1340: Nicholas Behuchet, Battle of Sluys naval commander
On this date in 1340, the English and French fought an early naval engagement of the Hundred Years’ War: the Battle of Sluys. The English won the battle … and the French admiral wound up hanging from a...
View ArticleFeast of St. Clement
Today is St. Clement’s Day, the feast day of the first century Pope Clement I — who, tradition has it, was martyred by the Romans under Trajan at the ancient Crimean city of Chersonesus by being...
View Article1807: Jenkin Ratford, Chesapeake-Leopard affair casualty
On this date in 1807, the British navy hanged Jenkin Ratford from the yardarm of the HMS Halifax off the coast of Maryland — an incident destined to become a rallying cry for the United States in the...
View Article1835: Patrick O’Brien, Francis Spaight apprentice boy
On or very near this date in 1835,* a Limerick ship’s boy named Patrick O’Brien lost a casting of lots … then lost his life to feed his ravenous shipmates. The spanking new 457-ton barque Francis...
View Article1797: Richard Parker, for the Nore mutiny
On this date in 1797, a president of the floating republic was put to death by an empire of the lash. The occasion brings us to the era of Great Britain’s protracted war with Revolutionary France. That...
View Article1217: Eustace the Monk, turncoat outlaw
On this date in 1217, the pirate Eustace the Monk was defeated in battle and summarily beheaded, scuppering an ongoing invasion that nearly seated a French dauphin on the English throne. This colorful...
View Article1820: The pirates of the William
On this date in 1820, six pirates of the brig William hanged at the Maltese capital Valletta. This vessel had the previous July departed her Liverpool berth hauling a cargo of lucrative sugar to Malta...
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