On 16th January…

1245 - The second son of King Henry III, Prince Edmund Crouchback was born. His nickname of Crouchback was not because he had a humped back but most likely from his surcoat (robe worn over armour) with a cross on the back worn by Crusaders (crouchback = crossback). In 1269, he and his wife Aveline de Forz were the first royal couple to get married in Westminster Abbey.

On 17th January…

1863 - David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister who was in power during World War I, was born in Lancashire, England.

On 18th January…

1882 - A.A. Milne, the author of the Winnie the Pooh books was born in Hampstead, London. Did you know that it was A.A. Milne who adapted the Wind in the Willows story by Kenneth Grahame into the stage play Toad of Toad Hall?

On 19th January…

1736 - James Watt, the Scottish inventor, engineer and chemist was born in Greenock, Scotland. He is possibly best known for his improvements to the steam engine which made his design more efficient than other steam engines. The watt (the electrical unit of measurement) is named after him.

1915 - The first direct attack on English soil by Germany during World War I occurred when two German Zeppelins (airships) bombed Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn on the coast of Norfolk.

On 20th January…

On 21st January…

1793 - King Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine after being found guilty of treason during the French Revolution.

On 22nd January…

871 - The Battle of Basing took place between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in the kingdom of Wessex, England. The Anglo-Saxons, led by King Ethelred and his younger brother Alfred, were defeated despite their victory in the previous battle at Ashdown just two weeks earlier. This was the third time that the Saxon armies faced the Vikings in January, and there would be many more battles to come before the end of the year.