On this day in history, Mary I of England, or - Bloody Mary, as she was also known, was born on this day in 1516. Mary I of England was born on the 18th of February 1516. She was the eldest daughter of King Henry VIII, and the daughter of King Henry VIII's first wife: Catherine of Aragon.
Mary was not only the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, she was also Henry's eldest child. The King had two other legitimate children: Elizabeth and Edward. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife: Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was born on the 7th of September 1533. Elizabeth, went on to become England's second female monarch. After the death of her sister Mary, Elizabeth became Elizabeth I and Queen of England. Henry VIII's third legitimate child, was his youngest child: Edward. Edward was born on the 12th of October in 1537, his mother was Henry VIII's third wife: Jane Seymour. Edward went on to become King Edward VI until his death. Edward was the first of the three siblings to become monarch after King Henry VIII died. Edward was not a long King, he only reigned as monarch from 1547 to 1553, until his premature death at just 15 years old. Edward VI was just a child when he became monarch of England. His siblings, on the other hand, were both adults when they became monarchs of England. Mary was the second of the three siblings to become monarch - Mary Tudor was 37 years old when she became Queen. And, Elizabeth was the last of the three siblings to become monarch: she became England's second Queen in history after Mary had died. Mary Tudor became England's first ever Queen in 1553. Mary Tudor became Mary I of England on the 1st of October 1553, when she was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey. She became monarch after Lady Jane Grey made a claim to the English throne after the death of Edward VI. Lady Jane Grey was a distant relative of Mary's, which was partly Jane's claim to the English throne. However, after just nine days of Lady Jane Grey being de facto Queen of England, Mary removed her from power and later had her executed. Mary's claim to the English throne was that she was the sister of Edward VI's. Mary also had a legal claim to the English throne, due to the Third Act of Succession in 1543. Henry VIII passed the Third Act of Succession in 1543 to make it law that all three of his children - Edward, Mary and Elizabeth - had a right to become King or Queen. Edward was first in line to the throne, as he was Henry's male heir. Mary was second in line to the throne, as she was the eldest of the two sisters: Mary and Elizabeth. And, Elizabeth was last in line to the throne as she was the youngest of the two sisters. All three siblings ruled England. Mary Tudor's reign of England wasn't a long one, she was only Queen of England between the 1st of October 1553 until her death on the 17th of November 1558. Mary was only 42 years old at the time of her death, and only was Queen for around five years. Despite only being Queen for five years, Mary I of England did make her mark on history. Her reign started off with Mary executing her distant cousin - Lady Jane Grey - on grounds of treason. She then made a notable mark in history for becoming England's first ever female monarch. Perhaps most infamously, Mary I of England is and was known for her persecution of Protestants. As a Catholic, Mary was determined to restore Catholicism in England after her father - King Henry VIII, had turned England into a Protestant country. Mary's attempt to restore Catholicism in England and turn England back into a Catholic country is why she became infamous. Mary became infamous for the way that she went about trying to restore Catholicism to England: she persecuted Protestants and had them executed for nothing more than their faith. Mary's persecution of Protestants was cruel, and can be seen as a persecution of Protestants just because of their faith. She had hundreds of Protestants killed in a brutal way: Mary I of England had Protestants executed by being burnt at the stake, which is why she got the name 'Bloody Mary'. Although burning at the steak was a common method of punishment at the time for those who committed acts of 'heresy' in Europe, it's undoubtful that her primary motivation for burning people at the stake was due to the fact that they were Protestant, and not Catholic. Mary's reign may have been short, but she made her mark in history, more so for being, seemingly, blood-thirsty of those who didn't agree with her, rather than being more remembered for being England's first female monarch. Mary I of England was born on the 18th of February 1516,
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On this day in history, on the 17th of February 1912, the Titanic was moved for her final fittings before her maiden voyage.
The official maiden voyage would take place several weeks later for the Titanic. Titanic's original maiden voyage was planned for the 20th of March 1912. However, due to her sister ship the Olympic having a damaged propeller while being out at sea, the Olympic had to be repaired which put back the date of the Titanic's maiden voyage to the 10th of April 1912.
The above picture is the Titanic and the Olympic side-by-side in Belfast Docks on the 2nd of March 1912, as the Olympic went through her repairs.
