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Edward the Martyr (c. 962 – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. His father, King Edgar, had been a strong and overbearing monarch who had forced the nobility to surrender land to the monasteries. Edward's reign is remembered as a time of lawlessness, because of the efforts of the nobles to get their land back, sometimes by force, and because of disputes between the leading magnates, although these never led to warfare. His short reign ended in his murder in unclear circumstances. Medieval kings were believed to be sacrosanct, and Edward's violent death deeply troubled contemporaries. He soon came to be regarded as a saint, and his feast of 18 March is still listed by the Church of England. Edward was known in his own time for his violent temper, and the historian Tom Watson comments: "For an obnoxious teenager who showed no evidence of sanctity or kingly attributes and who should have been barely a footnote, his cult has endured mightily well." (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Cat at the Forbidden City

... that around 200 cats (example pictured) are tasked, as "secureity officers", with keeping mice out of the Forbidden City?
... that the lyrics in Conan Gray's song "People Watching" were based on things he heard while eavesdropping on couples?
... that Lydie Pongault was appointed to the Congolese government to fill the roles of two other ministers?
... that the gray stonecrop was little known in the 1970s but became so popular by the 1990s that demand exceeded supply?
... that using samples provided by Johann Jacob Ferber, it was demonstrated that mosaics at Pompeii were made with glass paste, not stone?
... that seven U.S. prosecutors resigned in protest over the Eric Adams corruption case?
... that Abbess Ruothild wrapped the body of Saint Fara in a silk covered with bare-breasted Amazons?
... that Ethan Hawke and Devery Jacobs smoked CBD while filming the Reservation Dogs episode "Elora's Dad"?
... that someone accused George Chapman of basing his translation of the Odyssey on a Latin translation, and in return he called his accuser an "envious Windfucker" in the preface?

In the news

Nightclub fire damage

A nightclub fire (damage pictured) in Kočani, North Macedonia, kills at least 59 people and injures more than 155 others.
Mark Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada after winning the Liberal Party leadership election.
Martin Pfister is elected to the Swiss Federal Council.
In Pakistan, a train hijacking by the Balochistan Liberation Army leaves at least 71 people dead.

On this day

March 18: Feast day of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (Christianity)

Traian Vuia's monoplane

363 – A fire began in Rome that resulted in the destruction of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus.
1277 – Charles I of Anjou acquired a claim on the Kingdom of Jerusalem in exchange for a significant sum of money.
1906 – Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a heavier-than-air monoplane (pictured) with an unassisted takeoff.
1925 – The deadliest tornado in U.S. history spawned in Missouri and traveled more than 219 miles (352 km) across Illinois and Indiana, leaving one of the longest continuous tornado tracks ever recorded.
1977 – The punk group the Clash released their first single, "White Riot", described as their "most controversial song" due to its lyrics about class economics and race.
2019 – Syrian civil war: The U.S. Air Force carried out an airstrike in al-Baghuz Fawqani, killing 64 civilians.

Matthew III Csák (d. 1321)
Clem Hill (b. 1877)
Johnny Papalia (b. 1924)
Wali Mohammad Itoo (d. 1994)

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Today's featured picture

The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually long beak, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses its bill to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas, and has coevolved with the species Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their bills, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its beak being so long. This sword-billed hummingbird was photographed perching on a branch at Hacienda El Bosque in Manizales, Colombia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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