Same Birthday
I finally looked at a website twilight_melody linked to me on MySpace about people who had my birthday. I knew the usual ones...Luciano Pavarotti, Kirk Cameron, Hugh Jackman...but here are the few that are totally awesomer.
Born: 12-Oct-1537
Birthplace: Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England
Died: 12-Feb-1554
Location of death: Tower of London, London, England
Cause of death: Execution
Gender: Female
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Royalty
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Queen of England for nine days
Lady Jane Grey, a lady remarkable no less for her accomplishments than for her misfortunes, was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England. Her descent from that king was traced through a line of females. His second daughter Mary, after being left a widow by Louis XII of France, married Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who was a favorite with her brother Henry VIII. Of this marriage came two daughters, the elder of whom, Lady Frances Brandon, was married to Henry Grey, marquess of Dorset; and their issue, again, consisted of daughters only. Lady Jane was the eldest of three whom the marquess had by Lady Frances. Thus it will appear that even if the crown of England had ever fallen into the female line of descent from Henry VII, she could not have put in a rightful claim unless the issue of his elder daughter, Margaret, had become extinct. But Margaret had married James IV of Scotland; and, though her descendant, James VI, was ultimately called to the English throne (as James I on that throne), Henry VIII had placed her family after that of his second sister in the succession; so that, failing the lawful issue of Henry himself, Lady Jane would, according to this arrangement, have succeeded. It was to these circumstances that she owed her exceptional position in history, and became the victim of an ambition which was not her own.
She was born at her father's seat named Bradgate in Leicestershire about the year 1537. Her parents, though severe disciplinarians, bestowed more than ordinary care upon her education, and she herself was so teachable and delighted so much in study that she became the marvel of the age for her acquirements. She not only excelled in needlework and in music, both vocal and instrumental, but while still very young she had thoroughly mastered Latin, Greek, French and Italian. She was able to speak and write both Greek and Latin with an accuracy that satisfied even such critics as Roger Ascham and her tutor Dr. Aylmer, afterwards bishop of London. She also acquired some knowledge of at least three Oriental tongues, Hebrew, Chaldee and Arabic. In Ascham's Schoolmaster is given a touching account of the devotion with which she pursued her studies and the harshness she experienced from her parents. The love of learning was her solace; in reading Demosthenes and Plato she found a refuge from domestic unhappiness. When about ten years old she was placed for a time in the household of Thomas, Lord Seymour, who, having obtained her wardship, induced her parents to let her stay with him, even after the death of his wife, Queen Catherine Parr, by promising to marry her to his nephew, King Edward VI. Lord Seymour, however, was attainted of high treason and beheaded in 1549, and his brother, the duke of Somerset, made some overtures to the marquess of Dorset to marry her to his son the earl of Hertford. These projects, however, came to nothing. The duke of Somerset in his turn fell a victim to the ambition of Dudley, duke of Northumberland, and was beheaded three years after his brother. Meanwhile, the dukedom of Suffolk having become extinct by the deaths of Charles Brandon and his two sons, the title was conferred upon the marquess of Dorset, Lady Jane's father. Northumberland, who was now all-powerful, fearing a great reverse of fortune in case of the king's death, as his health began visibly to decline, endeavored to strengthen himself by marriages between his family and those of other powerful noblemen, especially of the new-made duke of Suffolk. His three eldest sons being already married, the fourth, who was named Lord Guilford Dudley, was accordingly wedded to Lady Jane Grey about the end of May 1553. The match received the full approval of the king, who furnished the wedding apparel of the parties by royal warrant. But Edward's state of health warned Northumberland that be must lose no time in putting the rest of his project into execution. He persuaded the king that if the crown should descend to his sister Mary the work of the Reformation would be undone and the liberties of the kingdom would be in danger. Besides, both Mary and her sister Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate by separate acts of parliament, and the objections to Mary Queen of Scots did not require to be pointed out. Edward was easily persuaded to break through his father's will and make a new settlement of the crown by deed. The document was witnessed by the signatures of all the council and of all but one of the judges; but those of the latter body were obtained only with difficulty by threats and intimidation.