It was the last picture of the Titanic and the Olympic photographed besides each other. The Olympic set sail off to Southampton on the 7th of March 1912 to go back to being a working ship. Work resumed on the Titanic afterwards, but delayed the Titanic's originally planned maiden voyage for a few weeks. What Happened On The 17th Of February 1912? By the 17th of February 1912, most of the work was already done on the ship, she was almost ready to go, but had a few last minute fittings to go through. On the 17th of February 1912, Titanic was put on the Thompson Graving Dock at Belfast Docks so that the last of her fittings could take place. In a few weeks, Titanic sets sail...
Frances Coles, the last Whitechapel Murders victim, was found dead on this day in 1891. She was found dead after being murdered on the 13th of February 1891.
What Is The Whitechapel Murders Victims? The Whitechapel Murders victims were a series of murders that happened in Whitechapel, London during the Victorian era. The Whitechapel Murders began on the 3rd of April 1888, with the murder of Emma Elizabeth Smith, and they ended on the 13th of February 1891, with the murder of Frances Coles. There was a total of eleven people that were included in the Whitechapel Murders. All of them women. And all, or most, of them were thought to have been prostitutes. All of the murders happened in London, mostly in the Whitechapel area of London. It is thought that at least ten of these women were brutally murdered, and there has been a lot of speculation since the murders began that the notorious Victorian serial killer - Jack the Ripper, was responsible for murdering all of the women. There is doubt about one of these eleven victims, in the sense that there is doubt over whether or not the ninth victim died as a resulted of murder: there is speculation that the ninth victim - Rose Mylett. Some of the investigators that worked on the case thought that she had been murdered, while others believed that she had committed suicide and was not murdered.
There is also a lot of debate about how many of these eleven victims were murder at the hands of Jack the Ripper. There are different theories by people about how many people Jack the Ripper killed. However, most theorists today seem to think that Jack the Ripper killed five or six of the Whitechapel Murder victims, rather than Jack the Ripper killing all of the eleven Whitechapel Murder victims.
Was Frances Coles Murdered By Jack the Ripper? Today, most theorists don't seem to think that Frances Coles was murdered by Jack the Ripper. The murder of Frances Coles was similar to that of Jack the Ripper's victims, and most of the Whitechapel Murder victims. However, most theorists today think that Frances Coles could have been murdered by a copycat killer. Frances Coles murder remains unsolved to this day, however, there was speculation at the time of the murder about who may have killed Frances Coles. Sir Melville MacNaughten worked high up in London's Metropolitan Police from 1903 to 1913, he believed that a man seen with Frances Coles just hours before her murder was responsible for the murder of Frances Coles: his name was Mr Sadler. Did Sadler murder Frances Coles? Or, was she another victim of Jack the Ripper's? It's speculation today and open to discussion about the identity of Frances Coles murderer, no one was charged with her murder and the case remains unsolved. Frances Coles died on this day on the 13th of February 1891.
On this day in history, Catherine Howard was executed.
Catherine Howard was executed on the 13th of February 1542. She was executed on the orders of King Henry VIII. Who Was Catherine Howard? Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Catherine Howard and King Henry VIII married on the 28th of July 1540, at Oatlands Palace in London. Therefore, Catherine and Henry were only married for less than two years. Perhaps it could be said that their marriage got off to a bad omen, as one of Henry VIII's closest men - his Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, was executed on the same day that Catherine Howard and King Henry VIII got married. Thomas Cromwell was also executed on the 28th of July 1540. Cromwell was responsible for choosing Henry VIII's fourth wife - Anne Of Cleeves. The marriage between Anne of Cleeves and the King only lasted around six months before the King decided to annual the wedding. Henry blamed his failed marriage on Cromwell. The marriage between Anne Of Cleeves and Henry VIII was annulled on the 9th of July 1540, just several weeks before the execution of Thomas Cromwell. It didn't take Henry that long to marry again after his annulment - he married Catherine Howard just a few weeks after he annulled his marriage to Anne.
Catherine Howard wasn't just anyone, she was the cousin of Henry VIII's second wife: Anne Boleyn. Ironically, they both suffered the same fate at the hands of Henry, as both of them were executed on Henry's command.
