Today in History 10/09 (Charlemagne)

Lived: 742 AD – 814 AD (age 71)
Height: 6′ 0″
Spouse: Luitgard (m. 794 AD – 800 AD) · Fastrada (m. 783 AD – 794 AD) · Hildegard of the Vinzgau (m. 771 AD – 783 AD) · Desiderata of the Lombards (m. 770 AD – 771 AD)
Buried: Aachen Cathedral
Children: Louis the Pious (Son) · Charles the Younger (Son) · Drogo of Metz (Son) · Rotrude (Daughter) · Gisela, daughter of Charlemagne (Daughter) · Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne (Daughter) · Pepin of Italy (Son) · Pepin the Hunchback (Son) · Theodrada (Daughter) · Adalhaid (Daughter) · Lothair (Son) · Hiltrude (Daughter) · Hildegarde (Daughter)
Parents: Bertrada of Laon (Mother) · Pepin the Short (Father)Highlights
- 770 AD: Charlemagne married Desiderata of the Lombards in 770; their marriage lasted 1 year till 771.
- 772 AD: At his succession in 772, Pope Adrian I demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna in accordance with a promise at the succession of Desiderius.
- 774 AD: The elder of these two, Carloman, was made the King of Italy, taking the Iron Crown that his father had first worn in 774, and in the same ceremony was renamed “Pepin”.
- 800 AD: D:He reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Rome’s Old St. Peter’s Basilica.
- 805 AD: In 805, the Avar khagan, who had already been baptised, went to Aachen to ask permission to settle with his people south-eastward from Vienna.
- 814 AD: D:Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for 13 years.

Statue of Charlemagne by Agostino Cornacchini (1725), St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican, Italy
wiki/Charlemagne
(768) The future Holy Roman Emperor gets his first crown.
Also on this day,
1000 | Vikings in America as an European visits North America for the first timeSon 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.1919 | Black Sox Scandal as Sox players fix games and Reds win World Series 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.1985 | Strawberry Fields in NYC as 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.
Also on this day,
1000 | Vikings in America as an European visits North America for the first time
Today in History 10/09/17

Birthplace: Iceland
Parents: Erik the Red (Father) · Thjodhild (Mother)
Children: Thorkell Leif (Son) · Thorgils Leif (Son)
Siblings: Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Sister) · Thorvald Eiriksson (Brother) · Thorstein Eiriksson (Sister)
Viking Leif Erikson by John K. Daniels, 1948-49, near the en:Minnesota State Capitol. Photo taken on June 22, 2005 by User:Mulad. Hereby released into the public domain.
wiki/Leif_Erikson