In the Middle Ages, the area between England and Wales wherein Marcher lords had some degree of autonomy. It's definition today is somewhat looser, and refers to the area along the English border with Wales.
Welsh Marches
Fact of the Day
The artillery used by the British in the run-up to the Somme offensive in 1916 was so loud it could be heard in England.
Quote of the Day
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.
"
~ Napoleon Bonaparte
On This Day
41 Claudius was proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Praetorian Guard.
1327 Edward II was deposed by his wife, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. They replaced him with his 10 year old son, Edward III, and for three years they ruled through him.
1533 King Henry VIII secretly married the newly-pregnant Anne Boleyn, even though he was still married to Catherine of Aragon.
1554 Thomas Wyatt gathered 4000 men in Kent, starting the Wyatt Rebellion against Queen Mary and her choice of Spanish husband.
1627 Father of modern chemistry, Robert Boyle, was born in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland.
1942 Thailand declared war on the United States and Britain following intensive bombing by the Allies.
1945 The German offensive campaign in the Ardennes, which came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge, ended in Allied victory.