Fact of the Day

When President Lyndon Johnson was asked by members of the press why American soldiers were in Vietnam, he unzipped his trousers, pulled out what lay beneath and said 'This is why!'

Quote of the Day

"If civilisation is to advance at all in the future, it must be through the help of women, women freed of their political shackles, women with full power to work their will in society. "
~ Emmeline Pankhurst

On This Day

1189 Henry II died, having just signed a peace treaty with his son Richard and finding out his other son, John, had betrayed him. The servants responsible for tending to him looted his body and left him to be found by his small retinue.
1483 Richard III was crowned king of England, having declared his nephews illegitimate.
1535 Thomas More was executed for treason on the orders of Henry VIII after refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy.
1553 Edward VI died, passing the crown to Lady Jane Grey instead of his half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.
1685 The final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion, the Battle of Sedgemoor, was fought near Bridgwater, Somerset.
1892 Britain's first non-white MP, Dadabhai Naoraji, was elected for the Liberal Party as member for Finsbury Central.