Why Was Catherine Howard Executed? Catherine Howard was executed by Henry VIII on charges of treason: she had committed adultery with Thomas Culpeper - Thomas Culpeper was a gentleman of King Henry VIII's Privy chamber, he was also close to the King. Both Catherine and Culpeper admitted to the adultery between them. Thomas Culpepper was executed before Catherine Howard was - he was executed on the 10th of December 1941. Catherine was executed just a few months later, on the 13th of February 1542. Henry VIII had six wives, he executed two of them, both of them cousins - Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn - on charges of adultery.
On this day in history in 1554, Lady Jane Grey - the 'Nine Days Queen' - was executed. Lady Jane Grey was executed on the 12th of February 1554.
Lady Jane Grey was executed on that day within the Tower of London, on Tower Green. Tower Green had previously seen some notable executions. Two of Henry VII''s wives - Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn - were both executed at Tower Green on the orders of Henry the VIII himself. Henry VIII did not order the execution for Lady Jane Grey, as he was long dead at this point. It was his daughter - Mary (I) Tudor, or sometimes known as Bloody Mary, who ordered the execution of Lady Jane Grey.
Why Did Mary I Order The Execution of Lady Jane Grey?
Upon the death of Henry VIII's only son - Edward VI, on the 6th of July 1553, England needed a new monarch. A few days later, on the 10th of July 1553, Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed to be Queen of England. The Duke of Northumberland had proclaimed Lady Jane Grey as Queen, and she accepted. It is thought that the young King Edward VI gave blessing for Lady Jane Grey to become Queen of England upon his death. Part of Edward's decision may have been the Duke of Northumberland persuading King Edward VI to name Lady Jane Grey as the King's successor - there's a good reason why Northumberland would want Lady Jane Grey to become Queen of England, he was her father-in law, it is possible that he exploited the situation for his own benefit, as it would mean that if Lady Jane Grey became Queen of England, then the Duke would retain being in a powerful position in England, and probably in a more powerful upon the crowning of Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England. Lady Jane Grey never had a coronation. Lady Jane Grey's claim to the English throne was that she was the previous King - Henry VII's great-grandaughter - therefore, Lady Jane Grey was Mary Tudor's cousin. Although Lady Jane Grey could be viewed as having a strong claim to the English throne, it could be argued that Mary I had an even stronger claim to the throne. Mary Tudor had several strong claims to the throne of England: 1) She was the last King's sister and oldest of the siblings 2) She was legally entitled to have the throne. Mary Tudor was legally entitled to have the throne of England because of a law that was passed during the end of King Henry VIII's reign. This law is known as the 'Third Act of Succession 1543' which named all of Henry's children - Edward, Mary and Elizabeth - as successors to the throne of England. When Edward died, Mary was the older of the two sisters, therefore, the throne was her right. Mary won her right to the English throne, even though it wasn't smooth sailing: after nine days of Lady Jane Grey being de facto Queen of England, Mary had successfully overthrown her and became Queen of England. Mary Tudor became Mary I when she was crowned Queen and Lady Jane Grey was deposed just nine days after she was proclaimed Queen, on the 19th of July 1553 - Mary Tudor had Lady Jane Grey executed about a half a year after she deposed Grey; Lady Jane Grey was executed on the 12th of February 1554, resulting in Lady Jane Grey becoming the shortest-reigning monarch that England has ever had to this day.
On this day in history, Henry VIII became the leader of the Church of England.
On the 11th of February 1534, Henry VIII became the Supreme Head of the Church of England. King Henry VIII became the legal Supreme Head of the Church of England in 1534 with the passing of the 1534 Act of Supremacy. The 1534 Act Of Supremacy was passed by Henry VIII's parliament, the act granted Henry the legal right to rule the Church of England. But, it was not an act that solely was about giving Henry VIII the legal right to rule the Church of England, it was also an act that forced England's people to see Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn (the King's second wife) as his legitimate wife.
The Act of Supremacy in 1534 resulted in the English church breaking away from the Vatican. This resulted in the English Reformation - the English Church was no longer part of the Catholic Church when the Reformation happen, the Church of England became a Protestant Church and broke away from the Pope's authority.
The English Reformation resulted in the dissolution of England's monasteries and resulted in Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn becoming official.
Titanic's creator - Thomas Andrews, was born on this day in 1873.
