were read at the Linnean Society in London.
1867 Canada became a self-governing dominion in the British Empire, following the British North America Act. However, it didn't become fully independent until the passage of the Canada Act in 1982.
1916 The Battle of the Somme, often considered to be one of the bloodiest and most futile offensives of the First World War, started at 7.30am. The first day was gruelling, with almost 20 per cent of the British army killed, but the battle would rage on for a further three and a half months.
1934 Ernst Röhm, leader of the Storm Troopers (SA), was shot dead by the SS on Hitler's orders during the Night of the Long Knives, the purge that removed 'inconvenient' elements from the Nazi Party and helped Hitler to consolidate his power.
1969 Queen Elizabeth invested Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle.
2007 The ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in England came into effect.
