The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on September 25, 1066, in England. England's King Edward the Confessor died early in 1066 leaving a lot of claimants for England's throne. The English (Anglo-Saxon) Witenagemot elected Harold Godwinson King. King Harold betook himself to Southern England to await and repel an anticipated attack by William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, a known claimant to the throne.

Menwhile, King Harald Hardrada, of Norway, another claimant for the throne was invading England up north, around York. He was aided and abetted by Tostig Godwinson. the younger brother of England's King Harold> who had, in 1065, stripped Tostig of his earldom and exiled him from the country. This had, of course, royally pissed off Tostig. Harald and Tostig beat the locals, took York, took hostages, and extracted pledges of support for Harald's claim to Harold's throne from the locals and headed back to their combined fleet. Now it begins to resemble something by Sergio Leone.

Having learned of Harald's invasion, Harold rushed 185 miles north and surprised Harald and Tostig at stamford Bridge. The histories tell us that before the battle, a lone rider rode up to Harald and Tostig, and, giving no name, told Tostig that he could get his earldom back if he betrayed Harald. When Tostig asked what his brother Harold would be willing to give Harald for his trouble, the rider replied "Seven feet of English ground, as he is taller than other men", and rode off. When Harald asked Tostig who the lone rider was, Tostig replied that it was his brother, King Harold. When the English attacked, they were held up for a bit at the bridge where a lone viking blocked the bridge and held off the entire English army for a period of time, killing some 40 of them according to one source. They might still be there, but a lone Englishman floated himself under the bridge and fatally speared the lone viking by thrusting up between the bridge's planks. The battle finally began and the English won, routed the Norwegians and accepted a truce from the few survivors including Harald's son.

Meanwhile, William the Bastard (remembere him, Duke of Normandy?) had walked ashore unopposed at Pevensey Bay, roughly 260 miles to the South. Soon (October 19) Harold would get his shot at William and die while his army was slaughtered around him at The Battle of Hastings and William would be well on his way to becoming William the Conqueror

It is one hit wonder day, but I don't feel like going there

Today is also Yom Kippur, a wandering holiday because it is the 10th day of the lunar month of Tishri and is ergo not sync'd to the Gregorian calendar. I will say nothing else about it because, as Lewis Black said, it's not my book. Of course, the other one isn't either.

On this day in history:

1066 -- King Harold whupped King Harald at The Battle of Stamford Bridge. Three Days later, William the Bastard walked ashore unopposed way down south in Pevensey Bay.
1513 -- Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa (aka stout Cortez) reached the pacific
1789 -- Congress passed the Bill of Rights. Amendments 2, 3, 9 & 10 still survive
1846 -- Zachary Taylor captured Monterrey.
1890 -- Congress established Sequoia National Park.
1906 -- Leonardo Torres y Quevedo demonstrated the Telekino, a remote control device
1912 – Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism was founded
1926 – The international Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery was first signed.
1929 -- Jimmy Doolittle performed the first airplane flight using instruments only
1942 -- Swiss Police instructions dictated that refugees because of race alone were not "Political Refugees"
1944 -- Survivors of the British 1st Airborne pulled out of Arnhem
1956 -- The first transatlantic telephone cable was inaguarated
1957 -- Central High in Little Rock was integrated by force
1963 – Lord Denning released the UK government's official report on the Profumo affair.

Some people who were born on this day:

A painting is not about an experience. It is an experience.

~~ Mark Rothko

1644 – Ole Rømer, astronomer and instrument maker, measured "c"
1683 -- Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer, harmony freak
1764 -- Fletcher Christian, sailor
1773 – Agostino Bassi, entomologist and author
1862 -- Leon Boellmann, organist and composer
1865 – Henri Lebasque, artist
1866 – Thomas Hunt Morgan, biologist, geneticist, and embryologist
1893 – Harald Cramér, mathematician and statistician
1897 -- William Faulkner, writer
1903 -- Mark Rothko, painter
1906 -- Dmitri Shostakovich, pianist and composer
1923 -- Sam Rivers, sax, clarinet, harmonica and piano player, also a composer
1929 -- Barbara Walters, journalist, producer and talking head
1930 -- Shel Silverstein, author, poet, illustrator and songwriter
1932 -- Glenn Gould, pianist and composer
1933 – Ian Tyson, folk singer, songwriter and musician
1937 -- Mary Allen Wilkes, computer scientist and attorney
1942 -- John Taylor, pianist
1943 – John Locke, keyboard player
1946 – Bryan MacLean, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1946 -- Jerry Penrod, bassist
1951 -- Burleigh Drummond, drummer (ambrosia)
1955 -- Steven Severin, bassist (souixie)
1964 -- Barbara Dennerlein, organist
1972 -- Douglas September, singer, songwriter and guitarist

Some people who died on this day:

The Framers of the Constitution knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.

~~ Hugo Black

1066 -- Harald Hardrada, king
1367 – Jakushitsu Genkō, poet and flautist
1621 -- Mary Sidney, author and poet
1777 -- Johann Heinrich Lambert, mathematician, physicist, and astronomer
1849 -- Johann Strauss I, composer
1867 -- Oliver Loving, co-developer of the Goodnight-Loving Trail
1917 -- Thomas Ashe, Irish Republican Brotherhood member, founding member of the Irish Volunteers
1928 -- Richard F. Outcault, cartoonist
1933 -- Ring Lardner, journalist and author
1960 -- Emily Post, author, snoot, conformist, stickler, bluenosev
1970 -- Erich Maria Remarque, author
1971 -- Hugo Black, jurist, constitutionalist and civil rights supporter
1980 -- John Bonham, drummer
1999 -- Marion Zimmer Bradley, author
2003 -- George Plimpton, writer and editor
2009 – Alicia de Larrocha, pianist
2012 -- Andy Williams, singer
2013 -- Billy Mure, studio guitarist

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

National One-Hit Wonder Day
National Quesadilla Day
Ntional Cooking Day
National Comic Book Day
Yom Kippur (10th day of the lunar month of Tishri)

Today's Tunes

William the Bastard

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Leon Boellmann

Dmitri Shostakovich

Sam Rivers

Shel Silverstein

Glenn Gould

Ian Tyson

John Taylor

John Locke

Bryan MacLean

center> -

Jerry Penrod

Burleigh Drummond

Steven Severin

Barbara Dennerlein

Douglas September

Johann Strauss I

Goodnight - Loving Trail

John Bonham

Alicia de Larrocha

Andy Williams

Billy Mure

Bonus:

I will not be here when this posts

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com