Edward VI died on the 6th July 1553, and it was announced to Lady Jane that she was queen. She was then but sixteen years of age. The news came upon her as a most unwelcome surprise, and for some time she resisted all persuasions to accept the fatal dignity; but at length she yielded to the entreaties of her father, her father-in-law and her husband. The better to mature their plans the cabal had kept the king's death secret for some days, but they proclaimed Queen Jane in the city on the 10th. The people received the announcement with manifest coldness, and a vintner's boy was even so bold as to raise a cry for Queen Mary, for which he next day had his ears nailed to the pillory and afterwards cut off. Mary, however, had received early intimation of her brothers death, and, retiring from Hunsdon into Norfolk, gathered around her the nobility and commons of those parts. Northumberland was despatched there with an army to oppose her; but after reaching Newmarket he complained that the council had not sent him force in sufficient numbers and his followers began to desert. Newt also came that the earl of Oxford had declared for Queen Mary; and as most of the council themselves were only seeking at opportunity to wash their hands of rebellion, they procured a meeting at Baynard's Castle, revoked their former acts as done under coercion, and caused the lord mayor to proclaim Queen Mary, which he did amid the shouts of the citizens. The duke of Suffolk was obliged to tell his daughter that she must lay aside her royal dignity and become a private person once more. She replied that she relinquished most willingly a crown that she had only accepted out of obedience to him and her mother and her nine days' reign was over.
The leading actors in the conspiracy were now called to answer for their deeds. Northumberland was brought up to London a prisoner, tried and sent to the block, along with some of his partisans. The duke of Suffolk and Lady Jane were also committed to the Tower; but the former, by the influence of his duchess, procured a pardon. Lady Jane and her husband Lord Guilford Dudley were also tried, and received sentence of death for treason. This, however, was not immediately carried out; on the contrary, the queen seems to have wished to spare their lives and mitigated the rigor of their confinement. Unfortunately, owing to the general dislike of the queen's marriage with Philip of Spain, Sir Thomas Wyat soon after raised a rebellion in which the duke of Suffolk and his brothers took part, and on its suppression the queen was persuaded that it was unsafe to spare the lives of Lady Jane and her husband any longer. On hearing that they were to die, Lady Jane declined a parting interview with her husband lest it should increase their pain, and prepared to meet her fate with Christian fortitude. She and her husband were executed on the same day, on the 12th of February 1554, her husband on Tower Hill, and herself within the Tower an hour afterwards, amidst universal sympathy and compassion.
King Edward VI
King Edward VIAKA Edward Tudor
Born: 12-Oct-1537
Birthplace: Placentia Palace, Greenwich, England
Died: 6-Jul-1553
Location of death: Greenwich, England
Cause of death: Tuberculosis
Remains: Buried, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Gender: Male
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Royalty
Nationality: England
Executive summary: King of England 1547-53
Edward VI, King of England and Ireland, born at Greenwich on the 12th of October 1537, was the only child of King Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who died of puerperal fever twelve days later. The story that the mother's life was deliberately sacrificed by the performance of Caesarean section is unfounded, although Jane's death was little noticed amid the rejoicings which greeted the advent of a male heir to the throne. But in spite of Holbein's vivacious portrait of Edward at the age of two, he was a frail child, and a short life was anticipated for him from his early years. This did not prevent a strenuous education; until the age of six he was naturally left in the charge of women, but when he was only seven his tutor Dr. Coxe, afterwards Bishop of Ely, writes that he could decline any Latin noun and conjugate any regular verb; "every day in the mass-time he readeth a portion of Solomons Proverbs, wherein he delighteth much." Sir John Cheke, Sir Anthony Cooke and Roger Ascham all helped to teach him Latin, Greek and French; and by the age of thirteen he had read Aristotle's Ethics in the original and was himself translating Cicero's De Philosophia into Greek.
