This Day In European History
23rd December
Events1096: The first notable force arrives in Constantinople for the crusade; it is led by Godfrey of Bouillon.
1588: Having been forced to accept defeat earlier in the year, King Henry III of France regains power by having a leader of the Catholic league assassinated (Henri, Duke of Guise) and their chosen heir arrested. Another leader is assassinated the next day.
1646: Scotland agrees to hand King Charles I over to England in return for £400,000.
1688: King James II of England is allowed to flee to France.
1834: The Hansom cab is patented in London.
1888: Van Gogh cuts an ear off.
1922: Britain's BBC begins a daily radio transmission.
Births
1597: Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet.
1682: James Gibbs, Scottish architect.
1732: Richard Arkwright, English industrial pioneer.
1790: Jean-Francois Champollion, French translator of the Rosetta Stone.
1804: Charles Sainte Beuve, French historian.
1862: Henri Pirenne, Belgian scholar.
Deaths
679: Dagobert, Merovingian king.
1569: St. Philip II of Moscow.
1732: Richard Arkwright, British industrialist.
1834: Thomas Malthus, English clergyman and theorist.
1953: Lavrenty Beria, Soviet secret police chief.