Thomas Andrews was born in a place called Comber, in Northern Ireland on the 7th of February 1873. Andrews began his career at Harland & Wolf very early in his life: he was only 16 at the time that he joined Harland & Wolf as an apprentice. Harland & Wolf was the company who was responsible for building the Titanic, and her sister ship - the Olympic, in the early 20th century. Harland & Wolf was established just several years before Thomas Andrews was born: they became a business on the 11th of April 1861 in Belfast. Coincidentally, Titanic's first full day at sea was also on the 11th of April, but this time, it was on the 11th of April 1912, she had set sail for her maiden voyage the day before that - on the 10th of April 1912. The first time that the idea of creating the Titanic was spoke about was when Joseph Bruce Ismay and Lord Perrie (who was a shipbuilder) spoke about the proposed creation of the Titanic during a dinner in the Summer months of 1907. Joseph Bruce Ismay was the managing director and chairman of White Star Line - while Harland & Wolf would construct ships like Titanic and Olympic, White Star Line would draw up the plans and drawings for what those ships would look like.
The construction of both the Olympic and the Titanic happened at roughly the same time. Construction on the Olympic started on the 16th of December 1908 at Belfast Docks. While construction on the Titanic started at Belfast Docks just a few short months after work had started on the Olympic: the construction of the Titanic began on the 31st of March 1909. Thomas Andrews was in charge of plans for both the Olympic and the Titanic.
Thomas Andrews sailed on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, and the maiden voyage of the Olympic. The Olympic's maiden voyage was roughly a year before the Titanic's maiden voyage: the maiden voyage of the Olympic was on the 14th of June 1911. The Titanic's maiden voyage was in the following year, on the 10th of April 1912. Thomas Andrews set sail on the Titanic on her maiden voyage, however, it was a journey where he perished. Andrews was seen by other people on several different occasions on-board the Titanic on the night that the ship hit the iceberg - on the 14th of April 1912. Thomas Andrews was making his way to dinner on the 14th of April 1912 at around 6.45 PM that night. After Titanic had struck the iceberg, it was reported that Andrews was trying to encourage people to wear their life jackets. Most famously, Thomas Andrews has been seen as the man who was in the Titanic's smoking room, staring into a picture just above the fireplace. Thomas Andrews seems to have went down with the Titanic as she sank, at 2.20 AM on the 15th of April 1912. Andrews was reportedly seen in the Titanic's first-class smoking room just several minutes before the ship sank - he was reportedly seen in the first-class smoking room at 2.10 AM. Andrew died on that fateful night, but his body was never found.
On this day in history in 1918, women won the right to vote in the UK!
How Did Women Gain The Vote? Women in the UK gained the right to vote through the Representation of the People Act 1918. The Representation of the People Act became law on the 6th of February 1918, several months after the bill was passed in the House of Commons - the House of Commons voted in favour of the Representation of the People Act on the 19th of June 1917, where there was resounding favour by parliamentarians for the bill (385 Members of Parliament - MPs - voted in favour of the bill, while only 55 MPs voted the bill down and refused to back it). After parliament voted in favour of the act, the Representation of the People Act 1918 became law. It resulted in women who were over 30 and had property gaining the right to vote in elections in the UK. The bill also resulted in all men over 21 being allowed to vote. It resulted in millions of women and men being enfranchised. Not all women could vote though. However, that didn't last long: just ten years later, the 1928 Equal Franchise Act passed as law. The 1928 Equal Franchise Act resulted in all men and women being allowed to vote in the UK who were over 21.
On this day in history, an earthquake rocked Pompeii in 62 AD.
The earthquake that rocked Pompeii happened just several years before Pompeii's infamous volcano erupted: the Mount Vesuvius eruption happened in Pompeii during the 24th of August 79 AD and killed thousands of people in Pompeii upon the eruption. But it was not the only event to strike Pompeii. The earthquake that struck Pompeii occurred on the 5th of February 62 AD. The earthquake that struck caused a lot of destruction to the city of Pompeii itself, it caused buildings to collapse and water supplies to be disrupted in the city. The earthquake itself was said to shatter the city and aftershocks continued for days after the 5th of February 62 AD. It was an earthquake that was devastating for the city itself and its buildings, but it doesn't seem to have caused the same destruction to human life that Mount Vesuvius caused some 17 years later. During the Mount Vesuvius eruption it's estimated 15,000 lived in Pompeii. |
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