Edward was Duke of Cornwall from his birth, but he was never Prince of Wales, and he was only nine when he succeeded his father as King of England and Ireland and supreme head of the church (28th of January 1546/7). His nonage threw power into the hands of Somerset and then of Northumberland, and enabled Stephen Gardiner and Bonner to maintain that the royal supremacy over the church was, or should be, in abeyance. Projects for his marriage were hardly even the occasion, but only the excuse, for Somerset's war on Scotland and Northumberland's subsequent alliance with France. All factions sought to control his person, not because of his personality but because of his position; he was like the Great Seal, only more so, an indispensable adjunct to the wielder of authority. The Protector's brother tried to bribe him with pocket money; Northumberland was more subtle and established a complete dominion over his mind, and then put him forward at the age of fourteen as entitled to all the power of King Henry VIII. But he was only Northumberland's mask; of his individual influence on the course of history during his reign there is hardly a trace. A posthumous effort was made to give him the credit of a humane desire to save Joan Bocher from the flames; but he recorded with apparently cold-blooded indifference the execution of both his uncles, and he certainly made no attempt to mitigate the harassing attentions which the council paid his sister Mary. This passed for piety with the zealots, and the persecutions of Mary's reign reflected a halo on that of the Protestant Josiah. So strong was the regret that rumors of his survival persisted, and hare-brained youths were found to personate him throughout Mary's and even far into Elizabeth's reign.
It was well that they were false, for Edward showed signs of all the Tudor obstinacy, and he was a fanatic into the bargain, as no other Tudor was except Mary. The combination would probably have involved England in disasters far greater than any that ensued upon his premature death; and it was much better that the Anglican settlement of religion should have been left to the compromising temper of Elizabeth. As it was, he bequeathed a legacy of woe; his health began to fail in 1552, and in May 1553 it was known that he was dying. But his will and the various drafts of it only betray the agitated and illogical efforts of Northumberland to contrive some means whereby he might continue to control the government and prevent the administration of justice. Mary and Elizabeth were to be excluded from the throne, as not sufficiently pliant instruments; Mary Stuart was ignored as being under Scottish, Catholic and French influence; the Duchess of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey's mother, was excluded because she was married, and the duke her husband might claim the crown matrimonial. In fact, all females were excluded, except Jane, on the ground that no woman could reign; even she was excluded in the first draft, and the crown was left to "the Lady Jane's heirs male." But this draft was manipulated so as to read "the Lady Jane and her heirs male." That Edward himself was responsible for these delirious provisions is improbable. But he had been so impregnated with the divine right of kings and the divine truth of Protestantism that he thought he was entitled and bound to override the succession as established by law and exclude a Catholic from the throne; and his last recorded words were vehement injunctions to Thomas Cranmer to sign the will.
He died at Greenwich on the 6th of July 1553, and was buried in King Henry VII's chapel by Cranmer with Protestant rites on the 8th of August, while Mary had Mass said for his soul in the Tower.
Born: 12-Oct-1537
Birthplace: Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England
Died: 12-Feb-1554
Location of death: Tower of London, London, England
Cause of death: Execution
Gender: Female
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Royalty
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Queen of England for nine days
Lady Jane Grey, a lady remarkable no less for her accomplishments than for her misfortunes, was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England. Her descent from that king was traced through a line of females. His second daughter Mary, after being left a widow by Louis XII of France, married Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who was a favorite with her brother Henry VIII. Of this marriage came two daughters, the elder of whom, Lady Frances Brandon, was married to Henry Grey, marquess of Dorset; and their issue, again, consisted of daughters only. Lady Jane was the eldest of three whom the marquess had by Lady Frances. Thus it will appear that even if the crown of England had ever fallen into the female line of descent from Henry VII, she could not have put in a rightful claim unless the issue of his elder daughter, Margaret, had become extinct. But Margaret had married James IV of Scotland; and, though her descendant, James VI, was ultimately called to the English throne (as James I on that throne), Henry VIII had placed her family after that of his second sister in the succession; so that, failing the lawful issue of Henry himself, Lady Jane would, according to this arrangement, have succeeded. It was to these circumstances that she owed her exceptional position in history, and became the victim of an ambition which was not her own.
