The first people to use umbrellas in eighteenth-century Britain were laughed at and called 'mincing Frenchmen'.
Fact of the Day
Quote of the Day
"Foul as it is, hell itself is made more foul by the presence of John.
"
~ Matthew Paris (13th century chronicler) on King John
On This Day
1461 Edward of York won a decisive victory over the Lancastrian forces of Henry VI at the Battle of Towton, leaving the way open for his coronation as King Edward IV.
1912 Captain Scott made his final diary entry from the Antarctic.
1936 Adolf Hitler received 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany's illegal military reoccupation of the Rhineland.
1974 NASA's Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to fly by the planet Mercury.
1979 The US Committee on Assassinations Report concluded that the assassination of John F. Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy.
1981 Around 7,000 people ran the first ever London Marathon.