768

Today in History

Today in History
(768) The future Holy Roman Emperor gets his first crown
768 His father Pepin the Short now dead, 26-year-old Charlemagne is elevated to King of the Franks. Charlemagne will only expand his power from here, founding the mighty Carolingian Empire, becoming the first Holy Roman emperor, and fusing Western Europe in a way not seen since the ancient Romans. .

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great or Charles I, was King of the Franks. He united a large part of Europe during the early Middle Ages and laid the foundations for modern France, Germany and the Low Countries. He took the Frankish throne in 768 and became King of Italy in 774. From 800, he became the first Holy Roman Emperor—the first recognised emperor in Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. Charlemagne already ruled his kingdom without the help of the Pope, but recognition from the pontiff granted him divine legitimacy in the eyes of his contemporaries.

Lived: 742 AD – 814 AD (age 71)

— Source: wiki/Charlemagne
(1000) A European visits North America for the first time
Son of Erik the Red, young Leif Erikson has exploration in his blood, and according to tradition he and his crew are now the first Europeans to set foot on North American soil, landing at what they will dub ‘Vinland.’ Scholars later peg the place as L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. . 1000

Leif Erikson or Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. It is believed that Leif, was born in Iceland around the 970s—the son of mother Thjóðhildr and father Erik the Red, an explorer and outlaw from Western Norway. Erik founded the first Norse colonies in Greenland, and was based at the family estate Brattahlíð in the so-called Eastern Settlement, where Leif had his upbringing. Leif had two known sons: Thorgils, born to noblewoman Thorgunna in the Hebrides; and Thorkell, who succeeded him as chieftain of the Greenland settlement.

Birthplace: Iceland
Died: 1020
Romance: Unnamed mother of Thorkell Leifsson
Parents: Erik the Red (Father) · Thjodhild (Mother)
Children: Thorkell Leif (Son) · Thorgils Leif (Son)
Siblings: Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Sister) · Thorvald Eiriksson (Brother) · Thorstein Eiriksson (Sister)

— Source: wiki/Leif_Erikson
(1919) Sox players fix games and Reds win World Series
1919 Some gamblers are the only real winners as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago White Sox in a baseball World Series marred by painfully bad plays coming from the soon-to-be nicknamed ‘Eight Men Out,’ Sox players who colluded with bookies to throw the games so their rivals would win. .

The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series. Baseball decided to try the best-of-nine format partly to increase popularity of the sport and partly to generate more revenue.

Start date: Oct 01, 1919
End date: Oct 09, 1919
Runners-up: Chicago White Sox
Champion: Cincinnati Reds

— Source: wiki/1919_World_Series
(1985) Yoko Ono unveils a place of peace for Lennon
On what would’ve been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, his widow Yoko Ono dedicates an area of New York City’s Central Park to the memory of her slain husband. ‘Strawberry Fields,’ named for one of Lennon’s songs, opens almost five years after the beloved musician’s death shocked the world.. 1985

Strawberry Fields is a 2.5-acre landscaped section in New York City’s Central Park that is dedicated to the memory of former Beatle John Lennon. It is named after the Beatles’ song “Strawberry Fields Forever” written by Lennon.

— Source: wiki/Strawberry_Fields_(memorial)
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