She was born at her father's seat named Bradgate in Leicestershire about the year 1537. Her parents, though severe disciplinarians, bestowed more than ordinary care upon her education, and she herself was so teachable and delighted so much in study that she became the marvel of the age for her acquirements. She not only excelled in needlework and in music, both vocal and instrumental, but while still very young she had thoroughly mastered Latin, Greek, French and Italian. She was able to speak and write both Greek and Latin with an accuracy that satisfied even such critics as Roger Ascham and her tutor Dr. Aylmer, afterwards bishop of London. She also acquired some knowledge of at least three Oriental tongues, Hebrew, Chaldee and Arabic. In Ascham's Schoolmaster is given a touching account of the devotion with which she pursued her studies and the harshness she experienced from her parents. The love of learning was her solace; in reading Demosthenes and Plato she found a refuge from domestic unhappiness. When about ten years old she was placed for a time in the household of Thomas, Lord Seymour, who, having obtained her wardship, induced her parents to let her stay with him, even after the death of his wife, Queen Catherine Parr, by promising to marry her to his nephew, King Edward VI. Lord Seymour, however, was attainted of high treason and beheaded in 1549, and his brother, the duke of Somerset, made some overtures to the marquess of Dorset to marry her to his son the earl of Hertford. These projects, however, came to nothing. The duke of Somerset in his turn fell a victim to the ambition of Dudley, duke of Northumberland, and was beheaded three years after his brother. Meanwhile, the dukedom of Suffolk having become extinct by the deaths of Charles Brandon and his two sons, the title was conferred upon the marquess of Dorset, Lady Jane's father. Northumberland, who was now all-powerful, fearing a great reverse of fortune in case of the king's death, as his health began visibly to decline, endeavored to strengthen himself by marriages between his family and those of other powerful noblemen, especially of the new-made duke of Suffolk. His three eldest sons being already married, the fourth, who was named Lord Guilford Dudley, was accordingly wedded to Lady Jane Grey about the end of May 1553. The match received the full approval of the king, who furnished the wedding apparel of the parties by royal warrant. But Edward's state of health warned Northumberland that be must lose no time in putting the rest of his project into execution. He persuaded the king that if the crown should descend to his sister Mary the work of the Reformation would be undone and the liberties of the kingdom would be in danger. Besides, both Mary and her sister Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate by separate acts of parliament, and the objections to Mary Queen of Scots did not require to be pointed out. Edward was easily persuaded to break through his father's will and make a new settlement of the crown by deed. The document was witnessed by the signatures of all the council and of all but one of the judges; but those of the latter body were obtained only with difficulty by threats and intimidation.
Edward VI died on the 6th July 1553, and it was announced to Lady Jane that she was queen. She was then but sixteen years of age. The news came upon her as a most unwelcome surprise, and for some time she resisted all persuasions to accept the fatal dignity; but at length she yielded to the entreaties of her father, her father-in-law and her husband. The better to mature their plans the cabal had kept the king's death secret for some days, but they proclaimed Queen Jane in the city on the 10th. The people received the announcement with manifest coldness, and a vintner's boy was even so bold as to raise a cry for Queen Mary, for which he next day had his ears nailed to the pillory and afterwards cut off. Mary, however, had received early intimation of her brothers death, and, retiring from Hunsdon into Norfolk, gathered around her the nobility and commons of those parts. Northumberland was despatched there with an army to oppose her; but after reaching Newmarket he complained that the council had not sent him force in sufficient numbers and his followers began to desert. Newt also came that the earl of Oxford had declared for Queen Mary; and as most of the council themselves were only seeking at opportunity to wash their hands of rebellion, they procured a meeting at Baynard's Castle, revoked their former acts as done under coercion, and caused the lord mayor to proclaim Queen Mary, which he did amid the shouts of the citizens. The duke of Suffolk was obliged to tell his daughter that she must lay aside her royal dignity and become a private person once more. She replied that she relinquished most willingly a crown that she had only accepted out of obedience to him and her mother and her nine days' reign was over.
The leading actors in the conspiracy were now called to answer for their deeds. Northumberland was brought up to London a prisoner, tried and sent to the block, along with some of his partisans. The duke of Suffolk and Lady Jane were also committed to the Tower; but the former, by the influence of his duchess, procured a pardon. Lady Jane and her husband Lord Guilford Dudley were also tried, and received sentence of death for treason. This, however, was not immediately carried out; on the contrary, the queen seems to have wished to spare their lives and mitigated the rigor of their confinement. Unfortunately, owing to the general dislike of the queen's marriage with Philip of Spain, Sir Thomas Wyat soon after raised a rebellion in which the duke of Suffolk and his brothers took part, and on its suppression the queen was persuaded that it was unsafe to spare the lives of Lady Jane and her husband any longer. On hearing that they were to die, Lady Jane declined a parting interview with her husband lest it should increase their pain, and prepared to meet her fate with Christian fortitude. She and her husband were executed on the same day, on the 12th of February 1554, her husband on Tower Hill, and herself within the Tower an hour afterwards, amidst universal sympathy and compassion.
