49 BC. Julius Caesar, who has the flu, visits Cicero at Formiae
845 The Vikings sack Paris
1584. Birth of Ivan the Terrible. Although largely remembered for the homicidal paranoia that came to characterize his reign in later years, while a young man Ivan the Terrible (r. 1547-1584), like a number of other rulers across history – most famously the Caliph Haroun al-Rashid – was wont to go among his people in disguise to get a sense of what they were thinking, an early form of polling one might say.
Once, while visiting a village near Moscow dressed as a beggar, he found no one who would give him lodging for the night, save a poor family. By chance, that very night the poor man’s wife gave birth. Taking his leave the next morning, the Tsar returned shortly in full regalia with numerous dignitaries in train, to hand out generous gifts to his hosts, and become the godfather of their newborn, while ordering the rest of the people of the village to be turned out of their homes, which he promptly burned down to remind them of their obligations to the poor..
Apparently during many of his adventures, Ivan found congenial companions in the company of common criminals.
On one such occasion, the Tsar proposed robbing the Imperial treasury, telling them that he knew how to get inside, which was true enough.
Hardly had he said this than the chief of the gang of thieves with which he was consorting gave him a playful punch in the face, saying, in effect, “Rogue, you want to rob the Tsar, who has been so good to us? Why not rob some rich boyar who is screwing His Imperial Majesty’s subjects out of vast sums?”
Pleased at the response, Ivan swapped caps with the man, and suggested they meet on the morrow at a place in Moscow near the palace, to share a cup of vodka and a meal. The thief readily agreed.
The thief showed up at the appointed place and time, to find, not his roguish companion of the night before, but the Tsar himself holding out a mug of vodka.
As they downed the liquor, Ivan ordered the thief to steal no more, appointed him to a post at court, and assigned him to ferret out criminals.
1757. Robert Francois Damiens, executed at 42, by skinned, doused with molten lead, castrated, and drawn and quartered, for attempting to kill Louis XV of France
1799 NY State initiates the abolition of slavery, which is completed in 1827
1800 USS Essex becomes first U.S. Navy vessel to pass Cape of Good Hope
1814. HMS Phoebe (36) and HMS Cherub (18) under Cptn. James Hillyar capture USS Essex (46), Cptn. David Porter, off Valparaiso, Chile.
1855, during the planning for the Anglo-French invasion of the Crimea, Empress Eugénie of France is reported to have consulted her husband’s late uncle, the real Napoleon, for guidance, through the use of a Ouija board.
1940. During World War II the Spanish Ambassador to Britain was the Duke of Alba, Jacobo Maria del Pilar Carlos Manuel Fitz-James Stuart, a direct descendant of the deposed Stuart kings of England, though via an illegitimate line.
1942 Operation Chariot: Nocturnal RN/RM commando raid blocks the 'Normandie' dock in Nazi-occupied St Nazaire; five VCs awarded
Sergeant Thomas Frank Durrant, Royal Engineers. During the famous British naval raid on St. Nazaire, France, on the night of March 27-28, 1942, Sgt. Durrant (1918-1942) was serving with No. 1 Commando, manning a dual-mounted Lewis gun on HM Motor Launch 306. Proceeding up the Loire River, the boat came under heavy fire from the German destroyer Jaguar, which greatly outclassed her. She was hit repeatedly, and Durrant was wounded several times. Twice the Germans summoned the boat to surrender and were refused. Finally the launch was boarded and those who were still alive were taken prisoner, among them Sgt Durrant, who had been wounded 16 times. He died of his wounds on the 29th. Speaking with the prisoners, Kapitänleutnant F.K Paul, commander of the Jaguar, commended them for their gallant fight, and singled out Durrant for special praise. Acting with Paul’s comment in mind, Durrant’s commanding officer, Lieutenant R. O. C. Swayne, initiated the process that led to the award of the V.C. to Sgt. Durrant. Durrant also has the distinction of being the only British soldier to have won the V.C. while serving with the Royal Navy.