May 16th - 22nd
“The execution of a queen and the murder of a king both happened this week in history...”
On 16th May…
1620 - William Adams, the first Englishman to visit Japan died. Adams first arrived in Japan in 1600 on a ship that was originally headed for Indonesia but had been battered and blown off course by storms. Finding himself in Japan, he was summoned to Osaka where he was detained and questioned by the shogun or military leader, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The shogun was so impressed with Adam’s knowledge of ships and navigation that he released him and made him one of his confidantes. Adams was refused permission to return to his family in England, so he became permanently settled in Japan and raised a new family. He became known as Anjin (Pilot) and oversaw the construction of western style ships. He also officiated between the shogun and European traders who began to visit Japan.
On 17th May…
1590 - Anne of Denmark, the wife of King James VI of Scotland was crowned Queen of Scotland. Anne had married James VI in 1589 when she was just fourteen years old.
On 18th May…
1991 - Helen Sharman became the first British astronaut. She participated in a Soviet mission to the space station Mir which lasted nearly eight days. Whilst in space she conducted medical and agricultural tests.
On 19th May…
Execution of Anne Boleyn
1536 -Anne Boleyn was executed for treason and adultery. King Henry VIII’s second wife and mother to his second daughter Elizabeth I had been found guilty of having an affair with five men including her own brother, Lord Rochford. Anne Boleyn was the mother of Elizabeth I who was only three years old at the time. Within 24 hours of the execution Henry VIII was formally engaged to Jane Seymour; they married eleven days later.
On 20th May…
685 - Battle of Nechtansmere or Battle of Dun Nechtain was fought between the Picts of Scotland and the Anglo-Saxon Northumbrians. The Picts were led to victory by King Brude MacBile, killing the Northumbrian King Ecgfrith and regaining the lands that they had lost in previous years. This decisive battle secured the boundaries of the lands of the Picts which some scholars now believe may have led to the foundation of Scotland.
On 21st May…
King Henry VI murdered
1471 - King Henry VI was murdered whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London. He became king before the age of one in 1422 and was crowned when he was just eight years old. He wasn’t given the power to rule England until he was sixteen in 1437. His reign was marred by his mental health and the Wars of the Roses which saw him lose the throne to Edward IV twice.
1927 - Charles Lindbergh landed in France after completing the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic. The flight took 33 and a half hours.
Amelia Earhart crosses the Atlantic
1932 - Amelia Earhart completed the first female solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic flying from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland. The flight took 17 hours.
On 22nd May…
First Battle of St Albans
1455 - The first battle in the Wars of the Roses took place at St Albans. The wars spanned thirty years and were between House York and House Lancaster over the English throne. Henry VI of House Lancaster was the king, but his reign was marred by mental health and loss of lands in France leading to disputes over his power. Both families had claim to the throne through their grandfathers who were both sons of King Edward III.