King Edward VI
King Edward VIAKA Edward Tudor
Born: 12-Oct-1537
Birthplace: Placentia Palace, Greenwich, England
Died: 6-Jul-1553
Location of death: Greenwich, England
Cause of death: Tuberculosis
Remains: Buried, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Gender: Male
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Royalty
Nationality: England
Executive summary: King of England 1547-53
Edward VI, King of England and Ireland, born at Greenwich on the 12th of October 1537, was the only child of King Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who died of puerperal fever twelve days later. The story that the mother's life was deliberately sacrificed by the performance of Caesarean section is unfounded, although Jane's death was little noticed amid the rejoicings which greeted the advent of a male heir to the throne. But in spite of Holbein's vivacious portrait of Edward at the age of two, he was a frail child, and a short life was anticipated for him from his early years. This did not prevent a strenuous education; until the age of six he was naturally left in the charge of women, but when he was only seven his tutor Dr. Coxe, afterwards Bishop of Ely, writes that he could decline any Latin noun and conjugate any regular verb; "every day in the mass-time he readeth a portion of Solomons Proverbs, wherein he delighteth much." Sir John Cheke, Sir Anthony Cooke and Roger Ascham all helped to teach him Latin, Greek and French; and by the age of thirteen he had read Aristotle's Ethics in the original and was himself translating Cicero's De Philosophia into Greek.
Edward was Duke of Cornwall from his birth, but he was never Prince of Wales, and he was only nine when he succeeded his father as King of England and Ireland and supreme head of the church (28th of January 1546/7). His nonage threw power into the hands of Somerset and then of Northumberland, and enabled Stephen Gardiner and Bonner to maintain that the royal supremacy over the church was, or should be, in abeyance. Projects for his marriage were hardly even the occasion, but only the excuse, for Somerset's war on Scotland and Northumberland's subsequent alliance with France. All factions sought to control his person, not because of his personality but because of his position; he was like the Great Seal, only more so, an indispensable adjunct to the wielder of authority. The Protector's brother tried to bribe him with pocket money; Northumberland was more subtle and established a complete dominion over his mind, and then put him forward at the age of fourteen as entitled to all the power of King Henry VIII. But he was only Northumberland's mask; of his individual influence on the course of history during his reign there is hardly a trace. A posthumous effort was made to give him the credit of a humane desire to save Joan Bocher from the flames; but he recorded with apparently cold-blooded indifference the execution of both his uncles, and he certainly made no attempt to mitigate the harassing attentions which the council paid his sister Mary. This passed for piety with the zealots, and the persecutions of Mary's reign reflected a halo on that of the Protestant Josiah. So strong was the regret that rumors of his survival persisted, and hare-brained youths were found to personate him throughout Mary's and even far into Elizabeth's reign.
It was well that they were false, for Edward showed signs of all the Tudor obstinacy, and he was a fanatic into the bargain, as no other Tudor was except Mary. The combination would probably have involved England in disasters far greater than any that ensued upon his premature death; and it was much better that the Anglican settlement of religion should have been left to the compromising temper of Elizabeth. As it was, he bequeathed a legacy of woe; his health began to fail in 1552, and in May 1553 it was known that he was dying. But his will and the various drafts of it only betray the agitated and illogical efforts of Northumberland to contrive some means whereby he might continue to control the government and prevent the administration of justice. Mary and Elizabeth were to be excluded from the throne, as not sufficiently pliant instruments; Mary Stuart was ignored as being under Scottish, Catholic and French influence; the Duchess of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey's mother, was excluded because she was married, and the duke her husband might claim the crown matrimonial. In fact, all females were excluded, except Jane, on the ground that no woman could reign; even she was excluded in the first draft, and the crown was left to "the Lady Jane's heirs male." But this draft was manipulated so as to read "the Lady Jane and her heirs male." That Edward himself was responsible for these delirious provisions is improbable. But he had been so impregnated with the divine right of kings and the divine truth of Protestantism that he thought he was entitled and bound to override the succession as established by law and exclude a Catholic from the throne; and his last recorded words were vehement injunctions to Thomas Cranmer to sign the will.
He died at Greenwich on the 6th of July 1553, and was buried in King Henry VII's chapel by Cranmer with Protestant rites on the 8th of August, while Mary had Mass said for his soul in the Tower.