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Charles II

The Anglo-Scottish War was the final conflict in the British Wars of the Three Kingdoms. When the Royalists were defeated in 1648, after the First and Second English Civil Wars, the English government ordered the execution of their king, Charles I, who was also, separately, the king of Scotland, then an independent nation. The Parliament of Scotland declared his son, Charles II (depicted), to be King of Britain. Seeing this as a threat, an English army under Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland on 22 July 1650. After a month of manoeuvring Cromwell heavily defeated the Scots at Dunbar. In July 1651 the English crossed the Firth of Forth and defeated the Scots at Inverkeithing, cutting their army off from supply and reinforcements. In desperation Charles II invaded England in August. Cromwell pursued, brought the badly outnumbered Scots to battle on 3 September 1651 and completely defeated them, ending the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and resulting in Scotland's absorption into the English Commonwealth. (Full article...)

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Amund Dietzel

... that Amund Dietzel (pictured), sometimes called the "Rembrandt of the rind", learned to tattoo after he went to sea at the age of 14?
... that the 2001 concert residency Regine at the Movies was restaged seventeen years later?
... that former Dutch rugby union player Sylke Haverkorn served as head coach of the Turkey women's national team before securing the same position at her country's women's national team?
... that the CIA shipped color TV sets to Japan to broadcast propaganda for the Liberal Democratic Party?
... that "Supermodel" is about a fictional character inspired by people Måneskin met in Los Angeles?
... that the original Green Goblin suit, created by Amalgamated Dynamics for Spider-Man, was scrapped after being deemed "too creepy" by studio executives?
... that South African mayor Marlene van Staden was re-elected through a coin toss?
... that the members of the band that recorded the album Hearken to the Witches Rune do not remember in what year it was released?

In the news

Chinese Paddlefish

The Chinese paddlefish (pictured), one of the world's largest freshwater fish species, is officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Amid protests over the economic crisis, Ranil Wickremesinghe is elected President of Sri Lanka by the parliament.
Heat waves across Europe leave more than 4,200 people dead.
NASA releases the first operational image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos dies at the age of 79.

On this day

July 22: Pi Approximation Day

Gia Long

838 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The forces of the Abbasid Caliphate defeated Byzantine troops led by Emperor Theophilos at the Battle of Anzen, near present-day Dazman, Turkey.
1209 – A crusader army captured Béziers, France, and massacred the city's inhabitants in the first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.
1691 – Williamite forces defeated the Jacobites at the Battle of Aughrim, the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland.
1802 – Gia Long (pictured) conquered Hanoi and unified modern-day Vietnam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare.
1997 – Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece, the best-selling manga series in history, debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Emma Lazarus (b. 1849)
Selena Gomez (b. 1992)
George Armitage Miller (d. 2012)

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Robin Williams

American actor and comedian Robin Williams had an extensive career in films, television, video games, and on the stage. He made his screen debut in 1977 in minor roles in the film Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? and the television shows The Richard Pryor Show and Laugh-In. The following year, he starred as an alien named Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy, a spin-off of Happy Days. In 1987, he played the role of disc jockey Adrian Cronauer in the war comedy Good Morning, Vietnam, a role which earned him his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. He further received critical acclaim lead roles in Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990) and The Fisher King (1991). He also attained greater commercial success in films such as Hook (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying a therapist in the psychological drama Good Will Hunting (1997). Williams continued to achieve critical and commercial success in films such as Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), Happy Feet (2006), and Night at the Museum (2006). One of his final roles was in the television sitcom The Crazy Ones. (Full list...)

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Stairs to the Chapter House in Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, commenced around 1175 on the site of a late-Roman mausoleum and an 8th-century abbey church. The cathedral has been described by the historian John Harvey as Europe's first truly Gothic structure, lacking the Romanesque work that survives in many other cathedrals. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells. This photograph shows the stairs leading from the north transept to the chapter house.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

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